For my project, I have built a scaled down replica of a record player with a motor driven turntable. The aesthetic choice I have gone with is a 70’s and 80’s rock and roll aesthetic. This aesthetic includes album artwork from Pink Floyd and Eddie Van Helen’s guitar one each side. I decided to make a record player because it is how the songs of the era were listened to. My two favorite Pink Floyd albums are “The Dark Side of the Moon” and “The Wall”. On the lid I painted the album art of “The Dark Side of the Moon” because this part of the project stands out the most when it is not in use. This is likely my favorite album of all time so having it be the centerpiece of my project was something that is meaningful to me. I really like the black background with the pop of color from the rainbow. I also think the black is a good contrast with the white and red of the main body.

Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” album artwork

Pink Floyd’s album “The Wall” is also something I wanted to include because I really enjoy the movie based on the album and the album includes what in my opinion is the greatest guitar solo ever on the song “Comfortably Numb”. To incorporate the album, I added a brick design into the CAD model to resemble the album artwork.I think that the 3-D brick design really adds an inportant aspect to the design that draws the eye of the viewer and makes the base less bland.

CAD model of 3-D printed record player

Finally, the black and white lines onto of the red background resemble the guitar that Eddie Van Halen used. He was the guitarist in the band Van Halen and who I consider the greatest guitar player of all time. I myself play guitar and he is someone I admire for his skill and creativity when it came to playing the guitar. This is most evident in Van Halen’s song “Eruption” which is basically just Eddie Van Halen showing off what he can do. I strive to one day play the guitar like he does which is why I wanted to honor him by adding his guitar design to the project.

Specifications:

1. The main specification that I have for my project is recognizability of the band aesthetics that I choose to include. The aesthetic is the main aspect of my project and will make the project more than just a record player replica. Being able to recognize what each design choice is supposed to represent will catch the eye of those who know the reference and will help tie together why I choose to make a record player as the “canvas” for these aesthetics.
2. For the moving component of my project I have decided to include a motor that will spin the vinyl . This aspect of my project is important for me to complete because it will add a little suprise to those who are seeing it for the first time. At first it will just look like a small record player model but once it begins to spin with variable speeds it will become something more that just an eye-catcher, but rather something to interact with too.
3. I want to add pops of color to draw the eye of the audience. I intend to use a prism to try to project a rainbow to resemble Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album cover. Adding LED lights is also a way I would like to accent some of these aesthetic choices as well. However, the LED’s ran into a supply chain issue and did not arrive in time for me to add them before this post.
4. I wanted to include a volume knob on the front of the project that can vary the speed of the spinning record to increase the interactive aspect of the project.
5. A lid that closes to protect the fragile pieces of the project while not in use while also adding to the accuracy of the replica of a record player.

From here I want to add the LED’s when they arrive in the mail to add more color to the inside of the project. I also want to make multiple model records to go on the turntable of more albums that I like from the 70’s and 80’s. Otherwise I am really happy with how this project turned out and it has made me more confident in my ability to manufacture my ideas!