# My Senior Capstone: CNC Flatpack Furniture



## jpanichella (Jul 14, 2011)

Hey guys,

I posted here a while ago with my previous project, a lounge chair made from laminated plywood. The results can be seen here:

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f9/design-student-bent-plywood-lounge-chair-project-28027/

You guys were a huge help and I enjoyed having your feedback.

This project is a little different, an entrepreneurial effort that is more a design project than a craft project.

You guys may be familiar with the site Ponoko (http://www.ponoko.com). It's a service that has material in stock, and uses CNC machines and Laser Cutters to create 2 dimensional parts that they ship. My goal is to utilize this site to create a small line of furniture that can be bought and sold online, and shipped direct.

I came across a method of perforating materials to create flex points, with the intention of bringing curves to flat pack furniture. My first experiment was using baltic birch plywood and pattern to create curves, and it works really great!














































This is just the beginning though, I'll keep updating this with pictures.


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## mdntrdr (Dec 22, 2009)

Very cool! :thumbsup:


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## jpanichella (Jul 14, 2011)

I had a chance to hop on the mill and make a second prototype. I wanted to try to utilize the springiness of the hinge to make an active seating component. My intention was to have it be sprung forward and "give" when you lean back. Instead, the hinge wanted to lay flat (should've figured). I took a quick video to show you the potential springiness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrRr9YzJqLI&feature=youtu.be


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## park83 (Jan 24, 2012)

That is awesome!

I'd love to have a CNC router...


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## Boss O' The Shop (Mar 21, 2012)

WOW...great design. You have a good eye!


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*hinge?*

I'm trying to figure out the hinge and how much it actually moves. It doesn't seem to have enough movement to justify it's complexity. The original laminated chairs had a lot of spring in the backs and were kind of fun to test the limits of the material..... :thumbdown: bill


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## jpanichella (Jul 14, 2011)

The hinge was just a fun little project to show off the living nature of the hinge, but I agree, it's overly complex and would probably fail over time. Curiosity got the best of me so I had to try it. I'm not sure which direction I'm going to take it now, but I'll keep this thread updated. 

Here's a quick video I put together for a class (I would have preferred to finalize a design before making a video, but I'm not in charge of the due dates).


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## jpanichella (Jul 14, 2011)

Hey guys,

I just had my final crit today. My furniture will be on sale soon, check it out at:

www.builtbybots.com


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## autre (Jul 12, 2011)

Genius.


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