The making of the chess box.

The project was very interesting and challenging. The idea was to build a box for a chess game made by Hermès. This box was to be used to showcase the product at an event called "Hermès Parade". The box needed to deploy during the show, raising the chess game to a height of approximately 2.2 meters. It had to be battery-powered, and since the use case was a live event, the rise of the box had to be controlled in real time by a remote control. The biggest challenge for us was to design a telescopic mechanism, as the deployed height was significantly greater than the collapsed height. Here are some pictures of the build process.

First step, the 3D CAD model. We use Solidworks, it give us the possibility to preview the motion, make a POC that the mechanical design will actually works, an create a BOM list of all the purchased elements.

The outer shell must be glued very precisely, as we need to ensure the best geometry possible between the telescopic faces.

Custom ACME nut design to damper vibration and convert the motor rotary motion to a linear movement.

The faces are CNC milled to integrate the mechanism inside the thickness of the walls.

We used two RC remotes, with one intended solely as a backup to ensure no malfunctions during the live show.

Here you can see the chess box being used during a rehearsal in Los Angeles.

Funny thing, we had to build a box for the box :) to ensure it would encounter no damage during transport. First show was in Séoul.