Novelty Greeting Card
I am interested in shape memory alloy technology and the potential of using the technology in novelty gifts and/or wearables. Although SMA(Shape Memory Alloys) are commonly used in the fields of medicine and industry, it has the potential to become a more commonly used technology especially in product design. The way the SMAs work is that they have a memory state which can be set through a rigorous process set by the weight and model of SMA. Once the shape is set, you can deform and misshape the SMA and by applying some heat or current of electricity, the alloys return back to the remembered state. The alloys are made with titanium metals and are stronger than you can image, however it does not do well with too much resistance multiple times because it can remember the new shape, the alternative shape while it is hot. After some experimentation, I think it is possible to get really good results with this technology and creating novelty greeting cards or gifts.






Behnaz Babazadeh 10:16 pm on March 28, 2011 Permalink |
One of the issues I had was getting my hand on some memory alloys, I had done some tutorial videos with a friend in another class but to order some of my own was difficult to find out where from. I think secondly I was having a difficult time thinking up alternative roles for these greeting cards. I am kind of stuck on the cake in the oven, but I hope I can figure something else out.