Main Project Final Report: Part 1
I had a design change for the main project. My original design was for a remote controlled automated horse jump. While the idea and design were great, the necessity and inspiration for the jump faded, and the lack of storage for such a large item was the primary reason for the design change.
The main project ended up being a puppy palace. The aesthetics for the project were chosen to match a French Bulldog puppy and chosen to be Louis XVI/French palatial.
Other aesthetics that were considered include:
Colonial
The colonial aesthetic would work for a different breed and person (e.g. English Bulldog), but it does not fit as well for the French bulldog breed and my personal love with bling.
Modern
The modern aesthetic is very nice, and if the space were modern I would have possibly chosen this. One contention with modern aesthetics is that it is often cold and uninviting so for a puppy, especially one which is bred for and loves cuddling, the aesthetic would have to be carefully done to be functional.
Organic
The organic aesthetic is very nice, and I potentially would have chosen this too. It is less original and specific to the breed and less portable given the natural materials needed to meet the aesthetic.
Mechanics of the Project
The mechanics of the project include designing and constructing a Louis XVI aesthetically styled gate. The materials were procured from the garden supply section of Home Depot due to cost, time, and availability.
The following is a picture of the French palace of Versailles the gate was inspired by.
The scale of the gate and design attributes were to keep the gate small for a miniature size French puppy, easily portable and to use the space available. The gate is in lieu of a crate which is not aesthetically pleasing, difficult to gain full access to for cleaning and playing with the puppy, and difficult to move.
The gate is similar in design function as the popular baby gate which are often used for similar spaces in which the walls of a room or space are used. Baby gates uses tension and are difficult and time consuming to open and close and not aesthetically pleasing. They are also large for the scale of a small mini puppy.
Other more advanced baby gates with swinging doors are too wide for the specific space and also not aesthetically pleasing. The bottom rail of these gates is also a tripping hazard for a small puppy which may also be reluctant to jump over it.
The design focused on a modifiable design to match the width of the space, the small scale of the puppy, aesthetics, and portability.
50″ Wide
3 lb 6 oz puppy
Three sides closed, so a gate is all that is necessary.
The gate materials were researched and the following design was completed:
The side gate is two pieces and one goes on each side of the pillar in the space it was designed for.
The dynamic motion of the gate was originally designed to use a remote controlled actuator; however, the size of the actuator was too large to meet the aesthetics and design without modifications of the pillars. The modifications would have required filling the pillars with concrete to establish a heavy and rigorous base to attach the weight of the actuator. The design change would not meet the portability criteria of the original design which takes precedence since the intention of the gate is only for use while the puppy is young (approximately two months).
The gate was attached using small hinge brackets and screws. They were purchased from McGuckins and in gold to meet the aesthetic. The diameter of the bracket had to be enlarged slightly to fit the gate and move freely. A small, gold latch attachment was used to secure the gate in place. The latch did not need to be over-designed for heavy loads since the puppy is small and the small scale worked perfect. The latch was attached to the bottom of the pillar instead of the middle to prevent something which a puppy could catch itself on or scratch itself.
The mechanics of the gate design worked well and met the aesthetic and the design change was successful.