Aluminium Purse

A futuristic metal purse. Made of sheet aluminium and leather. 

Aluminium sheet: 5052, 0.032inch
Lamb skin (turquoise)
Rivet: flat head solid riviet, 1/16'' diameter, 1/8'' head diameter, 1/8'' length

Band saw
Laser cutter
Drill press
Hand puncher
Box-and-pan brake
Air pressure rivet gun
Sewing machine
Files
Hammer (rubber head)
Clamps
Steel / Aluminium Blocks

First make some rough sketches on the overall shape / silhouette of the bag. Prototype with foamcore or cardboard to get a tangible feel of the design and make small design adjustments accordingly.

Build a CAD model using Solidworks. Flatten the pattern using sheetmetal functions in Solidworks. Export the drawing of the flat pattern into Illustrator and perfect the details. (Here I added the hems in Illustrator but you might also do that directly in Solidworks.)

You can waterjet cut aluminium sheet with your drawing file. If waterjet is not an option, you can also use band saw. Lasercut the pattern on paper and then tape the paper pattern to your aluminium sheet. Cut on a band saw according to the pattern. Drill holes on the main sheet and the tabs for rivets.

Use a drill press or a hand punch to work out the empty part in the handle. 

File smooth all the edges.

Lasercut the pattern on a cardstock (Bistro paper) and test the bending order.

Bend the hems half way on a box-and-pan brake.

The rest of the bends can't be done on a box-and-pan brake. Use steel/aluminium blocks and clamps to secure part of the sheet and then bend by hand. Use a rubber hammer to tap gently along the bending edge to add to its crispness. 

Rivet the tabs in place using a air pressure rivet gun. Bring the outside of the bag to high polish and clean the inside.

Sew the lining together according to the same pattern. Leather can be laser cut as well.

Use super 77 spray adhesive to put the bag and the lining together. Tap the hems all the way closed with a rubber head hammer.

Done!