Assignment 5

This week, the assignment is to literally just build something big. At first I wanted to do a boat, but as I worked through that in my head, it turned into a composites-centered project. So, I decided to stick with something simpler: a chair!

I wanted to make something unique yet comfortable, so as a template, I started out with a picture of ergonomic angles for a chair, and I built an interesting shape around that in SolidWorks.

Adding to that a rectangular extrude cut pattern along the curve, I got a neat design that could be held together by fitted planks between two main side plates.

After creating the toolpaths in ShopBot's VCarve Pro, I cut it out on the ShopBot machine. I realized then that the size of the fitted planks would make for quite a large chair (one that couldn't hold my weight in OSM), so I decided to reduce their size for a more reasonably sized chair prototype.

After that, all I needed was a little wood glue for a comfy, unique rocking chair with lumbar support!