Final Report #1 – Illusionist Locket

For the final project, I want to try and make the necklace pendant from the movie ‘The Illusionist’. After I first saw that movie, roughly ten years ago, I really wanted the necklace that was in the movie. Even though that was a really long time ago, every time I see that movie I still like that pendant. Now, however, because I’m becoming an engineer, it occurred to me that I could make the necklace myself (even though it will probably be a fair amount of work). I’m really excited about making this. It is something that satisfies the project requirement and is something that I have really wanted to try and make. Below is a picture of the necklace from the movie:

My project is to make a pendant like the one in the movie The Illusionist. The top constraints that I will need to overcome to complete this project are as follows:

  • Because this isn’t my only class and the project I’ve picked is a lot of work, one big constraint I will need to consider is time. I will have to be efficient with my time in order to complete the project.
  • Another constraint is achieving the aesthetic that I want, which is for the project to look similar to the original item I’m getting my inspiration from. I also want this to be something I am proud of and will actually wear.
  • I have little experience using the laser cutter which is something that this project will require heavily. So this inexperience will be a constraint.
  • The schedule is another constraint, with the prototype do on Monday and the fast paced schedule. I will have to be careful and make continuous progress to keep on track.
  • The last large constraint I will be facing is inexperience in woodworking with small piece. This pendant should pretty small and building such small complex parts will be difficult.

For the prototype, I decided to 3D print a larger version of the pendant. First a made a CAD assembly. That can be seen in the images below:

Then I used a 3D Printer to come make the prototype. Below is a short video of my prototype.

 

 

The next step of the project is to alter the CAD design to be with wood and change the mechanism for sliding and rotating locket. After that I will start to cut the wood pieces.

 

This is the rough timeline I anticipate. I assumed that I would only be able to dedicate ~3 hours a day to working on this project, so it can be seen that each day is also considered ~3hrs of work. The first thing that needs to be finished is the CAD, as expected it has taken a lot longer than originally anticipated. While that it being finished, I will purchase all the necessary materials I might need. Then, I need to do rough cuts on the wood, this includes all machining that can be done in a wood shop. Next, once all the major cuts are done, I need to use the laser cutter and get all the small pieces cut along with the cutout for the inlay. Finally, that last thing I need to do is assemble all the parts. As a safety, I tripled my expected time.  So the total time ended up to be roughly 40 hours of work left.

An unknown known is that there won’t be a delay when I need to use the laser cutter, even though a lot of project classes will be using it.

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2 Comments. Leave new

  • Marcus Gurule
    May 3, 2017 12:21 pm

    I really like how you were able to make the locket work even though the people working on the movie weren’t able to make a functioning model. I am really impressed that you were able to pull of these mechanics that made it work and not have anything show. Great work!

    Reply
  • Olivia Watkins
    May 3, 2017 12:16 pm

    Amazing it turned out so well ! The wood looks great, I do really like the darker shade. It really shows how great of an engineer you are and also a special project to you personally. I am very impressed !!!

    Reply

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