Mechanical Design
We started the mechanical design of Money Talks by brainstorming. After many ideas were thrown around, a quick concept was sketched roughly on paper. See below for the initial concept sketch.
Initial Concept Sketch
Next, the concept was modeled up in SolidWorks. The basic layout was placed in 3D space. The exact spacing and positioning of components was worked out. The overall dimensions were decided to be 3' tall, 2.5' wide, and 2' deep. See below for the dimensioned drawing showing relative scale.
Dimensioned Drawing
| Full Size PDF of Dimensioned Drawing |
Once the 3D modeling was complete, actual parts were made. 1/2" particle board was used for construction of the main housing. Boards were cut using the table saw and band saw. The boards were glued and screwed together to create a rigid heavy duty housing. This allowed it to be robust enough to handle abuse from users. Other parts were laser cut from Masonite. These included the title board, the game board regions, and the region select buttons. See below for photos of the mechanical design.
Roll over each photo for an explanation of the components. Click to see larger versions and browse through them.
Roll over each photo for an explanation of the components. Click to see larger versions and browse through them.
