F A B R I C A T E ENGINEER D E S I G N
PORTFOLIO
MICHAEL THOMAS
I’m a jack of all trades and a king of none, with a few aces up my sleeve. In this portfolio you will find examples of my work, skills, and talents. These range from drafting and engineering, to joinery and machining. I enjoy all aspects of design and fabrication and have an affinity for detail. I have worked on many scales ranging from 3D-printing small parts to monthslong installations in brand new museums. I love and care about my work and hope you find some interesting things while thumbing through the next few pages.
Enjoy,
Michael Thomas
FABRICATE
DESIGN ENGINEER
SELF-INDEXING ‘TRILONS’
ALL TRILONS WERE CONSTRUCTED FROM 3/4” PLY WITH DIRECT PRINT TEXT AND GRAPHICS.
‘TRILONS’ ROTATE ON A HARDENED SHAFTS AND TWIN SETS OF MOUNTED BEARINGS. DISKS WITH LOCATED MAGNETS OF ALTERNATING POLARITY INDEX EACH ‘TRILION’ FOR EASY VIEWING.
Photo courtesy of Pacific Studio.
Location: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, WA.
ROV ARCADE GAME
IMMERSIVE ROV SIMULATORS HOUSED IN TWIN THEMED CABINETS APROX, 4’X8’X9’ COMPLETE WITH DEEP VIEWING PORTS AND A CONVEX BODY.
ARCADE CABINETS MODELED USING A COMBINATION OF RHINO AND SOLIDWORKS SOFTWARES. CUT-FILES DEVELOPED IN ASPIRE AND CUT ON A 4’X8’ CNC ROUTER.
FRAME WORK WAS ASSEMBLED AND THEN SKINNED WITH BENDING PLYWOOD, MDF TRIM, AND FAUX BOLT HEADS.
STEEL PIPE STRUCTURE DEVELOPED IN SOLIDWORKS. SHOP DRAWINGS WERE SENT OUT TO A METAL FABRICATION SHOP.
Location: COSI, Columbus, OH.
ROV INTERACTIVE
FULLY OPERABLE SUBMERSIBLE ROV LOCATED IN A THEMED 30’ x 13’ DIVE TANK.
OPERATORS NAVIGATE A SUNKEN SAILING SHIP VIA TWO MONITORS WITH REAL TIME FEEDS FROM BOTH AN ONBOARD CAMERA AND A STATIC OVERHEAD VIEW.
CHASSIS DESIGNED AND MODELED IN SOLID WORKS WITH ALL ONBOARD ELECTRONICS AND THRUSTERS.
CALCULATED AND TUNED FOR NEUTRAL BUOYANCY WITH ANTI-ROLLOVER AIR BLADDERS AND BALLAST WEIGHTS, ALL WHILE BEING FULLY MODULAR AND ACCEPTING OFF-THE-SHELF THRUSTERS AND SUBMERSIBLE LIGHTS FOR EASY REPAIRS.
ALL CUT FILES FOR MARINE BOARD AND ALUMINUM ELEMENTS CREATED IN ASPIRE AND THEN CNC ROUTED.
Location: COSI, Columbus, OH.
FITNESS KIOSKS
A COLLECTION OF HEALTH AND FITNESS KIOSKS CENTERED AROUND INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPANT STATS LOGGING AND TRACKING.
KIOSKS BUILT WITH BLACK STEEL PIPE AND FITTINGS WITH SOLID MAPLE FURNISHINGS SUCH AST THE BUTCHER BLOCK BENCH AND MAPLE MONITOR BACKINGS SHOWN. AND ELEMENTS OF BRAKE-FORMED STAINLESS STEEL.
LIT NUMERICAL SIGNS WERE MILLED FROM MARINE BOARD TO HOUSE EDGE
LIT RED ACYRIC NUMBERS AND ARROWS.
ALL CNC MACHINING, MAPLE GLUE-UPS AND FINISHING AS WELL AS THE PIPE CONSTRUCTION WERE DONE BY MYSELF. STAINLESS ELEMENTS WERE DRAFTED BY ME AND SENT OUT FOR BRAKE FORMING AND LASER ETCHING.
COSI MOSS WALL
COSI LOGO CNC CUT FROM SINTRA (EXPANDED PVC FOAM) SHEETS.
FRAME IS SOLID MAPLE MILLED AND DADO JOINT FOR THE BIRCH PLY BACKING AND CONCEALED FRENCH CLEAT. (MOSS DESIGN AND APPLICATION CARRIED OUT BY PLANTHROPHY).
Background photo and render courtesy of COSI.
Location: COSI, Columbus, OH.
TRAN FER TATION INTERACTIVE
INTERACTIVE FRONT LOADER I PU HED FORWARD ON A TRACK AND ARTICULATING BUCKET DROP INTO LOADING HOLE
COMPACTER CAN BE PU HED FORWARD AND LIDING GRAPHIC IMULATE TRA H
COMPACTION
DE IGN AND CUT FILE PRODUCED IN RHINO
MIXED MATERIAL CON TRUCTION
TACKED MDF CULPTED ELEMENT
PLYWOOD PEDE TAL ON CA TER
TEEL RI ER
MARINE BOARD TEEL INTERACTIVE ELEMENT
OURCED LINEAR AND THRU T BEARING
Photo courtesy of Pacific Studio.
Location: North Transfer Station, Seattle, WA.
CITY VIEW
IGN: PAINTED AND EALED PLYW D WITH INTRA GRAPHIC ARCHWAY: PAINTED AND EALED PLYW D WITH LA INATED HARD W D
BENT F R
C L N & BENCHE : PAVING T NE AND CEDAR P T
Background photo courtesy of COSI.
Location: COSI, Columbus, OH. MORE SIGNS
ELECTROETCHING AND BLADE WORKS
The hatchets pictured here are inexpensive hardware store purchases but have been polished and then crafted by hand scratching a design in a spray paint mask or adorned with a vinyl sticker, and then finally engraved using an electroetching process.
The small four finger style blades were cut and ground from recycled saw blades and then crudely hardened and heat treated. Sheaths were made from Kydex or leather. Though they are not the best pieces of cutlery they have been fun to make and over all a successful series of experiments.
