Sketch
Personal Project
2020 *Work in progress*
Sketch is a passion project of mine that I’ve been working on in my spare time for the past couple of months. It was designed to challenge the way people access digital content by converting digital content into a physical tangible medium. Think of it as an analogue display.
Sketch operates in a similar manner to a plotter where a pen is moved over a surface creating an image. The surface on which the pen draws is made from a whiteboard material allowing sketch to erase content automatically before it begins displaying new information. This content can take the form of artwork or even live data where you could have your calendar information uploaded automatically each day and displayed on the board.
V1 Concept Exploration
My first prototype of sketch operated by moving a flexible whiteboard material over two rollers while a pen moved along a linear rail creating an image. The pen was actuated using a servo which allowed it to be tucked away out of sight whenever it wasn’t in use, giving the product a slim profile. This also gave the board an extremely playful interaction whenever it was drawing an image as the whole product would come to life with the pen appearing out thin air.
Technical Drawings
V1 Prototype Imagery
V2 Concept Exploration
After not being too happy with the robustness of my V1 prototype I decided to go back to the drawing board and take some inspiration from the way my 3D printer operates. This time the frame of the Sketch is constructed from aluminium extrusions and is mounted on a static whiteboard surface. The pen carriage then moves along the different axis using a motor assembly that has a gear which engages with a GT belt (toothed belt) running the length of the aluminium extrusions. The pen is then actuated against the whiteboard surface using a servo and spring-loaded mechanism making it much more rigid than the previous version.
The project is fully functional but it is still a work in progress as there are some changes and additional parts to be added before it is complete.
Technical Drawings
Building V2 Prototype
V2 Prototype Imagery
