Jay Salter Proposal: Mixed Techniques

 Proposal Statement: I plan to make a game board/box that can store pieces inside it. I'm hoping to create a chess board using the CNC router and laser cutter as the primary game board by routing a base and then embedding acrylic pieces as the tiles. I will create the base and "container" part of the box using power tools to make it more sturdy and durable. For the game pieces, I am going to use the 3D printer and STL files of characters.

 

First sketch

Advise: I have discussed my ideas for this final project with Elizabeth, Shumyla, and Luke to work on brainstorming options. We discussed potential games that I could set up as game boards for my piece as well as how to handle storage for the game pieces. During the discussion, I shifted from my original idea of creating drawers in the base to creating more of a box that uses the game board as a lid. I also discussed my plan with Dr. T after I drew my sketches to make sure that the design would be feasible and appropriate for the assignment (specifically I asked about using pre-designed STL files for my game pieces).

Example of potential game pieces

Rough Game Plan:

I plan to start my project by creating a miniature version of the box out of cardboard or laser cut wood pieces just to get an idea of the scale and how the pieces will link together. After that, I plan to create the overall design in Fusion and separate out parts to make it easier to design each component on different tools. For fabrication, I plan to start with the power tool section as that should be the simplest area of construction and give me a good idea about whether or not the broader design will be successful. I then will move on to routing the first game board (the chess board) to create indents where the tiles will later lie. After completing this step, I will move onto the laser cutter where I can create the acrylic tiles. Throughout this process, I will be 3D printing the miniatures for my game pieces in order to best use my time efficiently. To finalize my piece, I want to engrave the sides using the laser cutter to add more detail.

Other miniature designs

Needs:

In terms of materials, I will need plywood to make the base of my game board/box, at least two sheets of wood to use with the laser cutter, two colours of acrylic for the tiles, and filament for the game pieces. Depending on how the design process goes for me, I may also use the metal coins I purchased to create other game pieces on the XTool. I'd be interested in potentially staining the wood of my game board/box, but that will be determined later on. 

Engravings for the sides

Elizabeth suggested a Scrabble board as an alternative gameboard, so I will keep this in mind as an option.