Sea-Go Bridge: Make It Bridge Prototype

Hi! My name is Madison Koo and I am a 16 year old sophomore at Staten Island Technical High School in Staten Island, New York. For this challenge, I designed a pedestrian bridge to merge the two sides of my school together in hopes of improving student life.

Autodesk Inventor

Resin Printer

The first step of my project was to find an area that would be improved with the implementation of a pedestrian bridge. As I was walking to one of my classes, I realized what a hassle it was to get from my Russian class on the third floor to my science class on the other side of the building. The journey to my classes had made me almost late more than once, and I realized the problem was that there was no efficient way for me to get from one end of the school to the other. So, I decided the best place for my bridge would be on the second floor of the school building in the middle of the "U." Not only would this shorten the route between classrooms, but it would also unclog the most congested hallway in the school by giving students more than one path to take.

Now that I knew where I wanted to build my bridge, I had to start the brainstorming process. I decided to make a roman/ Greek inspired stone bridge with arches and pillars. I didn't work out the specific details, but I had a general idea of what I wanted my bridge to look like.

After completing my brainstorming, I started building my bridge in Autodesk Inventor. I chose this program because it was what I was most comfortable with, having worked with it before. I first built the base of my bridge, a solid walkway wide enough for many students to pass through with ledges in the middle for optimal space. I noticed that many students in my school like to stop and talk to their friends in the middle of the hallway, so the ledge allots them a space to socialize without disrupting other students passing by. I also added arches through the base of the bridge, so cars that normally park in that area can still fit through.

Satisfied with the base of my bridge, I moved on with adding the supports to my structure. I added columns to support the roofs of my bridge and added molding to the tops and bottoms for aesthetics. There was a sufficient number of columns on each side to prevent the roofs from collapsing and the columns themselves were inspired by roman pillars. I created three roofs for the bridge, as the middle of the bridge protruded due to the ledge. The roofs were dome shaped and also contained molding for a pleasing design.

To make the bridge unique to my school, I embossed my school name onto the side of my bridge. Not only that, but to get into the school spirit, I added seagulls (our school mascot) to the side and crown molding to the arches. I did not want to make too many details for my bridge, since it would be tedious to clean and maintain.

Taking a close look at my bridge, it can be seen that the edge of the bridge is only a foot and a half high. This would pose a hazard, as students could easily fall off. Realistically, if this bridge was made, I would have added reinforced glass to the open areas and sides of the bridge in order to prevent any falls and accidents. A net could also be added around the bridge to further ensure safety. I decided not to add these factors in my CAD model because I felt it would hinder the visuals of the actual bridge body.

Once I finished my CAD model of the bridge, I set forward on 3D printing it. For my first 3D printing trial, I attempted to print the bridge in three different parts: the top, columns, and base. However, as I was printing the base, the base started lifting from the printer and I was unable to get an adequate print. So, I started over and tried printing the bridge in one piece. However, the 3D printer went crazy, and the print failed again! Finally, I got the bridge printed using a resin printer.

This is the final rendition of the pedestrian bridge along with the 3D printed model. Overall, it was a really fun project to work on, and I enjoyed making it.