I budgeted, drafted, and constructed a cart from metal and acrylic with the assistance of Rachel Bath and Alexa Marron. 

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I met with the commissioner and discovered he wanted a cart that would fit in his car and was easy to assemble. I sketched up some ideas and we came to an agreement on the final product. Later, I placed the sketches into AutoCAD and planned out the dimensions for all my units. 

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Next, I began to budget for the metal, acrylic, acrylic weld, and casters to determine if the supplies would remain within the budget. I purchased the products and began assembling the cart. 

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First, I built the bottom unit by cutting all my metal pieces and welding the frames. I marked out four holes on four metal plates for the casters and Rachel Bath took it to the drill press and made holes. I welded the plates to the frame and then created four mini guide systems to attach to the four corners of the frame. Taking my acrylic, I drafted the three walls and CNCed the pieces. I epoxied the top, bottom, and two long side walls of the unit, and then I acrylic welded the smaller side wall. Once that was completed, I attached the four wheels using 3/18th hardware. 

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Next, I cut the four legs that would slide into the guide system and I welded the top frame together and attached the remaining four guide systems. I tested the cart to make sure both guide systems for each leg unit aligned (seen in the 6th image). Next, I drafted the pieces for the top container and cut them out on the CNC. I epoxied the side walls to the metal and acrylic welded the pieces to each other. Everything was clamped together and waited to dry. Lastly, I acrylic welded the bottom of the container and weighted it down with some clamps. 

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Once again, I tested the cart to make sure everything aligned and that the container did not rub against the metal legs. 

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Next, I cut the pieces of the handle and welded it onto the cart.

 

Rachel took PVC pipe, cut it, and then spray painted them with silver to replicate the color of "metal". I took her completed PVC product and epoxied them onto the cart. After unclamping them I discovered that they did not adhere properly and all four PVC pipes fell off. I discovered that the spray paint only adhered and not the plastic from the PVC. As a result, I sanded the sides where I planned to re-epoxy and then began the process all over again. The second try was a success and the PVC pipes remained on the cart! The PVC pipes were going to serve as holders for bamboo sticks that the commissioner owned.