This is a model we produced for the project a.line, a collaboration lead by lm: d: and École des Arts et Métiers Cluny. I was appointed team leader for this project and getting every team member to do what they were best at was key to get a high quality finalised model.

Part of my job was to handle the files given by the designers to make them usable for us as model makers. It allowed me to understand the link between both jobs and to learn to deal with misunderstandings that can occur when a client does not understand fully the role of the model maker.

The model is a 1:5 scaled versions of what the designer and engineer thought to be the final version of the product. Through the model making process, we were able to identify several technical problems they would have encounter producing a full-scale prototype. By doing so we helped them to pinpoint potential issues and avoid complications during the following stage of the product development.

We build the wood parts by laminating layers of wood veneer in a mould made at scale 1/5th to get the bike structure.

I was involved in making the wheels which proved to be challenging. Although it was suggested to build them out of transparent engraved acrylic as the time frame to make “real” looking wheels was short, we pushed the detail further to give a more finished look to the model. We built a rig and mounted the wheels with acrylic rims using piano wire as spokes to give the best result possible at that scale.

A tyre was CNC milled in two linear parts that we glued together before moulding then so we could produce the three units needed for the bike. Moulding a linear tire allowed us to use the same silicon mould to produce the front and back tire as they were of different sizes.

We then gathered all the pieces each member of the team produced to proceed to the final assembly, several blank assemblies were made through the process to ensure we would not get any bad surprises while finalising the model.

Team members: Maïlys Baudoin, Judith Berger, Florent Gabioux, Pierre Papet, Loic Soupizet