My design lab
Eight mechanisms, built one action at a time.
Each of my designs isolates a single tactile action and builds the smallest mechanism that delivers it. Six are printed and fit-tuned; two are fully modelled and waiting for my printer. Move your pointer over any model to work it, and open a design for its parts and files.
01 · Printed
Tri-Spin
Rotational fidget mechanism
A three-armed rotor on a fixed axle, with weighted ends that keep it turning.
02 · Printed
Clicker
Press-activated fidget mechanism
A plunger, a guide collar and a flexure leaf: one press, one click, back again.
03 · Printed
FocusSlide
Linear-motion fidget mechanism
A carriage that runs between two rails and two end stops.
04 · Printed
Grounding Pebble
Textured rotational fidget
A palm-sized shell with one textured thumb wheel set into its surface.
05 · Printed
FlexLink
Articulated fidget mechanism
Three rounded segments on two hinge pins that bend any way you like.
06 · Printed
RhythmDial
Indexed rotational fidget
A dial with twelve index marks and a detent pawl that makes every turn count.
07 · Modelled
SenseCube
Multi-interaction sensory device
Three mechanisms in one cube: a wheel on top, a slider on the side, a button on the front.
08 · Modelled
Gyroscopic Spinner
Multidirectional rotational fidget
Two rings on two pivots, turning independently in the hand.
02The method
Habit, mechanism, parts, print.
I follow the same four steps for every design, which is why the set reads as one body of work.
Step one
A habit
I start from something a hand already does: clicking a pen, turning a brick, running a thumb along an edge.
Step two
One mechanism
I reduce it to the smallest moving assembly that gives the same feeling, and name every part.
Step three
Parts, in Blender
I model the parts, then write a Python script that rebuilds and animates the assembly from primitives, so the logic is readable.
Step four
Print and tune
Print, fit, measure the clearances, reprint. I publish the files once the mechanism works.
6 designs printed · 2 modelled · all files CC BY 4.0