Industrial Design
Dispenser: When designing for the African market, the design must be rugged, durable and dust proof. These products achieved all that. The cover of the dispenser doubles as a 3 position foot piece which also fulfills the function of bolting it to a desk whilst still opening and closing. Heat management of the internals was solved through a heat sink in aluminium that also functions as the structural backbone and hinging mechanism of the product. Extensive CFD was performed in order to optimise the heat transfer as only natural convection could be used. A cooling fan was not possible as the product needed to be splash and dust proof.
The MP3 player: The MP3 player had the same design criteria as the dispenser, being rugged and durable. The control panel of the unit needed to intuitive and easy to use. The product uses a proprietary connecter mechanism to interface with the docking station as well as other players. The MP3 players have the ability to share and transfer music from unit to unit without the need for cables or wireless methods. Around the perimeter there is an optional rubber sleeve that acts as protection and a winding mechanism for the earphone cable.
PrototypingAll parts that were to be made of plastic or rubber were 3D printed and hand finished. Specified textures were applied to these before they were used as masters for silicone tooling. Various mould inserts had to be made up in order to form the hinge mechanism in some of the parts. The appropriate resins were vacuum cast into these tools to make plastic parts that simulated injection moulded ABS and various soft shore rubbers. The parts were cast in customer specified colours that were integral to their branding strategy.
The aluminium heat sink was CNC milled and bead-blasted whilst the mold-inserts were turned from brass billets.
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