DJCAD Degree Show Opening Night Pictures

The Duncan Of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD) degree show officially opened on Friday night (the 18th). Due to the sheer amount of people I found it difficult to go around taking pictures of other exhibits so sticking to our own space, here is some photos from the Product Design/Digital Interaction Design space.

My project set up ready for demonstration and viewing.

One of the key design features of the exhibition space. The light bulbs give a unique atmosphere.

Andrew Tibbles with his project called The Aquatic Grave. Sorry about the reflection.

Thomas Marriner sitting atop of Brian, the project of Robin Burns

The cabinets showing part of the design process everyone went through, ranging from research, through design and on to technology.

Jarred Shirley talking to Debbie Reid.

The PD/DiXD space before it was too busy.

Demonstrating the Acoustic DJ by Robbie Butler (shown on left of photograph).

Alasdair Gauld demonstrating Robbie Butlers project, Acoustic DJ

Visitors viewing all the work.

Everyone in conversation and enjoying all the projects on display.

John Paul O’Connors project: The Return of the Circus

Laurie Veitch was providing music throughout the evening.

The art school from the window of the Graphic Design degree space.

Acknowledgements

The past 9 months have been filled with many highs and many lows. It is quite difficult to really describe what the project has been like for me at the moment. I need time to reflect on what has been going on first before I make any snap judgements. That is one of the reasons why I am holding off writing a proper project review.

However, one thing that I am incredibly thankful for over the course of fourth year is all those that helped to give their opinion on things, help out, provide support. Everything really. The following list of people is all those that did aid my project and even my dissertation, if I missed anyone out, forgot your name or spell your name wrong, I apologise as it was not intentional. They are not in any particular order.

My family, Scott Urquhart, Pete Linton, Fiona Harper, Jim Rankin, Richard Smith, Fraser Bruce, Roy Shearer, Gus Colvin, Sean Kingsley (in the workshop), Roddy in the workshop, Malcolm in the workshop,  the Spray Factory, the Plastic People, the Higher Product Design Class (2011-12) at Kinross High School, Graham Pullin, James Lynch, John Williamson, Michael McLaren, Derek A., Lyle in the workshop, the DJCAD art shop, Dundee Uni print unit, PDQ Print Services, 4th year Product Design, the Jewellery workshop technician (don’t know her name), Kirsty Clark, Lisa Cordiner, Amazon, Royal Mail, eBay, Proto-Pic, Tim Regan, Pablo De La Pena, Andrew Cook, Martin Bontoft, Ro Ramtohul, Ali Napier, Neil Fraser Mathieson…

I am sure that there is more to be added to that list, but I have exhausted my memory at the moment.

Thanks.

Manufacturing: Part 2

In the last post, part one, I discussed what sort of changes to the materials and to the electronics that would need to be made if my project were to be put into production. I am writing this not because it is necessary, but because I think that it is important for the project and part 2 is going to show this even more than what part one did. So without further ado, let’s begin.

Manufacturing Processes

This is quite an important part that needs considered. In the last post, I narrowed down the material choice to two. Plastic or aluminium. The choices for both were quite compelling. However, one of the main factors that will decide what still needs to be done, is that of how it will be formed. The production run has quite a big say in this too. I stated a figure for units somewhere between 100,000 and 800,000.

This larger number can automatically discount a good few manufacturing processes which would in turn not have been feasible anyway such as rotational moulding.

Manufacture of Light Prism

The manufacture of the light prism can be done in a number of different ways. Essentially it is just a block, but depending on the best method it could easily be hollow or a section of a tube. However, with each different method that it could be made would result in different effects in how it plays with the light. The solid block provides a beautiful glow that appears to come from nowhere. In the earlier prototypes, the plastic was layered up and each layer caught the light and spread it out.

I think that if the light prism was hollow it would have an adverse effect on how the light would look. The best option would be a solid block. But how would that be manufactured? Cast is one of the main options even though it may not look good if it was cast plastic. Injection moulding could be used but because of the size, the cooling time would be quite long. This would not be good for manufacturing times. Probably the best way for manufacturing the block to the right size would be the same as it was made when I bought it. Extruded and then machined into the right size and shape. The edges could then be polished up and it would look quite good. The size of the parts, if machined, could be done to extremely fine tolerances meaning that the overall finish of the product would be excellent.

Glass on the other hand would be completely different. I am going to put my hands up now and say that I am not an expert at all in how glass is cast (formed?) apart from how they make windows with the stuff. I know that the method that is used to make windows would definitely not be the way to make the block. Glass blowing is probably closer to the mark but I don’t think it would. The problem with glass is that it cannot really be machined into shape when it has been formed due to the crystal structure. I think because of this, no matter which material was used for the main body, plastic (most likely perspex) would be the best option to make the light prism mainly because it is much more usable as a material for mass production in this sort of thing. It isn’t like windows where it is a large sheet, it is a block that would need extrusions, holes and other details.

Manufacture of Main Body

As per the light prism there are numerous ways of manufacturing the main body. With options including injection moulding, casting, machining etc, there is an almost bottomless pit in terms of manufacturing options. Irrespective of the manufacturing options, I think that whatever material is used, the manufacturing process should be the same for both, or try to be the same for both.

I like the idea of taking a billet of aluminium and machining it to the right size. This is basically what Apple do with their computers, making ‘unibodies’. These are ultimately stronger than their conventional counterparts. This wouldn’t work for plastic though, as it wouldn’t leave as good a finish and the plastic would be more likely to split or crack when trying to get a supremely smooth polished finish.

Injection moulding is probably a mistake too. For a start, injection moulding metal for the purposes of the product would probably look terrible, if it is at all possible. The injection moulding of the plastic, whilst already a very common method, leaves flash lines where the material starts to seep into the gaps in the mould, it would also have sprue pin marks. Whilst this option is already very common in terms of mass production I do not think that it is right for the product. I don’t really want it to have the mass produced look. A quality product should not have a sub par method of manufacturing it.

I suppose extrusion could be used, but the internal method would have to be changed slightly in order for the parts to fit together better and for there to be no sign of how it was made on the raised portions of the main body. I can’t quite explain it, but the extrusion would have to change part way through for it to work. Also there would be an obvious join line in between the main sides and the flat top surface. I could draw a diagram but I don’t think I would be able to show it properly.

This takes me on to the plethora of options regarding casting and forging. There are a number of options that could be used. But thinking about it none of these would be as good.

In an ideal world, and with the advice of engineers, I could make the product the same way no matter what material was used. But the fact of the matter is, I don’ think that it would be possible at all. For the aluminium bodied ones, machining would be used. This would give an excellent finish and an extremely high level of detail that would make the product look and feel premium. For the plastic, despite my reservations about it, it would have to be injection moulding. As for draft angles, I would want to try and reduce them as much as possible. One of the main design features of my product is that the sides are straight and parallel. If this means that the mould has to be split into more parts then so be it. I don’t want draft angles to destroy the look that I have created just to make it easier to manufacture.

I suppose that is a downfall of what I am trying to achieve. I don’t want to make any compromises for my project, not now and not even hypothetically in the future if it was to be mass produced. I don’t think that compromising is what people should do when they know it has to be well made, try and make an emotional connection with the user (especially in my case when it disrupts something as valuable as sleep). Making it the way that I want it to be is selfish I know and not really taking into the considerations that engineers have. But if you don’t push yourself, or push the methods that people currently use, then I don’t think there is any point in trying to be the best you can.

Joining of Components

Main Body Parts

The joining of components is a very important aspect to consider and in a sense needs to have different approaches for different materials.

I will first look at the joining options if the product was manufactured from plastic, i.e. the body is plastic and the light prism is plastic. Currently, due to time constraints and sourcing problems, the light prism is not attached the way that I would have wanted it to have been joined. It has been stuck with a very strong tape to the body pieces and not joined in the way that I originally wanted it to be joined (see sketch below). If made from plastic, the plastic piece could easily be done in a similar sort of way, in fact it could even be a hollow extruded square tube. On either end of the tube would be latching points, and on the main body and lower part of the body, there would be corresponding latching points. This would be a relatively permanent way of fixing it. Meaning that the user would be unable to access the internals of the product. Known as a snap fit (just remembered the name half way through describing it) it would mean that it could not be tampered with. I like this sort of approach. I don’t think that the user should need to access the internals that easily. Especially for that sort of age group. My general philosophy for the whole project is that I wanted it to just work. No frivolous controls or things that the user has to worry about.  In the end, the joining surfaces would be quite good. There would be minimal overhangs or lips on the joining pieces. But the tolerances would have to be spot on.

That is option number one for joining the plastics together. The second option for the plastics would be some sort of glue. I suppose that this is basically the option that I have already gone with albeit with tape. The glue would almost certainly be permanent. This would mean that not only would the user not be able to access the internals, but if it was sent away for repair, the technician would not be able to access the thing easily without it breaking. This really isn’t a sustainable way of producing something because as soon as it breaks, you would be better off just throwing it away rather than attempting to get it fixed. Part of this has to do with the materials that are used. It tends to be difficult for people to make an emotional connection to something that they know has been mass produced and if when they know it has broken, then that is it, there is no going back.

The connecting of components if the parts were made from aluminium/glass/plastic or any combination of those three would mostly be similar to that of just plastic. The glass makes things a little more complicated due to its material properties and that it is very difficult to machine it after it has been initially formed. There is an option of screws. I wanted to stray away from the option of screws in the project because unless I had got a good few nice looking screws, perhaps pentalobe or hex, it would have looked quite bad. I did toy with the the option of just having a single screw on the whole product. It would be used to tighten a metal ring that would grip onto an extrusion on the top of the light prism meaning that it was gripped on. In this case the bottom part would be affixed in a different manner to the light prism than the main body. This brings me on to the next idea which could be used for either plastic or metal. Extremely tight fitting components.

I know that isn’t the technical name for the method that I am thinking of, but I don’t know what it would be called anyway. Basically the tolerances of the component parts would be so fine that it would be it and no external adhesives or screws would be used to hold the components together. Think of it as a suction fit. The parts are slotted together so tightly that they could only be separated with use of a machine.

So which method do I think would be most appropriate for the product? Of all the methods examined and looking at how I joined the parts together in the final prototype, the best option and the one which would mean easy access for maintenance but discouraging user involvement, would be the screw option with the tightening ring. It is simple yet innovative engineering which I wish I could have implemented in my project. The type of screw on the end would be a nice polished sliver looking pentalobe screw that would be located approximately 10mm below the USB port.

Internals

As for how the internals would be joined, it is a relatively different story. I think that I got the method just right for quick and easy assembly of the exterior and interior. If the internal structure is manufactured in the same way and slotted in, then there is no need for there to be any sort of adhesive or screws used. In a sense, it would just work. It would be simpler for the manufacturers, along with quicker and it could easily be assembled by a machine, saving on labour costs and therefore helping keep a healthy profit margin.

Retail Price

How much will it cost? A very common question I suppose. There are a number of factors that will play into this total such as production run, materials, shipping, labour, etc. There is one price point that I would not want to make it more expensive than. That is £100. That may seem like an obvious point as it is aimed at younger people, but be assured, it is something that people may not pay much attention to. Quite a lot of young people don’t buy things for themselves, with expensive electronics increasingly being bought as presents or just because the teenager cannot afford it, it is usually the parent that has to fit the bill.

In a sense, where the product is manufactured can influence the overall cost of the product, but that is normally absorbed into the shipping and labour costs with no other real expenditure apart from local taxes. There should also be a minimum price point. Something low enough that it will encourage people to buy it, but not too low that it will eat into the profit margins. Based on this idea, I think that the minimum price should be just over £50. I suppose that a range of £50 to £100 is a little vague at the moment, but it doesn’t shoehorn the project into any sort of pigeonhole.

Shipping

I did touch on this part of the process a few posts back when I was talking about the boxes that I had made for my project. Being able to determine how many products can be transported on a pallet can help influence price, availability and, if running a business, profits. I tried to keep box sizes to a minimum. There really is no extra space in the box that I could have stored something in. It mimics the design of the product itself, where it is very tightly packaged. An approach that I think that everyone should pay attention to.

From the previous post where I mentioned this, the dimensions of the box are 320x85x85mm. If the product was loaded on to pallets at half height, which is about 110cm, an estimated 400 boxes would be able to be loaded. That was the calculations thanks to the other post. Deciding to work it out properly, using the image below I have roughly plotted the layout of one layer of the pallet. I believe that it is as efficient as possible in terms of layout.

As you can see, the shaded boxes are the boxes of the projects. And apart from the two sort of stray looking boxes to the right hand side, it is quite efficient. In fact, to help the stability of the pallet, the two ‘stray’ ones could be placed in the middle with the horizontal boxes to either side of ti. That means that no side has relative weak spots in its construction which could mean that the pallet could be built higher than half height in order to stack more boxes on a pallet safely. In fact, as proof that I am writing this as is rather than checking it over at the end (mainly due to the length), the structure of the pallet would be made much more stable when it is wrapped up and ready to be put onto a plane, lorry, etc. But from experience in working in a warehouse with hundreds of pallets processed daily, a well built pallet is always what you must strive for, especially if when done wrong, peoples lives could be put at risk.

Conclusion

I know that I have rambled on for quite a while in this post (and the previous one for that matter) but I think that exploring the manfacturing and other processes that need to be thought about if the product were put into production are important. I wouldn’t have said it was important for other people to think about for their projects, but looking at what sort of designer I want to be considered as, I feel it is important. I probably have gone into much more detail than I should have done, looking at shipping and all that, but I like details. There is something distinctly OCD about all of this, but I tend to juggle multiple things on my mind at one time. Being able to keep track of everything in my head and not writing it down probably had adverse effects on the finish of my project, i.e. there were some parts that could have been done much better, and it would have put me under more pressure at times that what it should have been, again having adverse effects on the outcome but it has all been worth it.

My knowledge of manufacturing processes definitely needs revising. I have been pushing my brain to the limits to try and remember it all without looking it up on the internet. Having this knowledge on tap, is certainly going to aid designing for manufacture in the future. Whether it for an important part, or even just a prototype. In hindsight, this post is longer than it needed to be, but it clearly shows the sort of thinking that I have been constantly going through over the past couple of months when I have been making my project and even before I knew what it was going to look like.

Anyways, my fingers need a rest… and I need a sleep.

Manufacturing: Part 1

Back on track with my blogging schedule after a few days of not really doing much and taking in the fact that it as finished has given me time to reflect properly on the project, and in particular, how it would actually be made if it were to be put into production. This is going to be a two part piece with this first one looking at the changes that would evidently have to be made to the design from prototype to production and I will also discuss the electronics and how they would change.

In a sense, I don’t want to write about this because I have to. I am actually writing about the manufacturing because I want to. I think that taking the time to think this through even further than what is deemed necessary will help make the project more believable and like a proposal rather than a project. Thinking about this sort of thing as a designer should also be second nature. You shouldn’t have to finish drawing something and then immediately hand it over to an engineer to make. That wouldn’t be fair. However, being limited by what is already being done shouldn’t happen. Limits should be pushed and tolerances should be questioned.

I have been thinking about the manufacturing all the way through the project, but I feel this is the right time to post them. So without further ado, manufacturing.

Changes

Production Run

This is a relatively big portion of discussion. In short almost everything would have to change in one form or another in order for the product to be mass produced. However starting from the beginning, what sort of production run do I see it achieving? In short it is difficult to determine. First off it only works with iPhones so that limits the potential market. However, taking into consideration that as phone accessories go, ones for the iPhone are far from rare. So based on this the production run could be fairly large, but I don’t really see it, or particularly want it to be too widely available. That way there is always a demand as such, and it would mean it was more made to order than sitting in bulk in warehouses where it might not get sold. So I won’t put of a number any more. I see the production run being in the region of 100,000 to 500,000. Not a small number but then again not an overly large number. This is especially true if you think of however many iPhones have been sold and are used by teenagers/young adults.

Materials

Based on that medium to small production run (in comparison to the numbers that iPhones are sold in) determines the sort of material that can be used and therefore the production method. Production method will be covered in the second part, but material will be discussed just now. Currently made from layered up MDF, this really isn’t the way forward. Taking a month or so to make 2 is by no means profitable. My dad jokingly said to me whilst I was still making it that each one based on material cost and hourly pay for the worker would be well into the thousands of pounds. Not really the sort of price I envisaged for my project.

There are two material options that I would like the product to be made out of. The first one will make the product cheaper to produce and cheaper for the end user. Plastic. It wouldn’t be a cheap plastic though. More of a high quality, possibly even with a soft touch finish, that would help give the impression the the product is securely holding the phone. You don’t really want something that feels bad to the touch to be looking after your prized possessions. Taking inspiration slightly from Apple in this case, the plastic uses would mimic that of the black and white MacBooks from a few years ago. The white one would be glossy with a slightly harder feel, whereas the black one would be matte (or slightly matte) with a softer feel. I know I was unable to achieve this with the prototypes but it was what I originally planned and hoped I would get.

The other option for materials takes another leaf from Apples material storybook and ultimately push the product into a higher market. Anodised aluminium  or aluminium with a brushed finish. Anodising it would mean a better, harder wearing colour finish which would also bring it a more modern appearance that people could maybe identify more with. The only problem, apart from the price increase, with the aluminium option is that there is a section of the product which would be phone against aluminium when inserting and this could lead to scratches or just general damage to the product. Having a brushed finish would mean that it would be softer to the touch, but the surface would not be as durable. It is swings and roundabouts really.

I think that either material choice would suit the project. But I can’t really decide on which. I think the aluminium may be the way to go though. Younger people nowadays are subject to more expensive goods all the time (just look at the sort of clothes they are wearing) and they are not really likely going to end up buying it themselves. It would also give it a bigger feel of quality to it. Plastic is good for some products, but when you want to show that it will protect your phone, it needs to be sturdy.

From a recycling point of view, aluminium will be easier to dispose of and then reuse. Plastics tend to need sorted into the different kinds. Aluminium whilst to an extent is similar should be easier. Also from the point of view that it will not be a project that is thrown away quickly should also play a part in material choice.

As for the light prism, the choice goes to two materials again. One is plastic, the other is glass. The reasoning is the same as above. The plastic is softer but will accumulate more scratches. The glass whilst having better optical quality would be much more brittle. It will depend on the material used for the main body. If plastic is used then plastic should be used for the light prism. If aluminium is used for the main body, then glass should be used for the light prism.

Electronics

Whilst the electronics may seem like an overly complicated part of the project in terms of prototyping, putting it into production should be a lot simpler. The use of the Arduino at the moment screams out that it is a prototype. When put into production it will have proper printed circuit boards and will use something more alike circuit boards and cpu’s that are found in mobile phones. It will quite possibly be a lower powered ARM microcontroller. It doesn’t need to be anything too fancy either.

On to the functions, I don’t think there is much that needs to be changed. Maybe there is a better way of detecting when the phone receives a message. Not that the LDR that is currently used is unreliable, more that it may just need something to make it better. I am sure that something can be used to detect a message and then transmit it to the product through the 30 pin connector. Talking of which, the implementation of the 3o pin connector will be much better and it will be integral to the product. It will also be used to determine whether or not the product has been inserted or not.

Apart from that, there isn’t much more that I would do with the electronics. They seem to be robust enough (touch wood) and reliable enough that they could do it. Obviously they would need proper long term testing and certification for being mains powered or USB powered, but it is almost there.

Part One Wrap Up

On the whole, the materials and the electronics seem fairly straight forward. Whether or not it is the case if the project is actually put into production then I don’t know. This part was definitely the easy part. Coming up in part two (either later on today or tomorrow) will be manufacturing method, joining of components, retail price and shipping. Production run was included in this one (by accident) I didn’t read my plan properly. By the looks of things it’ll be much longer so I should probably get writing now…

Fourth Year: Various Woes

I ended last week on a high from assembling my products and they are successfully working. A weekend at home was spent taking pictures and recording the video for the final presentation next week and for accompanying the press release. Everything is almost complete. I think that I should get finished by the middle of the week. Actually scrap that, I feel as though I can get everything finished by Tuesday. Don’t hold me to it though.

Despite the relative success of last week, a flaw that has occurred has put a dampener onto the weekend. The paint finish on the white one, even though it wasn’t too good in the first place has gotten even worse. It isn’t too obvious and it is only affecting one side but it is fairly serious if it develops even further. Around the USB port on the white product, cracks are appearing. Each of the four corners has a crack coming from it and if they do get any worse there is a chance that it will cause the paint to come off. This was after the assurance from the spray factory that the paint was “bombproof”. Thankfully, the white one is the one that most of the attention will not be on. It doesn’t have any Arduinos in it so it doesn’t work. But it is annoying nonetheless.

Something else that hasn’t gone quite right is to do with the cables. I ordered 2 USB male to male cables last week so the product could be connected to a computer or a wall adapter. When they arrived, instead of being white, like what I wanted them to be, they were black. I am going to have to order more in the hope that they arrive before I box up the product mid week. I would have kept the black if the plugs were black, but because the plugs are white, I am wanting the usb cables to be white so they match.

At the moment there are no other issues (touch wood), but it is early days yet. I am not going to let my projects out of my sight this coming week, just to be sure they are not tampered with, poked at, or just plain abused by anybody else.

Final Phase 2 Reflection

So here we are at the end of phase 2.

There have been many positives and many negatives in the whole process. However, I am going to try and summarise them all up as best as I can in the this post without rambling on too much.

So the positives, commence the bullet point list:

• It actually works. There was always some niggling doubt in the back of my mind that I wouldn’t really have managed to make this work or if I did, it wouldn’t really have been very good at all. The basics of the idea/code are
• There are two of them. I didn’t set out to make two. In fact I only made two just in case one of them was messed up.
• I actually made it and attempted to make it all myself.
• It has a good design that I think was very difficult to achieve. The simpler the design usually means the more difficult it is to make.
• It looks quite good, albeit from a distance. However there is a piece of me that says I should have made it out of the cardboard in the same way that my mark 1 prototype was.
• I am partial to a good piece of packaging. I don’t know if that have been obvious from the past lot of posts (yup, that’s sarcasm). I think that the packaging adds to my project in that it makes my project more believable as a commercial venture. It also sums me up as a designer ( I think it does anyway). Thinking of the process from start to finish and not giving up until there is at least something how I want it, or going in the direction I want it. I never had an easter holiday, I basically have been working constantly since January. It might not seem it on the surface but I have. So… yes, the main subject of this bullet point is thinking about the project even further than just the project, thinking about packaging, manufacturing, usability, etc.
• It. Just. Works. Three words that are often touted in Apple Keynotes. But it was something that I wanted my product to do. I wanted it to just work. No pointless controls. No micromanagement by the user. No external controls. Just put your phone in and go. It just works! Giving the user too many things to think about, especially in a product that is to be used when they are going to bed is silly. Over stimulation of the brain will keep you up late into the night. I didn’t want any of that, so I didn’t give it any of that.

I am not going to do much of a negative list. I don’t think this is the right time to do this. It is too soon from getting it finished. I want to give it a good month or so as to not make the post too bias, but I will put together a short list anyway:

• The fit and finish of some of the parts. The spray factory let me down with the finish of the paint (including forgetting to paint a bit of it) and it has left me feeling a bit unhappy with the way it has turned out. The join between the plastic part and the coloured parts are also not too good. I couldn’t find anywhere that did thicker acrylic and if they did it would have been far too expensive. The join and the fact that you can see some parts of the join through the block. If I could have done it differently, I would have probably tried to get a slightly bigger piece of plastic, irrespective of cost, and mill out the edges of the top and bottom so it fitted snugly. I have solutions to all the problems but just not the capability to have achieved them myself or in the timescale left from when they happened.
• The fact that I wasted so much time trying to paint the project myself.
• I would probably say that making it in the layered fashion that I had done was a mistake too. It took far too long to cut the bits out, glue them, and sand it to the right size. It was about five weeks instead of the 5 days or so that it would have taken to do it in a more conventional way. In fact, in hindsight, I would have wanted someone else to have made it for me. I’m going to openly admit my strong point isn’t making. Doing things on the computer is fine and making quirky things that only I’ll use, yes, making something that is of a high enough quality that I think it will be marked well, probably not. I am likely being too cynical here though, I’m going to blame this on the fact that the making has just finished for me.
• My timetable didn’t go to plan. Maybe I was over ambitious. I don’t know. It seemed reasonable. The painting problem however, was a rubbish and the 2 and a half weeks wasted was my problem so there was time I didn’t get back…

I don’t want to go into much more detail, but as it is the negative list went on longer than I wanted. As I’ve mentioned, it isn’t something that necessarily should be discussed right away. Moving on, there are still some things that need to be done. There isn’t much but hopefully they can get done over the weekend.

• One great image (idea got, just need to do it)
• Video (idea got, just need to do it)

The Press release is done, and will be posted on here as soon as I have the 1 great image up. The video will be done after the photographs have been taken. I don’t really see it as essential to the press release to start off with but the sooner I can get it done the better. The packing of the box and sealing of it will be done early-mid next week and will not be touched or opened again until the presentation the following week. Next week I will publish my thoughts on manufacturing and other details like that along with putting it on my portfolio website, a republishing of my 100 words on here, my press release on here, my one great image,my video and finally but not essentially, a list of acknowledgements.

Fourth Year: Plugs

At the start of the week it was brought to my attention that instead of using cheapo standard plugs for my project, I should use something a bit nicer. One the award winning folding plugs. A quick look online later and I had bought two.

Called MU, it is a USB adapter (other versions are coming soon such as for a laptop charger). In short it is pretty amazing. On top of that it comes in some gorgeous packaging. I know the plugs will not necessarily be shown during the degree show but I think that if the product was put into production, it would be a good looking plug, perhaps a licensed version of MU. I am going to cover all this sort of thing in a post next week, looking at manufacturing, mass production and the likes, summing up what I have been thinking about them in general over the past few months, finishing off my project has taken precedence at the moment.

Finally Some Room

Since the start of Phase 1 the amount of cardboard on my desk has been rising and rising. It wasn’t a mess per se, but it was a bit cluttered. My early start yesterday provided a good chance to change all that, and after filling up the paper bin and the normal bin before the day had even properly started, I have a clean desk. There is some things still on it, mainly card prototypes but you know it is much better than it was.

I kind of wish I had a before and after shot now…

Fourth Year: Some Images

With both of the products finished, I wanted to get some decent shots, or see if I could get some decent studio shots of my projects before they are boxed up and sealed before the presentation. Camera in hand I went through to the rapidly declining photography studio at the back of the electronics workshop next to the studio. These are by no means high quality or my one great image but they really are for my own personal use and are of a record. 

I am going to retake them again, probably tomorrow. The one thing that I am worrying about is that the studio shots that I took today, highlight the flaws. In a way it makes me feel quite ashamed about it, and I know that there isn’t time to fix it anymore, but it is something that I am now going to have to live with… hmmm

Anyway, onto the pictures.

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Fourth Year: Code Sorted & a Successful Morning

After the general disappointment of yesterday where things didn’t seem to be going right at all, today was a completely different kettle of fish. My fourth 8 o’clock start in the studio this week meant that I could go in early and try and rectify things that hadn’t quite gone to plan. The first thing to try and achieve was the coding. It only needed slight adjustments but it was way beyond my control and I was out of my depth by quite some way.

Thankfully, Ro Ramtohul, who is without a doubt an arduino magician as far as I can make out, helped me sort my code in just over an hour, which I was dead chuffed with. The changes that were made that makes it better and much more believable are as follows:

• When the phone is removed from the product, the mood light fades out almost instantaneously, compared to when I was trying it and it it faded out after that cycle.
• After a certain amount of time of the phone being in the product, the mood light will automatically turn off. This will likely be about half an hour, as on average, people get to sleep within 20 minutes. My original code couldn’t stop it… at all. So it would just loop continuously when the phone was in the device.

It was really only those two parts that needed fixed. But I am massively grateful to Ro for helping, as I am sure most other people in the class are for his assistance in their programming times of need.

The photograph below is just a glimpse into what the insides look like. I am not going to show you the rest, mainly because you cant see as it is very tightly packaged and it is just wires… everywhere.

With the coding sorted, I could finally get on with assembling the black one completely. I painted the edges that end up touching the light prism white because they do not show up as much when they are joined. I can’t remember if I have already mentioned this but no matter how I try and join the pieces together, there will always be bits which look untidy.

The photograph below shows the mood light working in test right before the parts were joined together. It will be quite difficult, but doable, to take them apart again.

ANYWAY. The parts were joined together and I set about just keeping my phone in it all day, doing continuous testing. It still works. And I am hoping that with the weekend at home I can further test it by doing some user testing and whatnot.

It wasn’t just the coding and the joining together that was successfully managed today. Here is a brief list of what else I managed to achieve:

• cut out new and tidy slips for the boxes
• cut out little boxes (that were finally the right size and cut right to fit together properly) that fit the cable, plug etc
• made the boxes up and glued them
• tidied up my test and swept underneath it

All in all it was a good day.