Metal Structure Project
For this project, we were tasked with designing a metal structure that would be able to hold a minimum weight of 10 kg. The challenges were that the metal that we used was aluminium, our pedestal had to be at least 11 cm tall, and we also had to make it out of only 3 sheets that were 30 cm long, and 10 cm wide.
Mood Board
I started off by making a mood board, and laid out some existing products and examples on it. I also created another ideation mood board for joineries, so that I could figure out what were the best ways to attach the pieces together.
Prototyping
Below are some prototypes I made from paper and greyboard, before making the final piece out of aluminium.
Final Product
I then drew out the pieces in Illustrator, on A4 artboards, so that I could print them out and use them as a cutting template.
Below are some pictures of the final product. As seen, the structure was held together with pop rivets and tabs, also made from aluminium.
Perspective view
Top view
Bottom view
Below is a video showing the pedestal holding up a 10 kg weight, and a bottle that was 5kg.
Conclusion
Overall, I enjoyed doing this project, as it allowed me to learn about properties of metal, such as how folding is able to increase the strength of metal, and how it can help with the aesthetics of products.
