Designer / Builder.
ALEX MULD
The Bridge coffee table is a college project that graces my living room to this day.
The center section of the table expands and contracts to meet a wide array of seating configurations making it flexible in both function and aesthetic.
OBJECTIVE
Six in three in one.
This open ended prompt was given by my fabrication and prototyping instructor of whom instructed us to design a device or object in which the prompt could be applied.
CONCEPT
When presented the above prompt I was inspired to modify a design I had conceptualized a few months prior after moving into a new apartment. The concept was a flexible coffee in which the center section could expand and contract to meet an array of seating configurations or activities. The C-shaped tabletop/base (A) contains the open-sided center section (B).
JUSTIFICATION
Six configurations, three storage compartments, one coffee table.
DESIGN
A simple push or pull and Bridge optimizes the function of any living room.
2
1
3
6
4
5
HOW IT WORKS
NYLON BALL TRANSFER X8
MECHANISM
The simplest and most cost-effective solution was pocketing a grid pattern into the base of the table. The bottom of the console sitting above it is fitted with eight flange ball transfer bearings allowing the console portion of the table to move freely across six different positions.
SMOOTH OPERATION
After testing the operation it was evident a modification had to made. The grid system pocketed into high density particle board which was too coarse for the ball transfers to move smoothly. Additionally, I suspected wear would occur that would contribute result to wood shavings which would further inhibit the mobility of the sections.
The solution: an acrylic inlay resting within the base of the grid system. I re-machined the grid system approximately 7mm deeper to accommodate the width of the acrylic sheet in order to maintain the proper clearances for the upper assembly.
RESULT
Six positions to accommodate any space or occasion.
ABOUT.
MATERIAL 1.
HIGH DENSITY PARTICLE BOARD
MATERIAL 2.
PLYWOOD
FINISH.
LAMINATE
