Scaling Project
Team Members:
Alex Banares
Travis DeHope
Jessica Mataka
Composition:
The item our group chose to create a scaled version of is a portable Bose
speaker. The dimensions of the original speaker measured 24.2cm X 12.7cm X 4.3cm
(height X length X depth). We wanted to challenge ourselves by proportionally
increasing the dimensions of the speaker by a multitude of 3. The dimensions of our
finished product were 72.6cm X 38.1cm X 12.9cm, respectively. There were several
subtler details that needed to be included to create an accurately scaled version of
the original speaker. These subtle details included the Bose emblem located on the
upper, front face of the speaker whose letters originally measured .5cm X 2.5cm
(height X length). We increased the measurements three fold to 1.5cm X 7.5cm,
respectively. The emblem was printed on a small black tab measuring 1.5cm X
3.2cm (height X width), which we increased to 4.5cm X 9.6cm. Another detail was a
silver border that ran along the far left and right sides of the front surface of the
speaker around the top and down the backside of the speaker, ending at the bottom
edge. The silver borders measured 4mm in width around the front side and 6mm in
width around the backside. We increased these measurements to 12mm and 18mm,
respectively. Navigation buttons located on the top of the speaker originally
measured 3.5cm X 2cm (length X width), which we scaled to 10.5cm X 6cm. There
was a distance of 1mm located between each of the seven navigation buttons, which
we scaled to 3mm on our enlarged version. A glossy black strip on the top surface
encases the buttons on either side and spans the length of the speaker. The glossy
strip measured 1.3cm in width along the edge that meets the front surface of the
speaker and 1.5cm along the edge that meets the back surface. We increased these
measurements to 3.9cm and 4.5cm, respectively. In attempt to create the most exact
scaled replica possible we also included the small holes located on the bottom of the
speaker that measured 1cm in diameter. We increased these measurements to 3cm
in diameter. Below you will find a summarized version of the information listed
above in a table format to facilitate understanding.
Item
Original Size
Scaled Size (3X)
Speaker
24.2cm X 12.7cm X 4.3cm 72.6cm X 38.1cm X12.9cm
Bose emblem text
.5cm X 2.5cm
1.5cm X 7.5cm
Bose emblem tab
1.5cm X 3.2cm
4.5cm X 9.6cm
Silver border (front, back) 4mm, 6mm
12mm, 18mm
Navigation buttons
3.5cm X 2cm
10.5cm X 6cm
Distance between buttons 1mm
3mm
Black strip (front, back)
1.3cm, 1.5cm
3.9cm, 4.5cm
Holes on button
1cm
3cm
Materials:
Materials used to complete this project were cardboard, black poster board,
duct tape, a white colored pen and a box cutter.
Method:
We began by measuring the dimensions of the speaker as a whole and then
we multiplied our measurements by 3 to get the new dimensions four our enlarged
version. We then annotated the measurements on our cardboard and cut out the 6
surfaces that comprised the structure of our box. Next we began to measure and
convert the smaller details beginning with the Bose emblem and tab. Then we
measured the front/back silver border and top, glossy border, followed by the
navigation buttons, the spaces between them and finally, the holes on the bottom.
For some of the smaller details, the width alone was the sufficient for scaling. For
example, when measuring the distance between the navigation buttons, we didn’t
need to measure the length because we had already put into place the two glossy
black borders that encompass either side of the buttons.
Conclusion:
Overall this was a very engaging and interesting assignment to complete. We
quickly saw that it was important to be precise in our measurements and cutting or
else other aspects of the scaled replica can become easily skewed in effect. It is also
interesting to consider that if our scaled version increased three fold in weight, to
accompany it’s new dimensions, it would no longer be considered a portable
speaker.