BrainstormingFor this project, I wanted to make a Chinese take-out box dynamic and interactive for users. I wanted to 3D-print the box itself, making it much more firm and stable. Furthermore, I needed to make the box more interactive, so I decided to create a second 3D-printed object, a dumpling. The idea is that when the dumpling is placed inside the take-out box, the lights from the Adafruit circuit board turn on in a specific color and animation.
I visualized the wiring for this project by connecting A3 and GND to a flat sheet of wood, which would act as a position for the dumpling to sit on. The copper tape underneath the dumpling would make contact with both wires, changing the mode and colors of the neopixels.
The pagoda is an essential aspect of the Chinese take-out box, as it sits directly in the front. Furthermore, the dragon symbolizes good luck, strength, and health within the culture. The two silhouette images were very important for my first project, and I felt that it would be just as important to implement them into the 3D design for this project.
Design
The left and top rectangles are the side walls of the box, the middle rectangle is the front side of the box, the right rectangle is the back side of the box, and the bottom square is the bottom of the box that holds the pieces together. To cut out the pagoda and dragon images, I had to first convert them from SVG files to DXF files, which then could be brought into Onshape as sketches.
I designed the box flaps on a separate tab, ensuring the dimensions would fit accordingly.
I designed each part of the take-out box separately, which gave a lot more flexibility for editing specific areas and allowed for a smoother 3D print. I initially tried designing the entire box as one object, but it proved to be inefficient whenever I wanted to go back and change specific parts.
