FabLab Academy 2012
Manchester Lab
David Forgham-Bailey
Week 1: Final Project Proposal
I have always been fascinated by mechanical toys and models. Recently
I've become
interested in Ventriloquism.
For my final project I propose to bring these two passions together
with the design and
manufacture an old style ventriloquist dummy.
I will attempt to use as many of the processes available in FabLab in
it's manufacture - so
the final design will unfold alongside the course.
My initial designs were discovered during a web search. My research had
taken me to the
website of a place I had known well but hadn't visited for about 20
years. It's called
'Cabaret Mechanical Theatre' and used to be in Coventry Garden in
London.
Here's a sketch I found as a free download of a human mechanical figure.
and another:
These schematics incorporate most of the features I intend to include
in the final
design.
Features to be included:
Hand held - looks like stage ventriloquist dummy
(Hand held head/Separate body)
Head features:
Moving mouth
Moving eyes
Moving eyelids
Moving eyebrows
Additional features:
Remote control
Manual control
Articulated body