Intention
The intent of this project was to create a holder for components commonly used in my physical computing projects. In past, I’ve had trouble with keeping temporary wiring in place between an Arduino and a breadboard during project transport, and keeping track of smaller electronic/laser cut components — this holder aims to protect and securely store these items compactly.
Research & Context
Because I was already familiar with how to design laser cut components (primarily in SolidWorks) and not with 3D printing, I wanted to focus on challenging myself with creating some complex 3D printed components. I started by researching products currently available as holders for Arduino boards. While there are available “Arduino-Breadboard” holders available for sale, they are not enclosed to protect the wires from coming loose or from weather. Additionally, they do not have compartments available for holding small and spare electrical components. Overall, it seems like the current holders available are more for weighing the board down or to mount it upon something else, rather than storage. Additionally, storage containers for electrical boards/components are typically much larger than I had wanted (since the goal of this project was to create a holder that can fit within my backpack). I decided that the holder would need to be a container with a locking lid and hinge, which I aimed to create with 3D printing, as I felt these would provide me with an interesting design challenge.
Aesthetic Inspiration
I initially took inspiration for the design of this project from tackle boxes and jewelry boxes, because of their protective compartments and ability to store many items separately. I chose to take some components of these designs and scale them to the holder meant to fit within my backpack.
I tend to prefer minimalistic design and aesthetic, so I already knew that the holder would have few colors or a sleek design. I ended up with the final translucent black and white colors due to inspiration from my IKEA lunch box and keyboard.
Prototypes & Sketches
Process and Procedure
Design of the main parts of holder was similar to the design of the laptop holder made in class. The inner container for smaller electrical components made use of the below window shape printed seven times and stacked on top of one another.
Unfortunately time to process the 3D prints limited the progress of the hinge and locking mechanism. I ended up focusing more on the locking mechanism due to time and constraints of resources, while hinges were purchased. It took three iterations to get a working and free moving lock with use of dissolvable supports provided by the Stratasys printer.
Final Product
Reflection
The final project was changed from the initial sketches and prototypes by reducing the amount of hinges, locks, and tiers. The hinge I had planned to 3D print was also replaced with a purchased hinge due to constraints of time and resources. From this process I learned to familiarize my self with modeling organic shapes in Fusion360 and 3D printing, as well as practicing more laser-cutting skills. By sharing the process of this design, I hope to enable and further creation of “art” as defined by Aaron D. Knochel as “an event that has a performative and transformative side for society through doing (poiesis/enabling/fabulation — not poetics) as productive desire,” and help others that may want to create similar styled objects and holders. In future iterations of this project, I would hope to use what I learned from creating the locking mechanism and apply it to creating a hinge for the holder. Overall I am happy with the final product and feel grateful for the opportunity to participate in gaining knowledge of and viewing my classmates progress in new media literacies, or “a set of cultural competencies and social skills that young people need in the new media landscape.”
Final Presentation
