Entry 7
Hello, this last entry will cover the final part of my journey of chemical product design, Prototyping and Design Specifications.
This one is not to be missed.💪☝
The contents of this entry.
- Preliminary Ideation (How did we get here?)
- Design notes and sketches
- Fabrication Process
- Final Prototype (SongNi XM 5000)
- Learning Reflection
What is Prototyping?
Prototyping is the physical creation of a product's design usually on a smaller scale and with low fidelity. This means that the product should be cheap, simple and low-technology.
Prototyping can help designers understand and eradicate any additional pain points that were not previously thought of. It helps us to view the product on a physical 3D scale.
To add on, we can even make changes to the product before fully committing to it. An example would be mentioned further in this blog.
Where can we see successful prototyping?
Even Ironman had his first prototype before his latest nanotech suit seen in Endgame.
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| Ironman's MK 81 Suit |
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| Ironman's MK 1 Suit |
The prototype most importantly gives us a sense of where and how our chemical device will be implemented.
Although Ironman's prototype is a functioning one, since our prototype is a low fidelity one and at this level of study, it does not need to fulfil the function offered by the chemical device.
We can easily use a placeholder for where we want the working part to be and explain how it will function.
As for design specifications, they provide designers with information on the functionality of the product and any special features it may include.
We can also cross-check the prototype with the table to view the similarities and the feasibility of the listed specifications.
Through this module, we have picked up the skills of CADD. Cardboard prototyping and 3D Printing technology. Hence, we would be using these skills to embark on our prototyping journey.
Preliminary Ideation
Now, a recap of the problem which urged our team to push for the chemical device; Cooling headphones technology.
Bonus stories ahead! Scroll further to read.
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However, my ears feel very hot and uncomfortable after prolonged wearing.
This ruins the experience of wearing headphones while gaming for me and I would rather use my AirPods if not for the attached microphone feature that the headphones offer.
Another undesirable experience that my friend Ryan has with headphones, is that while working out with headphones at the gym, his ears get all hot and sweaty, which comes as a dealbreaker for him.
He even told me that if this was not an issue, he would definitely use headphones for his heavy gym sessions as they provide superior sound quality.
I frequently see him in the gym with his earbuds.
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| Pure rage towards the headphones |
Idea and Chemical device
This conversation with Ryan as well as my own distaste with headphones made me realise that I am able to solve these worries with the employment of a chemical device, the cooling gel headphones.
My team and I then looked into this idea by means of literature reviews. The literature reviews consisted of bulk research regarding cooling gel.
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The chemical device works based on the chemical engineering principle of heat transfer by conduction through solids.
Since heat transfers from a region of high to low temperature, the chemical device seeks to draw heat away from the ears and dissipate the heat while cooling down the ears.
For the Prototype and Final product,
Although my team and I had initially planned for the water-cooled headphone design, we decided to go with cooling gel headphones rather than water-cooled as the former is more versatile to work with in terms of portability and fabrication.
With this choice, thanks to prototyping, we managed to change our design before fully committing to the tedious water-cooled headsets which is sure to cause problems.
Next, we came up with the design specifications table.
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Design Notes and Sketches
Before we go ahead with constructing the product, we first have to make a design for how each part will look, the dimensions and the final product pieced together; these are the blueprints for how we will construct and design the product.
For our headphones, we took inspiration and measurements from both Ruba's Sony WH-1000XM4s as well as the AirPods Maxes available in the market.
Here's a look through sketches at the Final Product Design.
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| Final Design |
Next, the parts and dimensions for design.
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| Dimensions Specification |
Lastly, our prototype included one of the 6 functional mechanisms, the Lever. This is a sketch of what it looks like.
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| Lever Mechanism |
The Lever when pushed down, ejects the ear cup outward and upward for ease of replacement or removal of the ear muff, a quality of life feature that is not seen in the headphone market.
This lever action mechanism operates similar to that of a piston.
We may relinquish the lever mechanism for the actual product
(not the prototype).
Nonetheless, this idea is still interesting.
Fabrication Process
In plant process operations, we first conduct tabletop line tracing followed by on-site line tracing with the opening or closing of valves for the process.
Similarly, after the designing of the prototype, we then begin the gruelling process of fabrication.
Ear Muffs x2
These ear muffs had the most exciting fabrication.
We used a piece of foam and an electrical heat cutter (just because) to cut out the foam for the ear muffs. Afterwards, we used a layer of cloth to wrap over them, simulating the cotton/bamboo layer mentioned in sustainable design.
Importantly, the chemical device; cooling gel is embedded within the foam ear muff, while the cloth wraps and covers it.
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| Ear muff |
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| Foam |
Ear Cups and Lever Mechanism
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| Mavis and Ruba hard at work fabricating the ear cups #WomeninSTEM |
A video of the working mechanism incorporated into the ear cups.
Jun Hao initially wanted to 3D print the lever mechanism as it was not easy to fabricate since the ear cup was a confined space and the mechanism was rather detailed.
Dr Noel also advised against it since it would be a frustrating process to 3D print it.
Ultimately, Dr Noel was right, as Jun Hao was just really tired and fed up spending a weekend trying to figure out the last part of the CADD for the mechanism.
Hence, Jun Hao went ahead to fabricate the mechanism using cardboard which was easier.
Headband
The headband consists of retractable adjustors which cater to an individual's head shape.
Our prototype device emulated this feature from a regular pair of headphones.
For this, I used the tab and slot joinery.
This short video explains how the innovative joinery works. 💡💡💡
Piecing parts of the puzzle together 🧩
Having completed all the parts, I then joined them together.
Final Prototype and bonus review 😜🤭
Behold, the product of my team's ICPD Journey, the SongNi XM 5000
It's rare that my full team gets a hero shot together and only right that we took one for our final ICPD Project.
(JunHao, Kieron, Ruba and Mavis)
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| Hero Shot |
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| Detail Product Shot |
Here's a bonus snippet review by yours truly, for your enjoyment.
The prototype works!
Learning Reflection
Through this product design journey, I have felt a rollercoaster of emotions. I have learned to step out of my comfort zone and do things even if I don't feel like it (sacrifice my comfort for growth). From late-night anger at why the prototype can't work to the excitement of the final prototype being showcased in its glory. 🙌
Even the finding of preliminary literature reviews was extremely uncomfortable, but my team and I managed to pull through it to find resourceful journals to aid us in creating our chemical device. 🎧
Balancing this project alongside studying for the upcoming exam was not easy but I made it work. 🙆🙆
One thing that I need to work on with my team is communication. My team is generally a quiet team which makes things tough for me as I thrive when I receive immediate feedback, however that is not the case with this team. I have since tried adapting to them by for example arranging team meetings via Whatsapp chat and not do voice calls on Discord unless necessary. 🤙
Through this journey, I have really learned many skills that I never thought I would have when I chose this course. Most importantly, I also had fun despite making mistakes. 😝
This is an example of a mistake my team and I made during the prototyping process.
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| The first prototype headband was too curved, stiff and could not accommodate the retractable adjustor while the ear muffs were made of cardboard and were not aesthetically pleasing. The final prototype parts were much better. |
So, it is ok and good to make mistakes, as long as we rise up and learn from them. A saying from one of my previous lecturers, Mr Cheah, "You only learn when things go wrong."
Regarding the final presentation, although my team was the first to present, after watching a couple of other teams present, I felt myself negatively comparing my team's progress to theirs and that they did a better job than my team.
Looking back, I should never compare myself or my team to others and view others as learning points for my team and me to improve moving onward.
Here's to having a great holiday and looking forward to Y2S2's CPDD, where we will build the real chemical device's design product ;D
