Final Project Prototype

The final project really came together when assembling the last exterior components. I acquired a great quality white acrylic board and a thin sheet. The acrylic board was used to form the solid exterior casing around the electronic components and the thin sheet was placed over the LCD Matrix to diffuse the light in an aesthetically pleasing way.

I first created the box layout in Illustrator by measuring the dimensions of the LCD Matrix and providing the appropriate margins of space to fit the electronic components. Added holes for the LCD Matrix opening and power cord insertion. 

A case generator was used to create the edge mounting pattern on the initial case, with further edits made in Adobe Illustrator

I tested the above layout by laser cutting the vector on cardboard to measure the dimensions and ensure that the settings would be correct for the final laser cutting process. I then used the white acrylic and dialed up the settings to the recommended ones to cut through the acrylic. The first laser cutting went perfectly so luckily there was no trial and error process there.

The thin sheet was mounted to the LCD Matrix using 4 spaced out dots of hot glue. The dots were placed strategically to provide the most even stretch for the material without crumpling. I started to assemble the front and sides of the acrylic casing using a hot glue lining. I placed the LCD Matrix in the center of the assembly and mounted it using hard cardboard spacers. The spaces were calibrated perfectly so that the LCD Matrix would sit in the exact center of the acrylic assembly. Hot glue was generously applied to the hard cardboard spacers to finalize their placement. 

In order to increase the durability of the external parts, I hot glued the thicker part of the power cable to the power cable hole, ensuring that it would exit the assembly at an exact perpendicular angle.

The videos below show the product in action, using A and F line data from the West 4th Station.