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The bendy chair was made to explore the creatrion of Bendy MDF, Bendy MDF is not new to industry but being able to make selective bendy MDF is something that CAD/CAM can add to manufacture.

Using a 4mm cutter approx 80% of the material is machined away this enabling that part of the material to bend approximately 3 to 5 degrees. When bending it is worth wetting the mdf to help the fibres flex.

At keystage 3 I would introduce this to pupils on a basis that flat sheet can become bent, tubular or in this case multi shaped sheet.

At Keystage 4 i would be expecting the pupils to take this technique and come up with something new.

Machined on the A1 in 12mm MDF this project produces a chair out of one sheet 610/1220mm

MDF Chair

 

This project was the lauchpad for an idea I had had some years ago whilst still in education. At the time Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen was remaking everyone's homes with MDF and the new Bendy MDF I went to the local DIY and got hold of some of this remarkable stuff to make the curved arm rests for the wall seats in my home bar upholstering directly onto the board before bending it into position and securing. It was then that I realised that you could make this stuff with a low set saw and a lot of patience, but a CNC machine could make it without becoming disenchanted.

 

The chair is made from one sheet of MDF 1220 x 610.
 

Manufacturing :- It is vital to get the depth of the relief cuts on the bending sections as close to the lower skin of the board as is possible and yet maintain some mechanical strength. Experimentation has shown that 1 to 1.25 mm of uncut board will produce the desired effect. If however you remove the board and find that it is tending to crack as you have not cut deep enough, a savior tip is to drench the board through with water and glue in position using cramps to maintain the shape. As long as the board does not crack at this point then is will retain the shape when dry again.

Writing - Brown 2mm Deep with a Vgroove Cutter.

Relief Cuts Green 11mm depending on material. Drill Setting

Blue 12.4mm Deep set on Inside.

Red 12.5mm Deep Set on Outside.

If you are having problems with the parts moving then adding tabs for a trigger depth of 12.5mm will only produce tabs in the perimeters of the red items leaving blue, green and brown untabbed.

 

 
bendyArm
 
Bendy Chair 2D Design File - Download
Bendy Chair MillDesign File - Download