These tools by Royal College of Art graduate Cheng Guo are controlled by simple mouth movements like chewing and blowing (+ movie).
The Mouth Factory includes a drill, a lathe and machines for rotational moulding and vacuum forming.
Above photo is by James Champion
There is also a silver 'tongue extruder' which fits inside the mouth and squeezes out Play-Doh when the user extends their tongue.
The drill is mounted on a headpiece and operated by making a chewing movement to turn the drill bit.
The vacuum forming tool allows the user to mould objects by inhaling through a tube. A plastic sheet is melted and placed on the fibreglass mould before the air is sucked out by the user, forcing the material into the shape of the mould.
Above photo is by James Champion
With the rotational moulding tool, the user fills the mould with resin before blowing on the attachment to spin it round as it sets.
The lathe lets the user hold the cutting tool in their mouth while spinning the wood which is held in place by the headpiece.
Cheng Guo recently graduated from the RCA's Design Products course. Have a look at Dezeen's movie of course leader Tord Boontje giving a tour of the work on display at Show RCA 2012.
Above photo is by James Champion
See all our stories from Show RCA 2012 »
Photographs are by Grey Chen, except where noted.
Here's some more information from the designer:
Mouth Factory is inspired by the concept of human enhancement which has developed along with the progress of civilisation, from basic physical exercise to the adoption of enhancing apparatus all the way to the genetic engineering boomed in recent decades.
Above photo is by James Champion
I've always been interested in human behaviour in a given condition or environment, the subconscious control of one's own body as well as enhancement of human capability, which is either overlooked or underestimated due to our familiarity with our own bodies.
The reason I chose the mouth as the subject matter to work with is that although it is such a wondrous organ, its capabilities and versatility is still underdeveloped. Apart from linguistic communication, food mastication and respiratory function which we take for granted in everyday life, the human mouth could also undertake many other functional tasks.
For example, using the mouth to replace the functions of handicapped body parts, performance acts such as using the mouth to pull a van, and special behaviours that occur in certain environments such as licking a wound.
Above photo is by James Champion
From the macroscopic point of view, by enhancing the capabilities of a frequently used yet underdeveloped organ, this project aims to investigate and present the reciprocal relationship between human body and various synthetic appendages, as well as the possible effects on the body imposed by those devices.
To some extent, Mouth Factory also renders and amplifies the aesthetic of human body and the rhythmicity of the repetitive behaviour when people are operating these performative devices, as well as a sense of beauty for the machines in production.
Above photo is by James Champion
Teeth lathe:
This wearable teeth lathe is driven by bows that are operated by hand. Two one-way bearings hiding in the pulley wheel of each side allow the axle to rotate in a single direction only. Instead of using lower front teeth as the cutter, which was the initial idea, the user will grip a silver steel blade with his teeth to shape the spinning material.
Inhaling vacuum form machine
Air is drawn out of the fibreglass mould by mouth after melting the plastic sheet mounted on it. Due to the vacuum inside, the atmospheric pressure will force the sheet material to fit on the internal surface of the mould. Then the formed plastic will be fixed after cooling down. The piston in the acrylic air chamber prevents the user from inhaling the toxic gas of heated plastic. The group of one way valves are used to hold the air in the mould when user breathes.
Blowing rotomolding machine
After placing a pair of silicone moulds in the aluminum container, mixed resin is injected into the mould from the side hole. Then the user can blow the fan blade as well as sway the head, which makes the container rotate around two axises. The whole process can last about five minutes.
Chewing drill
The biting force of a human being is about 13-35kg. This chewing drill uses a set of rack gear to transfer the biting force into torque. The chuck can hold various bits such as a drill bit, screw driver bit, sander bit, milling cutter, etc.
Tongue extruder
The shape of this extruder came from the casting of designer’s oral cavity. It is oral -safe due to the feature of silver material. After putting the chewing gum or play-doh into the extruder, user is supposed to eject his tongue to push the material come through the die in order to complete the extrusion process.
The movie above shows a mouth workout with movements designed to strengthen the mouth and improve the user's tool skills.