Prototype

Mechanism

The core idea of the prototype’s mechanism was drawn from the seesaw mechanism, which places the fulcrum in the middle of a bar. When force is applied at one end of the bar, the other end moves in a opposite direction of the force applied.

Similar to this, each petal was joined to a circular core piece that will serve as the fulcrum. The fulcrum was near to the top end of the petal rather than at the middle. The centre piece was coupled to a servomotor using a gear mechanism, which will move the centre piece up and down, and thin string was attached at the top board to the top end of the petal at a fixed length.

The centre component will exert pressure on the string that is fixedly linked to each petal through the top board and draw the top end of the petal inward as the servomotor pushes it downward, causing the flower shape to open.

The stress applied on the string will be released as the centre piece is dragged upward by the servomotor, causing the shape to return to its closed position under the influence of gravity.

Petal Shape

A thin MDF sheet was used as a centre support for the petal shape, which will then be attached to the flower’s centre piece and the mechanism.

Petal shape was first 3D printed, and then all dimensions were measured using paper with horizontal lines marked at equal distances and then it was transferred in CAD for laser cutting the final design with wood bending pattern.