Meet the Maker: Sophy Wong

Not only did our friend Sophy Wong make a part for Project Egress, she jumped into the live build once it became obvious that it wouldn't be completed by the time the museum closed for the day!

You may know our friend Sophy Wong from her appearance on Tested, but if you follow her on social, you know she worked on MythBusters Jr. as well. In this case, not only did she make a part for Project Egress, she jumped into the live build once it became obvious that it wouldn’t be completed by the time the museum closed for the day!

Read on to learn more about Sophy and to watch her build video.

Bio: Sophy Wong is a designer and maker whose projects range from period costumes to Arduino-driven wearable tech. She has been featured by Make: Magazine, Tested.com, Adafruit, and is a regular contributor to HackSpace Magazine. Sophy has spoken on wearable tech and design at Maker Faire Bay Area, Maker Faire New York, Teardown Portland, Seattle Mini Maker Faire, GeekGirlCon in Seattle, and at Microsoft.

Sophy documents her work at SophyWong.com and on her YouTube channel. Her book, Wearable Tech Projects, a compilation of 30 tutorials and articles about DIY wearable tech, is available from Raspberry Pi Press.

PART #34: BOTTOM 3 LINKAGE ASSEMBLY

Artist Statement: “Project Egress challenged me as a designer — how could I interpret my part and make it unique, while maintaining its dimensions and function? To start, I asked myself, what is its function? Our sculpture is not built to be a space-worthy hatch, but to celebrate Apollo, and make something inspiring with many different hands working together. Instead of replicating the original part with exact materials, I wanted to fuse new processes, 3D printing and technology, with hand-worked metal. I’d worked with these processes separately before, and it was exciting and challenging to combine them for the first time in one piece.

I made part number 34, one of the many linkages that connect around the perimeter of the hatch to allow the handle to actuate the door. My part is 3D printed in PLA, clad in brass, and soldered with silver and copper wire. I also added an NFC tag that can be scanned with a smartphone to pull up the Smithsonian’s webpage for Project Egress. I thought of this as being like a digital time capsule hidden inside the hatch sculpture.

After working on the piece for a few weeks, sending it away was bittersweet, but I’m so glad I captured my experience by making a video of my build. I’ll always be able to relive my journey through this amazing project, and visit our sculpture in The Smithsonian!”

Follow Sophy: Website | Youtube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter