Main Project Report Part 2: Kinetic Motion Sculpture

What was your aesthetic, and how well did you achieve it?
My aesthetic was hard to pinpoint since anything dynamic requires motion and that was a requirement of this project. So, saying that my design was kinetic had me second guessing my projects aesthetic. I believe that my aesthetic ended up being nautical. I selected my acrylic colors to be blue and white based on the colors that worked with the driftwood I used.

What did you learn from your project, and from the class?
Something I learned from this project and the class is that anything is truly as challenging as you make it. The aesthetic, designs, and motivation were left up to our imagination. As a result, there was a wide variety of projects that encompassed a span of difficulties dependent upon personal experience. I learned different techniques for blacksmithing, woodworking, and modeling throughout this process. I have taught classes on lathes and mills, but haven’t touched a forge much.

What will you do next with the project?
I have been thinking of ways to make this design work better. My biggest complication came from the imbalance of the metal and the spacing of the laser cut disks. If there is too much slack in the disks, I have to tighten the spacers around the cut outs. However, if the center of the disks aren’t big enough, they turn in unison with the shaft which defeats the purpose of the wooden dowels.

What do you wish you had done differently? Compare your original project intent to what you ended up with.
I don’t think there is anything I would have done differently after completing this project. Even though I didn’t end up using the metal stand that I took time to blacksmith, the learning process was appreciated.

My original product was geared to be more dependent upon a pulley system that ran smoothly. I also planned on hanging my design on the wall. I realized that I would need to do a little bit more analysis in order to have a fully functional kinetic motion device. However, when I thought of a stand, it seemed more plausible. Below is a picture of what my final product ended up looking like. I plan to post a video of the rotation and the way that the wooden dowels slide along the slots placed into each of the disks.