Alexander Litzlbauer D&T Process Journal and Portfolio by Alexander Litzlbauer

Cardboard Chair Project

s2238_3 — 2024-09-19 11:20:08 UTC

Here is a bottom view of the cardboard chair. You can clearly see the amount of pieces me and my partner used (6 pieces). You can also see that each of the pieces were stuck together using laser-cut openings according to the width of the cardboard piece.

Design Display Project

s2238_3 — 2024-10-09 10:41:35 UTC

Here is the first sketch I did for the display project. You can clearly see that I had the idea of having lights on the top lid projecting at the object being displayed so people would see it better. Underneath the lid would be all the wires for the lights and there would be a hole in the wall where the wire would go through and be connected to an outlet.

Design Display Project

s2238_3 — 2024-10-09 10:44:03 UTC

Here is the second sketch of the display. While trying to remove the lid, my teacher told me that I somehow have to hide the light strips as they do not look that good. So I had the idea to make a triangle structure out the frame beneath the lid, where the light strips would be installed on them, shining right at the product being displayed. This idea of the angled lights reminded me of a showstage. The lights would also be angled, shining right towards the person performing.

Design Display Project

s2238_3 — 2024-10-09 10:48:14 UTC

Here you can see the inside of the pre-built display. To install the light strips, I had to first remove the top lid to get access to the insides to put the wires. During the lid removal process, the lid broke so I have to make a new one out of thin plywood.

Design Display Project

s2238_3 — 2024-10-09 10:50:58 UTC

Here you can see I am experimenting of how the platform where the Design will be sitting on will look like. After I removed the lid, I took a scrap piece of cardboard (it surprisingly had the right size of the width of the display) and put it inside. To make the lid more stable, I probably have to add a new framework below as I am using the old one for the light strips.

Design Display Project

s2238_3 — 2024-12-06 06:48:55 UTC

Here you can see that I made and finished a new frame for the display. I removed the previous one as it wasn't perfect. The pieces weren't the same length and there were gaps everywhere. First, I meassured the side length on only one side with a ruler. I then put the meassurement on scrap wood and cut two pieces off. They were the correct length for both sides. For the other sides, I also meassured the full length. However, because the finished frames took off space on the cornes, I had to meassure the frames and subtract both corners from the full length. Then I took that length, put on scrap wood and cut it out. To put the frame in place, I hammered everything in with nails into the old holes.

Design Display Project

s2238_3 — 2024-12-06 06:53:55 UTC

When building the frame, I noticed that the long frame pieces weren't actually long enough so they would touch the upper and down frame. So I had the idea to make a filling. I took 4 pieces of scrap wood. I meassured the hight from the long frame to the edge of the side. I then meassured the height of the upper frame and subtracted it from the full height length. This meassurement showed how tall the scrap wood has to be. I put the meassurement on the wood and cut it. I then put it into its designated place and glued it with wood glue. Each corner didn't use the same meassurement. Each long frame was it's own length so I had to repeat the previous step 4 more times but with different lengths. When every piece was done, they were glued onto the frames, the upper frame was put on the fillings and hammered into place.

Design Display Project

s2238_3 — 2024-12-06 07:02:31 UTC

Here you can see the cut I used to make each each frame into a pyramid structure, and that each corner perfectly fit into each other. How I did it was, I meassured the length of the base until one of the foldings, took that length onto the side and marked it with a pencil so there would be a square now. Then, I would take a ruler and mark a diagonal line on the square. Where the line ended, I marked another line. Starting from the end of the line onto the side. If you then fold everything the frame into a triangle, the end would be like a puzzle piece as it will perfectly stick together with another piece cut like this one.

Design Display Project

s2238_3 — 2024-12-06 07:18:24 UTC

Here you can see I finished one of the frames where the LED lights will go on. Previously, I showed the cut that I used to make these edges on the frame. It turned out to work out perfectly. How I made this frame was, I took the cardboard, meassured, flipped onto the brown side as there I will be adding the folds because on the white I will paint. I meassured out the folds, folded the cardboard I couple times and made the folds a bit better using one of the tools used for clay modelling. When the folding was done, I used the method previously mentioned to cut the ends. When that was done, I folded the frame into its designated shape and used tape to make it hold. I placed the tape on the gap so it wouldn't be exposed when the display is finished. I repeated this 4 times.

Design Display Project

s2238_3 — 2024-12-06 07:28:36 UTC

Here you can see that I am experimenting with the lid using a scrap model I made. I used scrap cardboard as the lid and made some test frames where the LED lights will go on. In the corners you can see how I used tape to attach the frames onto the lid, but it didn't really turn out to look good. On the right you can see that I painted the frame and lid with black paint. Here I experimented to see how the lid and frames will look like with paint.

Design Display Project

s2238_3 — 2024-12-06 07:34:26 UTC

Here you can see that I finished the final lid for my display. The only thing left was painting the whole thing black and attaching it onto the actual display. How I attached the frames onto the lid was using white glue. I put onto the bottom of each frame and pressed it onto the lid for several minutes. I repeated this step for the remaining frames. You can also see how the cuts on the ends on the frames mentioned previously are stuck together perfectly. There are some gaps but it was fine. Later on I could cover them using tape. I couldn't make a picture of the lid as it was done cutting. I don't specifically know how this type of wood is called but what I did was, I meassured every side of the display, marked the side lengths using a pencil onto this wood, and cut the final piece out using the scroll saw.

Design Display Project

s2238_3 — 2024-12-06 07:37:59 UTC

Here you can see that I finished painting the frames on the lid. You might wonder why I didn't paint the actual lid. This is because when you paint this type of wood completely, I will become soggy and kind of bend inward, making it not look good. So instead, I only painted the frames. My class thought about how we could paint this specific wood and thought that if you could maybe add a layer of tape on it. We are still experimenting however.

Update: I forgot to take a photo of the finished painted top lid. Heres how I made it. After experiment for some time to paint the lid, we found out that spray paint works the most, and wouldn't really sog the lid up. So, we took a can of black spray paint, went outside with our masks and started painting. I first added one layer of spray paint, waited a couple of minutes and added the second layer. However, I added too much layers and the lid started to bend inward. Luckily, I fixed this problem when I hammered the lid on the display.

Design Display Project

s2238_3 — 2025-01-17 08:14:14 UTC

Here you can see the holes I drilled into the top of the display and into the side of the display. Before attaching the LED lights and re-painting, I forgot to drill the holes into the side and top for the wires. So this was quite a problem. So, I had to drill into the side and top which ruined the fresh paint, then add the wires through ther holes and attach the LED lights.

Design Display Projct

s2238_3 — 2025-01-17 08:26:28 UTC

Here is a top of view of the display. in the top left you can see the hole I drilled for the LED wires. You can also notice the LED lights attached on the sides of the frames. You can also notice that the paint of the lid itself is kind of scrappin off. This is because I drilled into lid which made some of the paint to come off. While I drilled I also had to lay the display down on it's side which also made some of the paint come off. This is a problem but it was my fault as I forgot to drill before repainting the box. The process of making this was, I drilled into the top and side as mentioned above, took the wires of the LED strips and fit them through the holes (the LED lights a were a massive struggle. At the beginning the wires broke off so myself and I teacher had to fix it. Then the remote that controls the lights wasn't working correctly so I had to experiment with it to get the correct colors and finally, if you would bend the wires not even one degree, the color would change). Then when the wires were through, I meassured how long each side of each frame is where the lights will go on. I then combined each length which game the total length of how long the light strip should be. I then cut it off and attached it with the sticky tape below the LED's by removing a plastic foil.

Design Display Project

s2238_3 — 2025-01-17 08:35:11 UTC

Here is the final side view of the display. Before, the sides were lacking paint as it came off when I drilled the holes for the LED lights. When the light strips were finally done, I had to repaint. I took a big scrap piece of paper and laid it on the floor so the paint wouldn't drip on the floor. I took a roller for painting. I took the plastic container thing where the paint will go in (I forgot the name of the it), and insered some drops of black paint inside. I took the roller, dipped it into the paint and started painting/rolling around the sides of the display, covering the places where the paint came off. The small places that couldn't really be reached with the roller, especially the places around the frame and holes were previously the nails were in. I took a small brush and used it to paint the small spots. After that, the display only had to dry off.

Design Display Project

s2238_3 — 2025-01-17 08:45:47 UTC

Here is the final completed design display in action. The lights are working correctly, shining directly on the design being displayed (the designs currently being displayed are projects of D&T 1). The battery and remote controlling the lights are attached at the back of the display. This was made with velcrow. I took a roll of velcrow and cut out 4 pieces. I glued 2 pieces onto the display using hot glue, and the other 2 pieces onto the battery and remote itself, also using hot glue. The whole project took around 2-3 months in total. However, the project turned out be a success.

Screen Printing

s2238_3 — 2025-03-13 07:51:01 UTC

Here, I was sketching some ideas I could screen print. You can easily see that I want to screen print my nickname. I experimented with different fonts, one with blocky letters, one with square letters and angled, and the final one with just blocky letters. This design is the one I went with.

Screen Printing

s2238_3 — 2025-03-13 07:54:26 UTC

Here you can see that I completed my first screen print. The design was made through Adobe Illustrator, using the shape tool and merging them together. It was then laser-cutted on a thick paper. When it was completed, I screen printed it but I slid the black color over the paper multiple times and this caused the desugn to be wavy. Next time I only have to draw over the color once to not make it wavy.

Screen Printing

s2238_3 — 2025-03-18 09:08:56 UTC

Here, you can see a much better attempt of screen printing my nickname. In Adobe Illustrator, I made the design a bit smaller so less ink would be needed. It was then laser-cutted on a thinner paper than before. When it came to the printing, I used less ink so the wavy patterns wouldn't come back. I then coated the ink over the design and it came out much better than before. The design wasn't wavy and no ink ran out of the sides. However, I used to less ink and couldn't coat the design completely, resulting in th missing spots. Next time I have to use a bit more ink but not too much.

Screen Printing

s2238_3 — 2025-03-18 09:12:16 UTC

Here, I wanted to add a picture of my design on Adobe Illustrator but for some reason, the file deleted itself and isn't there anymore. How I made my design is, I used to the shape tool to create different kinds of rectangles. I then put them together to form the letters you can see in my nickname. But because they had lines merging together, I merged all shapes together using the merge tool to form actual letters and not combined rectangles.

Screen Printing

s2238_3 — 2025-03-26 09:46:44 UTC

After completing our Design Period presentations, where I chose the Space Age Design period, we now have to make our own screen print design using elements from our chosen period. Here, you can see I sketched an idea which is a rocket. The rocket is inspired by an old comic/cartoon called, "The Adventures of Tintin". The comics were made during the 1950s, meaning the author must have gotten some inspiration from the Space Race. The rocket is tall and has curved lines. It also has a checkered pattern in the middle. The color of the rocket is normally red not grey.

Ergonomics

s2238_3 — 2025-05-12 06:07:32 UTC

Here I made two sketches of my ideas to make the broom longer for taller people to use. My idea was to make a extential holder that will be slid into the hole on top of the broom stick. If for example a taller person wants to use the broom, they can take this holder and stick it in. If a shorter person wants to use it, they can just remove this holder and use it without any problems.

Ergonomics

s2238_3 — 2025-05-12 06:32:17 UTC

Heres the sketch I did for the first prototype holder for making the broom longer. What I did was, I took a ruler and meassured the diameter of the broom stick that's too short and meassure the diameter of the hole inside the broom stick. On this sketch, I only added the dimensions of the attachment on this sketch.

Ergonomics

s2238_3 — 2025-05-12 16:31:54 UTC

Here I took a picture of the actual problem. The main problem of this broom is that it is way too short for taller people to use, but is perfect for shorter people. That's why I had the idea to make a extential holder that can be removed. The holder would jusr stick into the hollow broom stick (the connection will be thick so it will be able to stick on perfectly) and can be removed when pulling.

Ergonomics

s2238_3 — 2025-05-12 16:52:30 UTC

Here is the first prototype extential holder I made with Fusion 360. I made a first sketch of a circle with a diameter of 2cm. I then extruded it to 20cm and made another sketch on top with a diameter of 1.5cm. This sketch would be the thing sticking inside the broom stick. I also extruded it but only to 3cm as the 3D printer maximum height was 25cm. When the holder was done printing, I tested it out but however, I made the connection part way to thin, so it barely stuck on and wiggled around all the time. Next time, I will make the connection more wider and probably make the holder a bit shorter to save printing plastic as these prints will be tests and not the actual extential broom holder.

Ergonomics

s2238_3 — 2025-05-15 08:02:19 UTC

Here is the second prototype of the extential broom stick made through Fusion 360. The process and dimensions I used were the same I used for making the first prototype, except the length of the broom stick which I made shorter to save plastic for printing and the dimater for the connection part which I increased to 17mm. When the print finished, I tested it out but found out that it also didn't fit into the hollow broom stick. The connection part was still to thin and made the extential part wiggle around. For the next prototype I have to either increase the diameter to 18mm or 19mm.

Ergonomics Research

s2238_3 — 2025-05-15 18:25:40 UTC

I found a website talking posture when sweeping and is really interesting when it comes to the ergonomics of a broom. The website says when sweeping, keep your upper arms close to your body, as if there were attached to your side and move the handle by moving your feet. According to the website, this will limit you turning and twisting your spine. You should keep proper posture of the spine and move through your legs. It also says, to avoid bending over all the time, sweep the dirt into dustpans that have a upright handle. You should also directly face your work by moving your feet.

Ergonomics

s2238_3 — 2025-05-20 10:33:26 UTC

This is the third prototype I made through Fusion 360. The process I used to make this prototype was the exact same process I used to make the previous prototype, except I made the connection part wider to 18mm to make the extential part actually stick into the hollow broom stick. However, when the part finished printing, the prototype still didn't work. This time, instead of sticking in poorly, it stuck in too much. It was way too diffiult putting the connection part inside, and when I actually managed to get it in, it was almost impossible pulling it out. This means, next itme have decrease the width to around 17.5-17.9mm.

Ergonomics

s2238_3 — 2025-05-20 10:39:13 UTC

This is the final prototype of the extential broom stick I made through Fusion 360. The process I used to make this prototype was the same I used to make all the other prototypes. The only change I made as said before, was to increase the width of the connection part. I increased to 17.9mm because the previous one which had a width of 18mm stuck on too perfectly and made it impossible to to put the stick in or out. Because the width 17.9mm works, my project is technically done. The only thing I have to do now is to increase the height of the broom stick so taller people can actually start using it.

Ergonomics

s2238_3 — 2025-05-22 07:39:33 UTC

This is the final extential broom stick I made through Fusion 360. This one I made using the same process as the prototype before, except making it longer to 20cm so taller people can actually start using it. When it finished printing, I sanded the connection part down a milimeter because it was still kind of difficult to insert and remove the extential broom stick. Now it is way easier to remove and insert it. Basically how to use it, if a taller person wants to use the broom but it is way too short for them, they can use this extential broom stick and put it into the hollow hole of the actual broom stick. Then they can use the broom without any problems. If a shorter person wants to use it later on, they can just remove extential broom stick and use the broom without any problems.