NAEF
Naef, is a high end toy company based out of Switzerland. It specializes in wooden-crafted toys, ranging from ages 0 - 99.
The creation of this toy was to compete in a design contest held at Virginia Tech. My entry was named Stapelzug, a toy train that bobs its steam pipe up and down when it moves, and has a stack-able cargo and body. |
THE DESIGN CONCEPT
The beginning of the project started out as a normal train with no cargo, but with the idea of a bobbing steam pipe. It also wasn't supposed to have a stack-able body, but that came with iterations of the construction of the toy.
All of the pictures that are going to be featured on this project page are the finished and final product, as I have no real documentation of the process that came to be Stapelzug. (Most parts were thrown away and/or destroyed in construction.)
The steam pipe is removed to show that it can go on and off, and adds a "building" aspect that allows for a constructive and creative feel. The idea however did start out as just the "engine" part (shown left) and this was the final take/iteration on it. |
As I progressed with the iterative process, the train went from really big and clunky, with a very complex mechanism, to a smaller, sleek, and more cute and proportionally sound body design. The wheels were exaggerated on purpose for looks, and the train remained simple in style to attract Naef's typical style.
CONSTRUCTING PARTS
Another part of the design concept that I tried to incorporate was the interchangeability of the pieces. I wanted the cargo pieces and body pieces to fit on the other posts. Everything follows the same guidelines and rules.
The red parts on the left all have the same diameter hole in the middle along with the two natural wood color pieces on the right.
The distances between the holes are all the same and the cube cargo parts fit next to each other evenly. The holes were made with a drill press. |
|
Making my final parts had to be completely perfect, as I was not using manufacturing machinery. The square corners and distances all had to be completely perfect, or with unnoticeable error to have a perfect fit.
|
The wheels were almost immaculate and I made sure so, because they are one of the first things that people notice. They also had to roll and if there were bumps due to flaws in the roundness, it would be very noticeable and frustrating. The parts on the far left are the posts that hold the cargo and body along with the red steam pipe. These were dowels, and I didn't have to make them, but instead just cut to size. I did however use a drill press on the far left post. |
The rest of the parts were made (such as axles, the cog, the bases) and glued together. The results were these mechanisms and the posts were left naked to accept the shaped parts/cargo.
These are two different bases. The one on the left is in the back and holds the cargo. The one on the right is the engine. Notice the little cog that is shaped like an oval. This mechanism allows the steam pipe to ride up and down on this little gear creating an up and down motion when the front wheels move.
The empty posts can accept any form of cargo as they all fit together, but there is a special way to put them together as well. |
|
PUBLISHING OF STAPELZUG
Here are pictures of some of the rest of the parts, and the full train set when put together.
POSTER
45 x 45 cm poster for entry submission, including pictures, logo, and design concept.