Modular cube frame joint design for Vanguard Interiors
Joint concepts for Vanguard Interiors' modular cube furniture: square tubes meeting at corner blocks, locked by a flexing clip, a dovetail key or a magnet, designed and handed over as 3D files.
- Client
- Vanguard Interiors
- Scope
- Design only
- What it is
- Corner joints for a modular furniture kit of 350 mm cubes
- What we did
- Joint concept design, the first of three planned steps
- What the client got
- The 3D files and renders of four joint concepts
- Joint concepts for the corners
- 4
- Cube size in the brief
- 350 mm
- Square tube sizes in the brief
- 25 to 35 mm
What we brought
What we can do
Four ways to join a corner
Three concepts came as a full cube, an exploded corner and close-ups, and a fourth as a one-piece corner, so the client could compare them side by side.
How we look after you
Built around quick assembly
Each joint was drawn for quick assembly: a flexing clip, a dovetail key or a magnet does the locking.
What you get
Files to build on
The client received the 3D files of every concept, for the testing and production steps planned after this one.
Gallery
The whole project at a glance. Drag or swipe to browse; tap a picture to enlarge it.
1 / 14
-
The finished piece
-
RenderThe dovetail key concept.
-
RenderThe magnet concept.
-
Four joint concepts · Flexing clipRenderThe corner apart, with the clip and the rubber cap.
-
RenderThe insert and the corner block.
-
DrawingIn section, the clip and the screw.
-
Four joint concepts · Dovetail keyRenderThe corner apart, a dovetail on each tube end.
-
RenderThe dovetail key in place.
-
Four joint concepts · Magnet and anti-rotation tabRenderThe corner apart, with the magnet cut-out.
-
RenderThe angled tube end and its insert.
-
RenderThe locking surface and the tab.
-
Four joint concepts · One-piece cornerRenderThe one-piece corner.
-
RenderThree tubes meeting at the corner.
-
RenderThe corner from the inside.
The build
How we built it
3 steps, from the brief to the finished piece. Pick a step to jump to it.
The brief
Step 1 of 3
- Cube
- 350 mm, from square tubes 25 to 35 mm across
- The client's targets
- 30 to 50 kg per cube, quick assembly without tools
- Our scope
- Joint concept design. Load testing and production were later steps, not part of this job.
At Additive Inn, our 3D printing studio in Singapore, we designed the joints for a modular furniture kit for Vanguard Interiors. The kit builds 350 mm cubes from square tubes, 25 to 35 mm across, that meet at the corners. Each cube was meant to hold 30 to 50 kg, go together quickly without tools and keep a clean, minimal look.
Four joint concepts
Step 2 of 3
We looked at snap-fit, twist-lock and compression-fit joints. Three concepts join the tubes at a corner block, with an insert in each tube end. The fourth is a one-piece corner. For the lock itself we proposed ball detents or magnets. Each concept went to the client as renders with the parts named.
-
Flexing clip
An insert in each tube end locks in with a flexing clip and screws into the corner block. A rubber cap covers the hole on top of the block.
RenderDrawing +2 more
-
Dovetail key
Each tube end has a dovetail cut that keys onto an insert, and the insert turns into the corner block.
Render +1 more
-
Magnet and anti-rotation tab
The tube ends are cut at an angle and meet the block on a sloped insert, with a cut-out for a magnet, a tab that stops it turning and a locking surface.
Render +2 more
-
One-piece corner
An alternative connector: a single three-way corner piece in place of the block and inserts.
Render +2 more
The final build
Step 3 of 3
Vanguard Interiors received the 3D files of the joint concepts and the renders on this page: full cubes, exploded corners and close-ups.
More product development
See all product development →-
Art of the Arch Paediatric ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) A flexible TPU test brace for Art of the Arch, modelled to their measurements and printed for a hands-on flex and durability test. -
Wen Pei Face mask for deaf and hard-of-hearing people A face mask with a clear window so lips stay readable, designed by NUS students and made real in flexible resin with a formed visor. -
Rice grain case, designed for manufacture A case shaped like a grain of rice for a private client, taken from the first shape to a two-part design for manufacture over three revisions.