Unichvrge
Team: Khoa Tran (individual)
Year: 2019
Keywords: design for manufacture, phone dock, manufacturing process
The problem
Building on the skills and knowledge of common manufacturing processes, help a start-up company, Spin Electronics design a logo and a simple Arduino-based phone charging dock.
The solution
A simple universal phone charging dock that can charge a wide variety of smartphones.
The impact
Improved ability to design a product with a suitable level of aesthetics and usability within the constraints of manufacturing.
RESEARCH
USER GROUP
Students
Need an affordable phone charging dock that can accommodate many types of smartphones and fit into a study environment.
Office workers
Need an affordable phone charging dock that can accommodate many types of smartphones and fit into a study environment.
FEATURES
Exploded view
The product is primarily made of Acrylonitrile
Butadiene Styrene (ABS) which is one of the most commonly used plastics for injection moulding. It has many attractive characteristics such as high impact resistance and low shrinkage. Considering the chosen texture (i.e. Mold-tech MT-11000), ABS results in an excellent textured surface finish.
Hero shot
Designed with versatility and usability in mind, the product can accommodate a wide range of smartphones with multiple interchangeable charging heads. Unichvrge provides an expensive charging solution with the use of simple technologies. The product is available in 3 colour schemes including abyss (turquoise/bronze), genesis (navy/rose), and aurora (saffron/grey)
SEQUENCE OF USE
STEP 1: Plug the cable
The user plugs in the USB cable to power up the charging dock.
STEP 2: Remove
The dock is designed so that its user interface and the phone's screen are within the optimal range for displays, allowing easy eye and head rotation without fatigue.
DEVELOPMENT
Design development
This process involves various types of sketches including styling sketches, final design sketches, and feature design sketches.
Flow simulation
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solution to simulate the flow of plastic during injection moulding.
PROTOTYPE
Rough prototype
Rapid prototyping using foam is an efficient way to test design ideas and inform the design decision process regarding form and overall dimensions.
Final prototype
The final prototype was carefully finished with spray paint and primer to achieve a high-quality polished appearance.