ME 103: Product Realization: Design and Making
Blaire's Birdhouse
Fusion 360 CAD · Sheet-metal fabrication · Welding · 3D printing · Bronze casting
A handmade metal birdhouse for my mom.
Project Overview.
For ME 103, a hands-on mechanical engineering course centered on metal fabrication, I designed and built a birdhouse for my mom. I wanted it to feel more like a tiny home than a standard birdhouse, with cast bronze windows and a sheet-metal body.
The project became a lesson in working with the material in front of me, not just the version I had imagined on my screen. After some welding errors late in the process, I pivoted to protect the main structure and finished with a simpler, cuter version of the original idea.
Photos from the manufacturing process.
Process.
Planning
I started in Fusion 360 with a more intricate design in mind. I wanted to combine sheet metal, welding, and bronze casting into something that felt detailed and personal.
Exploring
As I moved from CAD into fabrication, I learned how many small decisions change once metal is involved. Parts that fit neatly in a model can be harder to align, weld, or finish in real life. I cast bronze window pieces and worked through how to make them fit into the sheet-metal structure.
Making + Refining
A few welding mistakes forced me to rethink the final form. Rather than pushing forward with every original detail and risking the body of the birdhouse, I simplified the design and focused on making the core object solid. The final piece has a handmade charm I really love, even if it is not exactly the version I first drew.
