Project 1, Adjustable Platform for Tabletop Miniatures: Nathan Richter

Project 1: Adjustable Platform for Tabletop Miniatures

For project 1 I decided to design and laser cut an adjustable height platform for miniatures in tabletop games. Sometimes in tabletop games, participators need to keep track of miniature movement in all 3 dimensions, for instance, for flying or underwater encounters. These platforms allows miniatures to be placed up in the air, allowing one to easily keep record of their position, even if they're not on the same horizontal plane. Over the course of this project I constructed two prototypes of this adjustable platform, one made from wood and the other made from acrylic. I also attempted to make one from lexan, but the attempt was unsuccessful. I made one final tower from the wood and kept the acrylic as a final product.

I started the design process by brainstorming the basic construction of this platform. I knew I wanted a top plane where miniatures could be placed and a bottom plane which would provide stability for the platform. To adjust the height of the platform I knew I needed a central module which could stack on itself, allowing whatever height of tower to be constructed. After brainstorming, I moved to Fusion 360, where I started by defining a number of core parameters. These included: the thickness of the material, the width of the base, the width of the top and the width and height of each one of the central modules. I knew from early on I wanted to experiment with multiple materials included wood and a clear plastic (either lexan or acrylic) so I made sure to create the Fusion model entirely based on these core parameters, that way it was easy to move back and forth between materials. 

I spent the majority of the design time on the interlocking joints which connect the center modules to themselves and to the base and top. These joints were connected to the outside of the center module by two inserts. Once I had designed the outside and central joints of the module I laser cut two of them to check how they fit together. I started with cardboard and soon moved to wood. To construct one the modules I used wood glue to connect the corresponding parts together. It didn't take many iterations before I found a design that worked well. After that, it was straightforward to design the base and top and the modules which connected to them. These modules were only half the length of a central module and connected to them with the same type of joint.

Once I had the basic structure of the platform designed, I moved on to the rastor. I did most of the design work in Adobe Illustrator. On the top and base I drew a thick-lined grid. These grids are common in tabletop games as a way to keep track of movement and are helpful to keep positions clear if there are multiple miniatures on them. The last rastor detail I added was on the sides. To better indicate how high these platforms were supposed to be in the game, I put a mark and 10' at the center of each center module. This gives the users a quick reference to how high a given platform is, as they can easily count the number of modules in each platform.The platforms are to scale and are meant for maps where each 1 inches in grid represents 5 feet. Therefore, since each center module is 2 inches, it represents height in 10 foot increments.

Most platforms I've seen are made from a clear material, this is done so the platforms don't block the view of the rest of the map for any player. While I liked the feel to the wooden platforms, I wanted to see what one made from clear material would be like. Since the shop was limited on acrylic, I decided to experiment with lexan. Since it was a difference thickness I had to modify the Fusion files slightly, but this wasn't an issue due to the pre-planning I had done. It took a little bit of experimenting to dial in on settings that gave a clear rastor and also cut the lexan. However, due to the limits of the Zing printer, the cuts on the lexan weren't clean and instead left a burnt residue behind. I was aware of this beforehand but still wanted to see what the platform would look like. Unfortunately, despite my test cuts I ran into issue when I tried to cut the full design from the lexan. Cutting the lexan produced a thick smoke and black stringy ash which covered the laser lense, causing the print to fail. After the lense was cleaned I tried again, this time replacing the plastic which had covered the lexan with masking tape. However, the black smoke and ash was still produced so I concluded lexan really shouldn't be used with the Zing.

Despite the failings of the lexan I tried the designs on the acrylic. It worked quite well and I got a decent rastor and a great cut. I bonded the parts with acrylic glue and left them to dry.

             

If I had to redo this project, I would likely re-investigate the joints and see if I could find a design that was easy to snap together and produced a tight fit. I would also make the rastor thicker for the acrylic since it isn't noticeable from a distance. Overall, I was satisfied with these products, I have not had the opportunity to test them in a tabletop game, but I am sure they will perform well. If you want to make your own miniature platforms you can find the printbed files for the wood here. I performed the wood cuts on the Zing with 50/100/500 speed/power/frequency, vector settings and 70/100 speed/power, rastor settings. You can find the designs for the acrylic here. I performed the acrylic cuts on the Zing with  50/100/5000 speed/power/frequency, vector settings and 100/20 speed/power, rastor settings. If you're feeling brave and need to use a different material with a different thickness, you can find the Fusion files here. With the Fusion files, you should be careful with double-checking the design after changing the thickness, especially if you've made it thicker.

I also computed the approximate time and cost estimates for this project. I made two prototypes in total on two different materials and attempted one on lexan. I also spent a little time assembling the 3D parts from 2D pieces. I computed the mass cost for a wooden model and an acrylic model as well.

Time and Cost Estimates:

Prototype: 
Design: 6 hours x $10/hr = $60
Zing Printing (per prototype): 0.25 hours x $30/hr x 3 = $22.50
Assembly (per prototype): 0.25 hours x $10/hr x 2 = $5
Material cost:
Wood, 11"x4.5" + 7"x4.5" (@ $1/12"x24") = $0.28
Lexan, 5"x10" (@ $6/12"x24") = $1.04
Acrylic, 5"x10" (@ $10.49/12"x24") = $1.82

Total: $90.64

Mass:
Zing Printing (per product): 0.25 hours x $30/hr = $7.5
Assembly (per product): 0.25 hours x $10/hr = $2.5
Material cost:
Wood, 5"x10" (@ $1/12"x24") = $0.17
Acrylic, 5"x10" (@ $10.49/12"x24") = $1.82

Total: $10.17 (Wood), $11.82 (Acrylic)

These cost estimates assume a set includes a base, top and two center modules.

-Nathan Richter