Design Your Own 3D Executive Chess Piece

This Instructable was created by the following group members in English 10600E, from Purdue University:

- Alec Swaim

- Michael Luse

- Aaron King

- Joe Connelly

Time Estimate: To complete this project, it will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete depending on your skill level with 123D Design.

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Background Information on The 3D Executive Chess Piece:

Hello there! If you want to learn how to make your own 3D Executive Chess Piece, you've come to the right place!

This creation was made by the Purdue students listed above. Together we were able to redesign the average Chess Piece, specifically the King, to have it reflect on today's society. As seen in the title picture, the Chess piece is seen with a briefcase and a dollar sign $ on it. This represents high ranking businessmen and CEO's, who make a lot of money. With money comes power in the business world, thus showing how this redesigned Chess piece can be compared to the King in a game of Chess.

The purpose of this creation is to describe how the game of Chess isn't just a game, but rather a reflection on society. Each game piece in Chess can be matched to a social and economic level in society. We decided to recreate the King, but this is not the only piece that can be done. As a group, we feel that it is a real eye opener to the average person who as only played Chess a few times.

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Before you start building, there are a couple things that you will want to make sure you know how to do.

First, this method of creating your very own Chess Piece requires you to own the free program 123D Design. If your computer does not have this program installed, please go to http://www.123dapp.com/design and follow the on-screen prompts to download 123D Design.

Second, if you are not familiar with the basics of 123D Design, please check out the following two videos listed below. These are good videos to reference if you are unfamiliar with a certain task/command in 123D Design.

Video 1: 123D Design Tutorial - Sketch (Faces, Polyline, Spline, Arcs, Fillet, Trim, Extend, Offset, Project)

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4L-JetNQD4

Video 2: 123D Design Tutorial - Construct: Extrude, Sweep, Revolve, Loft

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojH-tTiXXBI

After those two tasks are complete, you're ready to begin! Let's get started.

Step 1: Gather Your Materials!

What you will need, as stated in the intro, is a computer with 123D Design installed onto it. If you are using a laptop, a mouse is recommended, but not required.

Step 2: Create a New Project in 123D Design

Open your 123D Design program. There will be a window that pops up when the program starts. Select "Start a New Project" to create a blank project for you to work with.

Step 3: Create a Cylinder.

Create a sketch of a circle. When doing so, make sure that the center of the circle is on an intersection of grid lines! It does not matter what grid line intersection it is placed on, as long as it is located on one. This will make finding the center of the object much easier. Once the circle is make, set the diameter to 34 mm. Then, extrude the circle up 12 mm.

Step 4: Chamfer the Top Edge.

Chanfer the top edge of the cylinder down 2 millimeters.

Step 5: Add to the Base.

Create another sketch of a circle on top of the cylinder. Make sure that the center of this circle lines up with the center of the cylinder. This circle will have a diameter of 30 mm to match the 30 mm diameter of the cylinder. Then extrude the circle up 14 mm.

Step 6: Sketch Two Circles.

Sketch one circle on top of the cylinder that was just created. Again, make sure that the center of the circle lines up with the center of the cylinder. Give that circle a 15 mm diameter. Then, move (not extrude) the circle up 10 mm away from the cylinder by grabbing the arrow facing up.

Next, sketch a second circle on top of the same cylinder just like the previous circle. Don't forget to line up the center of the circle with the center of the cylinder. Then, give this circle a 30 mm diameter.

Step 7: Loft Your Circles.

Using the loft tool, select the inside of the circle on top of the cylinder first, and then select the inside of the circle that is 10 mm above the cylinder. This will create a loft that funnels to the circle 10 mm above the cylinder.

Step 8: Sketch Another Circle.

At this point, there should be a circle on top of your object. Take this circle and change the diameter to 30 mm. Once that is complete, move (not extrude) the circle up 10 mm.

After that is complete, sketch another circle on the top of your object. Never forget to line up the center of the circle with the center of the cylinder. This sketch should be in the same spot that the circle you just moved was in. Give this circle a 15 mm diameter.

Step 9: Loft Again.

Using the loft tool, select the inside of the circle that is on top of the cylinder first. Then, select the inside of the circle that is 10 mm above the cylinder, just like in Step 7.

Step 10: Fillet the Edges.

Using the fillet tool, select the top three edges of your object. These three edges should form an hour glass shape as shown in the photo. All three of these edges will have a fillet of 1 mm.

Step 11: Clean Things Up.

Select your object and drag it away from the position that it is in. This should reveal all of the sketches that you have made. Since those sketches have already served their purpose, you can delete all of them. The second picture should describe how your object should look at this point.

Step 12: Make the Briefcase.

Create a rectangular prism next to your object. Make the dimensions of this shape 13 mm high, 20 mm long, and 9 mm wide. Then, using the snap tool, select the top of the rectangular prism first, and then select the top of the cylinder.

Step 13: Fillet the Briefcase.

Fillet all of the edges of the briefcase that are not touching the base. There are eight edges in total in need of a fillet.This should include all four vertical edges of the briefcase as well as the top four edges. All of these edges should have a fillet of 1 mm.

Step 14: Add the Handle.

Similar to Step 12, create a rectangular prism next to your object. Make this rectangular prism 2 mm high, 8 mm long, and 3 mm wide. Then, using the snap too, select the top of the handle first. After that, select the top of the rectangular prism that represents the briefcase.

Step 15: Add the Dollar Sign ($).

Using the text option, select the front side of the briefcase. Type the "$" key in the text box to represent the dollar sign. Make the height of the text 10 mm and drag the text box until it is centered on the front of the briefcase.

Step 16: Extrude Dollar Sign.

Extrude the dollar sign on the briefcase out 1 mm.

Step 17: Finishing Touches.

Drag the entire piece away from its current position. This will reveal the dollar sign sketch that was created earlier. Since that sketch already served its purpose, you can delete it.