This was made as a class assignment for both the welding independent study and my pneumatics independent study. I first made a prototype out of wood, to establish how the finished product was going to work and what it would generally look like. During the prototyping process, several obstacles were discovered that would have to be overcome with the finished product. I realized that the block and shutter would both have to be notched to allow for the movement of the pneumatic cylinder’s arm.

The point of the shutter system was that it would be mounted in front of a slide projector that was hung in the front-of-house for a show. The projector needed to be used several times throughout the show, and turning it on and off was not an option, as the projector needed warm-up time. I developed the pneumatic shutter system so that it could be operated remotely, blocking the projector off when not needed. In it’s final installation, the projector side of the shutter was covered with black cloth to prevent a reflection into the audience.