Slide Table
(Patent Pending)
I'm currently an Industrial Design Intern at G. Boehm Engineering, which is a two person Austin-based firm focused on conceiving and producing innovative home products and furnishings.
At the moment, we are working to design a dining table that slides under an existing kitchen island until it's needed.
Project Goal
Transform a 3-seat kitchen island into comfortable 6-seat dining table.
Project Challenge
Boehm's vision for the Slide & Dine was to create a larger, more comfortable dining solution for newly built apartments with limited space. Delivering the vision required overcoming a variety of design and engineering challenges including:
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Where does the table go if there's no available floor space?
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How can you create a solution that doesn't compromise existing apartment storage?
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Is there a way to leverage a kitchen island?
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Can you realistically fit 6 people at the table?
Initial Designs
Engineering Concept
The initial engineering concept drawings for the Slide Table were pretty rough.
Rough Design Explorations
In order to better understand the design challenges with the project, I began putting together some rough CAD renderings. The three-dimensional renderings helped me identify some of the inherent challenges with the
project vision:
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Should we really attach the outer seats to the base?
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How do you ensure that everyone sits at the same level?
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Given the unit's weight, what's the best way to create smooth operation?
Moving Mechanisms
As we explored the weight of the base plate and seats, we realized that the unit weighed too much and also had some significant requirements for the moving mechanisms:
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Weight distribution was key.
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Attached stools dramatically increased the unit's weight.
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Eliminating the idea of an in-floor track would simplify installation while keeping the floor by the stools clean.
Design Evolution
The design process continues on the project, but the images below show the current status:
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Technical Drawings & Callouts
