What makes it all tick?
The visual aesthetics were just one part of this project, the internal architecture to me was just as important! as without this the product can not, and will not function correctly.
The visual aesthetics were just one part of this project, the internal architecture to me was just as important! as without this the product can not, and will not function correctly.
The circuit and chassis must be correctly secured to the case to ensure full functionality of the device, and the case should not rely solely on adhesive for its construction.
Below detail my designed features that make the device work.
Securing the casing
I felt the method of assembly of the casing was an important feature of my product, I intended to use a small amount of adhesive but only a secondary method of securing the casing.
Securing the casing
I felt the method of assembly of the casing was an important feature of my product, I intended to use a small amount of adhesive but only a secondary method of securing the casing.
Whilst adhesive will create a good and permanent bond of the parts it lacks the ability to align the parts to mm precision, my design provides the ability to do this as well as interlocking the parts similar to using dowelling in wood craft.
LED Light Indicator
All good quality USB sticks seem to have an LED indicator light, I too felt this was an important feature to have especially as the given circuit provided the option for this.
All good quality USB sticks seem to have an LED indicator light, I too felt this was an important feature to have especially as the given circuit provided the option for this.
By creating a recess in my casing I was able to use a clear acrylic insert that will allow light to be emitted from inside the casing but prevent the ingress of foreign bodies, also by creating a small 2mm hole in the recess that enters the circuit housing this creates a focused dot of light as apposed to an unfocused spread of light.
Securing the Circuit & Chassis
An intricate part of this design was the housing and securing of the circuit and chassis, this required careful consideration to material wall thickness, mounting and securing points, and aids to stop movement of the internal components when the USB is in use.
An intricate part of this design was the housing and securing of the circuit and chassis, this required careful consideration to material wall thickness, mounting and securing points, and aids to stop movement of the internal components when the USB is in use.
Making the Cap 'Click' On & Off
The cap of the USB stick has been designed to form the 'Head' section of the 'Droid', this required some thinking to make the cap a secure fit to the chassis with extremely limited movement when in place but easily allows the cap to be taken on & off.
The cap of the USB stick has been designed to form the 'Head' section of the 'Droid', this required some thinking to make the cap a secure fit to the chassis with extremely limited movement when in place but easily allows the cap to be taken on & off.
To achieve this I created the internal dimensions to be only fractionally larger than the chassis and used two notches (shown below) that align to two recess' on the chassis, this creates a interlocking feature that allows the cap to 'click' on & off.
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The finishing details
What will create the Coloured Inserts?
There are a range of products available that I explored to fulfil the job of creating the coloured inserts and product information text.
My initial intention was to use:
* A small thickness acrylic to create the insert, but I soon realised with the small scale and fine detail of my model this would not be practical.
* The same applied to the laser engraving sheet, whilst this creates a nice finish it too is too thick for my intended design and will struggle with clarity of my intended text.
* Coloured acrylic paint was another option, however this would require hand painting onto the model. I had two issues with this, the first being the quality of finish as I do not believe no matter how well done it is will provide the quality I desire. The second is that this is a CAD/CAM project and this process is a hand technique, not to mention that this would not be viable for manufacturing the product should it go into production.
* In the end I opted for the vinyl insert option with lazertran transferred text as this method not only utilises CAD/CAM process' but will also provide the best quality finish for my product.
There are a range of products available that I explored to fulfil the job of creating the coloured inserts and product information text.
My initial intention was to use:
* A small thickness acrylic to create the insert, but I soon realised with the small scale and fine detail of my model this would not be practical.
* The same applied to the laser engraving sheet, whilst this creates a nice finish it too is too thick for my intended design and will struggle with clarity of my intended text.
* Coloured acrylic paint was another option, however this would require hand painting onto the model. I had two issues with this, the first being the quality of finish as I do not believe no matter how well done it is will provide the quality I desire. The second is that this is a CAD/CAM project and this process is a hand technique, not to mention that this would not be viable for manufacturing the product should it go into production.
* In the end I opted for the vinyl insert option with lazertran transferred text as this method not only utilises CAD/CAM process' but will also provide the best quality finish for my product.
What is Lazertran?
Lazertran is a special transfer paper that allows any printed image to be permanently applied to almost any surface (providing the correct procedures are followed).
This process is particularly good at capturing and transferring fine detail such as the product information I wish to have on my USB stick.
The process is completed by printing onto the paper using a standard laser printer, the image is then cut to size and soaked in water for a few minutes, this can then be applied to the surface and once dried becomes a permanent item.
further information can be found at: http://www.lazertran.com/
Creating the Vinyl inserts ?
The vinyl inserts were created using a very simple CAD/CAM process utilising Corel Draw and the Vinyl cutter, which does exactly as the name suggests, it cuts images form sheet vinyl.
But first an image must be prepared for the machine to cut.
The vinyl inserts were created using a very simple CAD/CAM process utilising Corel Draw and the Vinyl cutter, which does exactly as the name suggests, it cuts images form sheet vinyl.
But first an image must be prepared for the machine to cut.
Before preparing the images in Corel Draw the profiles must be exported from Creo.
This required a reduction of 2mm to be offset from every edge of the internal dimensions of the insert section of the casing.
Had this simply been scaled it would have resulted in a profile that did not match and the inserts would not have had an even fit into the space provided.
This drawing can now be saved in Creo as a .dxf file, a format that can be read by Corel Draw. This image can now be prepared in Corel Draw as detailed below.
With the images cut into the vinyl and the lazertran product information created these can now be transfered on to the USB casing.
