https://vimeo.com/60366984

https://vimeo.com/60487798

Is alive, our video submission is there : https://vimeo.com/60475086

Because a little distraction is always welcomed!

Things are running smoothly, we are pretty happy with the doomsday machine, electronics and software are complete. Now assembling a full-size functional and structural prototype so we can do a final test before building the real chair! Here the workshop in fullswing, so we moved as well our livestream there!

We have built a structural engineering mock-up to test the strength of the joints for the self-destruct system. The chair’s joints are cast in wax as structural components.

We started with the idea of integrating small blast-charges of gunpowder in the joints, just big enough to crack the wood, but soon realized nobody would even want to sit on the chair!

Here a failed gunpowder test, we quickly all agreed to find another technique

Here preparing the casting, the chair itself is the mold, helped with some cardboard tubes.

Detail of the mold.

After casting, excited to see the result!

Unwrapping…

Quite a success! and looks pretty neat.

All cleaned out.

And the test!

The Deconstruction / Team Sugus / Engineering mock-up test #1 from thibault brevet on Vimeo.

It’s lunch break at team Sugus, delicious sandwiches. Now the fun begins, wax casting on the way, structural engineering mock up in the making and electronic prototyping is wiring!

Arduino to think, contact switch to detect a person seating, solenoid to hit the chair and signal number of seatings left, relay box to switch on the self-destruct system, all powered by a small RC battery for a lot of juice!