The Final Model

Here is the front view of the finished model. As you can see i went with chopsticks as they are mush more rigid than straws so can handle being tightened together to lock in place.

In this picture we can see the "tennis racket" string tightening system which locks the chopsticks in place when needed.

This shows the grid structure I created to hold the chopsticks in place and to stop them from dragging on each other when pushed.

And finally the model in action, the chopsticks take the shape of whatever pushed them.

The unforseen errors

My first attempt at just putting all the chopsticks into the frame brought up the problem that when you push one the others next to it are pulled by friction. I will need to develop a grid to seperate the chopsticks so that this does not happen.

The grid is working great but my tightening method with the bolts is not working so I think I will try something similar to the strings on a tennis racket to get a more even tightening.

Revised Costing Plan

I have decided that chopsticks will work much better than straws and will be much cheaper than wire. These will cost $20 for 500 pairs. In addition to the nails I will need bolts, spring washeres, wing nuts and regular washers. These will cost around $16 all up. This gives me a new total of $60.

The Straw Mould

I decided to go with Idea 3 as it best represents what a class is and does. I am going to try a quick build with the straws and see how that works but am thinking I might need a different material. Perhaps chopsticks or wire.

A cost list for this will be as follows.

Straws x 1000 = $4
Wood for frame = free
Nails = $4

Total $8

Also my Timeplan;

I wish to have tried the straw mould by the end of the week to know what final materials i am going to work with. I then will finish the proper mould within that weekend to ensure I have time to work out any unforseen errors in my plan.

Idea 3

My third and final idea is to make a mould out of a frame and straws. The straws being in a grid pattern and when you push them the ones you touch slide back creating a handprint. This will be locked by tightening them somehow and then putty can be put into this handprint to make a casting of it.

Idea 2

My second idea  was to use some sort of silly putty as a reuseable mould that can have someone's hand imprinted in it. I could then have something else that you put into this to get a cast of your hand. There is no real way to lock the putty in place between different hands however so it probably won't work so well.

Class Idea 1

For my first idea I want to try something with a camera that takes a photo when it recognizes a face (the variable). When the picture is taken this is the blueprint and it can be printed off representing the object made when it is called on.