[Making Intelligence] Obstacle Six // Egg Roll


Project Brief

"Design and build a structure that moves an egg down a 42-inch change in elevation."

 

Tools and Materials Used

Chipboard
Acrylic
MDF
Screws
Hand drill
Hot glue


1) Process

I first tested the limits of the egg, and learned quickly that there was not much leniency to how far the egg could drop.

Egg remained intact at a 1/2" drop.

Egg remained intact at a 1/2" drop.

Egg easily cracked when dropped at a height of 2".

Egg easily cracked when dropped at a height of 2".

I sketched through a few quick ideas, but I limited myself to a compact and modular design to be most efficient in making and assembling the egg roll structure together. I created a detailed three-dimensional digital model of the design as a basis to fabricate the actual design.

A series of ladders with rungs were offset by approximately 1/2" for the egg to drop onto at every platform. When transitioning from the digital model to the making the actual model, I added half walls to the platforms to ensure the safety of the egg.

Although the idea of having the same shape of the platform repeated throughout the structure was appealing, the small differences and human error forced me to customize each platform. Each platform was measured and cut on the spot to accommodate the differences.

2) Assembly

3) Testing

The final product has about a 50% success rate, which is partially dependent on the speed and orientation of the egg's release, and partially luck-based.

[Making Intelligence] Obstacle Five // POPsegrity


 

Project Brief

"Develop a tensegrity structure, and hold up a can of soup 10 inches above a horizontal surface."

 
 

Tools and Materials Used

Popsicle sticks
Rubber bands
Strings
Wire


1) Structural Study

I approached this obstacle by studying the tensegrity structure in hopes of discovering opportunities to modify or add to the basic form to create an innovative method of aggregating tensegrity structures.

There were many failures in attempting to put together a basic tensegrity structure using rubber bands. Using different materials for the tension member did not make the task any easier either. After many hours of trying new approaches, I came to the conclusion that a pure tensegrity structure would be impossible to achieve given the resources, time constraints, and design requirements of suspending a can of soup 10 inches above a surface.

Instead of trying to aggregate tensegrity units in a way where it can support a can of soup, I built a scaled up version of one basic tensegrity structure.

 

2) Final Product

[Making Intelligence] Obstacle Four // MDF Cantilever


Project Brief

 

"Cantilever a block of MDF without occupying the 2" x 3" x 3" space between the vertically and horizontally oriented MDF blocks."

 
 

Tools and Materials Used

Prototyping: Chipboard and cardboard
Acrylic sheet
Laser cutter


1) Prototyping Joinery

 

2) 3D Modeling

Axonometric Drawing

Axonometric Drawing

Plan

Plan

 
 
Side Elevation

Side Elevation

 
Front Elevation

Front Elevation

 

3) Final Product