Spark & Falling Leaves

Spark and Falling Leaves were created as part of the Stanford Product Realization Lab course ME 318: Computer Aided Product Realization.

Spark is a table-top electronic musical instrument. Falling Leaves is an interactive pinball maze. Both are made from aluminum stock, designed in Fusion and fabricated on a Haas CNC mill.

The manufacturing of the Spark involved designing for a part flip and the use of machinable wax for fixturing. I also learned first-hand that designing for CNC with electronics in mind adds new constraints to an already constraint-heavy process. The electronics cavity needed to be big enough to both hold multiple components securely and leave enough room for electrical insulation. This created constraints around necessary stock size (and thus cost) and machining time. In the future, I would consider more creative ways to incorporate pockets for different geometries of electronics so that I can play more with different form factors of the desired material. A large stock of aluminum machined in the shape of a budding flame, the device also features a large cavity designed to hold electronics as big as a breadboard. With an ergonomic contour designed for grab-and-go musical experimentation, the device provides a spark of inspiration whenever I’m at my desk.