Laser Cut Mini Table and Chair

For this project, I wanted to make a wooden press fit toy table and chair. My intention for this design was to be a gift for my friend because she loves displaying her figurines! I was proud of the outcome because the pieces fit properly on my first try laser cutting with the kerfs, and the process helped me improve my Fusion skills. This project definitely taught me the importance of parameters and constraints.

The reading was very interesting in how we can differ from traditional design methods and incorporate nature as a designer. While assembling my pieces, I thought about the wood and its flexibility, but also its strength. According to the reading, "We aren’t forcing materials into place and we aren’t fighting the forces of the environment. We are listening as much as we are telling the materials what to do." Especially in press fit, the materials work together to create a cohesive piece. I have never done press fit, but I really enjoyed this experimental process. I liked how there were no other materials involved in order to keep the pieces in place. Rather than being top-down, designers must be willing to adapt to the environment, their materials, and other factors. In the future, I hope to explore and work with different materials to highlight their unique qualities.

Materials

1. 1/8 in plywood
2. Paint brush
3. Brown paint

Programs/Equipment

1. Laser cutter
2. Fusion
3. Inkscape/Illustrator

I started this project sketching out a table with fun legs and a chair to go with it in my sketch book. I planned for the table to be 3 inches in diameter and 3 inches tall. For the chair, I wanted it to be short so that it would be a good size for my friend's sonny angel. I decided to make the seat 1 inch off the ground. I took into account the size of the joints which would eventually be 1/8 inch.

In Fusion, I began designing the table. I based the measurements off of a play table and chair set that I found on Amazon. I made sure to parameterize the plywood and the other measurements. The holes of the legs were easily spaced out by using the circular pattern tool. I had difficulty ensuring the legs were symmetrical due to its shape, but I was able to accomplish my vision by using many construction lines. While designing each piece of the table and chair, I ensured to make a separate component as shown by the different colors above. Each piece would eventually fit together with joints that would interlock with each other. After designing each piece, they were extruded to the size of the wood (1/8 inch) to ensure each piece would fit together.

The greatest difficulty that I encountered was having to adjust my design to a different wood size. Although I made parameters for the majority of the measurements, I forgot to add some constraints. So, when I had to change the value of ply from 1/16 inch to 1/8 inch, it caused some of the parts of my design to shift in awkward directions as shown above. Ultimately, I was able to fix this by adding more constraints and adjusting some measurements. The slot for the top of the chair was shifted slightly off center. I used the arrange tool to arrange my 3D design onto a flat 6x8 inch surface so that I could export the cut out pieces.

I exported my design layout into Inkscape by using the cutting tool in Fusion so that it could be sent to the Makerspace laser cutter. I laser cut the pieces at the Makerspace with a kerf value of 0.25 to make sure the pieces fit properly in place. Although I initially planned to create two chairs to go with the table, a piece of one of the chairs snapped during transportation. In the future, I hope to print an extra chair backing to finish the second chair.

I assembled the table and chair by interlocking the pieces together. Additionally, I painted the table and chair a dark brown color!