Sample 1: Spider

For my first sample, I wanted to experience adding cardboard to an inflatable and seeing how it would move. At first, I only taped four pieces of cardboard and only taped the ends of the cardboard to the plastic. This did not really turn out well because sometimes the cardboard pieces would move and other times it wouldn’t. I then decided to cut each piece into two other pieces and taped more of the cardboard to the plastic to see how that would change the movement. I also realized that if I let go of the straw, the spider would move up and down and to the side as it gets inflated and deflated.

Sample 2: Bag

For this sample, I wanted the bag to open as big as it can. I begin by making a really simple inflatable that just expands as I blow air into it. I then decided to fold the inflatable and use double-sided tape to tape the folds. That way, the part directly gets blown into inflates first, then the part after the first fold, and then the last part. This is what allowed me to make the bag open widely. If you look at it closely, you can see that the bag inflates and then inflates more (the inflating process has two parts) but then the more I do it, the harder it is to see this. I think this is because during the first time it was inflated, the piece was well folded so that it has that effect. But as I try it more times, the piece doesn’t go back to its original shape to make that effect. I wonder what I can do to prevent this.

Sample 3: Shoe

My goal for this sample was to get the shoe to inflate from the inside. I originally wrapped cardboard outside of the plastic inflatable. However, I realized that the cardboard is making it hard to inflate. I then removed the cardboard and added the same piece of cardboard to the bottom of the plastic piece. This made the overall piece too big to see the shoe inflate. I then decided to just not use the cardboard piece. I also decided to add an additional straw and to put the straw perpendicular to the inflatable so it is easier to see the shoe being inflated.