Consumer Electrical Equipment Design

 

Using sophisticated 3D design software Bortz Product Design (BPD) designed a dynamic range of double adaptors and power-boards for Avico Electronics. 

The brief was to design a range of adaptor products that had a distinct image, one that could not be confused with any other brand. This image had to cover the entire family of double adaptors (vertical, horizontal, left and right), 4 way and 6 way power-boards with and without surge or line protection as well as future products. The designs also had to incorporate the Australian Standards and recessed plug sockets.

After researching competitors' brands, rough hand concept sketches were presented to the client. The curved concept was selected almost immediately. The concept was to create a product that had some personality. One that was fun, had curves that were easy to hold, in fact that wanted to be held. The features of safety and ergonomics and those that Standards imposed, were to drive the look and feel of the product, not be tacked on.

Then came the moment of truth, what would the product really look like when it was dimensioned to conform to Standards?

A selection of the hand-drawn conceptual sketches initially presented to the client.

Any designer knows that hand sketches can fudge reality quite conveniently, making the impossible look fantastic. Sketches are a quick way of generating ideas. They give a broad outline to how the product could look, but omit specifics.

So how do you visualize the real thing, without having to make one? For this SolidWorks and PhotoWorks were used.

SolidWorks and PhotoWorks allowed us to build the products, check they conformed to Standards and had a family image without leaving the computer.

Modelling of the adaptor base shape.

Before starting to model any of the products, careful analysis of the common features was assessed. The bulge, recessed socket and terminals as well as the cheeky face detail used in the sockets were all recurring items. These items would be used multiple times through the use of pattern and mirror functions.

SolidWorks' ability to create multiple configurations using design tables to set features instances (how many times it is used) and dimensions as well as suppress or un-suppress selected items, allowed us to make huge time savings in the design process. Using the configuration manager, it was easy to create the 4 and 6 way power-boards and their variations using the same parts.

Multi travel adaptor– a new addition to the family.

Multiple photo-realistic images of all the products were produced for product assessment and later for marketing purposes. The client was also able to discuss the product as we whirled it around the screen, checking dimensions and possible interferences.

Usually at this point in design we go into some form of rapid prototyping. On this project we went straight to 2D product specification. This was an unusual step, as was the fact that the toolmaker was not going to be using any of the 3D information we had generated for the project! We were confident that the information that we were able to convey through the power SolidWorks' 2D drawing facility as well as PhotoWorks' realistic and accurate supporting images, would make it a breeze for the toolmaker.

Line protection and night light concept images generated in PhotoWorks.

When the first off tool samples arrived, there were very minor modifications, mainly to the surface finish of the product. We were happy, the client was happy and when entered for the Australian Design Awards, the judges were obviously happy too awarding it a Design Mark.

Promotional brochures of international versions of the adaptor generated in PhotoWorks.

BPD's client is expanding into new markets and products require design changes in order to comply with different international standards and safety codes. Since the original design is fully documented as a 3D SolidWorks model, updated design changes can be made with minimal additional work and in a very short turnaround time.

Bortz Product Design is a Sydney based industrial design consultancy involved in a wide range of products, from plastic housings to street furniture. They can be contacted on (02) 9878 0123 or email bpd08@bortz.com.au

Case Study of On-line Collaboration

 

THE FUTURE FOR DESIGN, COMMUNICATION AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The following article illustrates how the design process has changed dramatically since the introduction of new communication tools.

The saying goes “A picture is worth a thousand words”. How true, well we live in a 3D world, so a 3D image must be worth a million and creating the 3D prototype must be a billion.

Do you remember the ‘fax machine ad’? The one where the designer is trying to explain to the manufacturer how to build the product over the phone? The designer knows exactly what he wants, he has the plans in front of him, but at the other end of the line, the manufacturer is imagining something completely different. Then they cut to the second scenario where he just faxes the 2D plans and voila suddenly the manufacturer just understands exactly what is wanted. Yeah right, if only it worked that well! Don’t despair, the good news is it could, but the scenario has a little twist to it.

Some time ago, we were using a toolmaker on a different continent (South Africa). We both spoke English – so no language barrier. We had faxed plenty of drawings of what was wanted, but every time we got samples back, there were errors. We were simply not getting our message across through faxing and telephone communication. The toolmaker did not have NC machines and was doing the work the traditional old-fashioned way. Now I’m not sure if he could read a 2D drawing, but it certainly didn’t seem so.

This incident represented design and project communication obstacles we encountered frequently. While internet had progressed our communication facilities by enabling us to email a jpg version of a design to a client who may not have used CAD programmes and who did not have any CAD file readers, there was still no way the client could see the design in rotation, in cross sections, unassembled, in parts etc. without having to come into our offices and watch from our computer screens. This made international/ interstate/ even short-term inter- suburb communication a near impossibility.

Along comes a number of viewing tools from SolidWorks that has changed the nature of our activities beyond our wildest imagination.

1.       edrawings a fantastic extension to SolidWorks 2D facility.

2.      SolidView Light- a light viewer we can send to the client/ design partner that will enable them to open the design file- rotate and view from all angles.

I call up the toolmaker and check he connected to the internet. I gave him the site to download the viewer program and then email him an edrawing. (Actually I could have made it easier for him and just emailed him a larger executable file, but I wanted him to have the viewer for future).

 

Later in the day I gave him a call and got a very excitable response to the drawing. The penny had dropped, the lights were on and somebody was home! You see this was no ordinary 2D drawing. Not only was it “enhanced” to be sent over the Internet, but it also contained 3D information. It allowed the toolmaker to rotate each view independently in 3D on screen. Views could be shaded or wireframe, and a 3D cursor could be used to see where you were respectively in each view. Brilliant – the design intent got through. 

I send my clients three readers: SolidView Lite , edrawings and AC/DC. SolidView Lite enabled my client to open the 3D design on screen without the need of SolidWorks installed on his computer, and to visualise it from any angle he wished. AC/DC allowed him to view the fully rendered jpeg version of the design. Jpegs are great for showing the final design objective in an aesthetic fashion, however the image is static and analysis is not possible this way.

Example 2: On-Line Design Collaboration transcends distance and reduces time to market for internationally acclaimed Australian Sim Card reader design.

We have just finished another range of products that made use of this new communication technology. This product was designed and developed in the Australia, and sold to the world. Prototyping was done in Perth, tooling done in China and design and development done in two offices on Sydney’s North Shore (Not that it is a great distance, but it is not in the same office).

The design process started traditionally enough with the client setting up the brief and our design office producing a few rough hand sketches to get direction on the products layout.

We then climbed onto the computer using SolidWorks and PhotoWorks to produce a few solid models, photo-realistic images and 2D printouts of what the product could look like. We emailed the images off to the client and got an immediate response. They loved the concepts, but the marketing department wanted some minor changes. Using SolidWorks parametric ability to move features this was no major drama.

 

The client was to be displaying products on a trade show in the UK in few weeks and wanted to get forward orders on their new product range. To invoke a better response from potential clients at the show a working prototype was needed in addition to the pretty rendered jpeg images. We quickly emailed a file off to the SLA bureau in Perth for the plastic parts and edrawings of PCB outline to the clients electronics designer. Taa daa, a few days later we magically have a complete working model! 

Using edrawings we kept the client up to date with any changes that we made in the design. We exported the parts as iges files and sent them with edrawings and pdf files to the toolmakers in China.

From this case we can see that communicating clearly and correctly makes all the difference and using the right tools for the job makes this possible. So next time you are working remotely from your suppliers or clients make sure that they have the tools to make your communication clearer than just a thousand confused words.

Bortz Product Design is a Sydney based industrial design consultancy involved in a wide range of products, from plastic housings to street furniture. They can be contacted on (612) 9878 0123 or email at bpd08@bortz.com.au