NOVA PROJECTS

Unfortunately, I am unable to show any exact images or describe my work in specific detail because these products are not yet public. However, the following samples have been approved by Nova management as examples of my client projects.

Thank you for your understanding.

MODELING INJECTION-MOLDED PARTS IN SOLIDWORKS

One of the clients we worked with was looking to create a small injection-molded plastic case with multiple pieces and attachments. There were many details required for the inside of the case, as it must hold the encased object in a specific way. The Industrial Design team had spent a couple months working with the client to select a nice, elegant form for the outside of the case that would entice consumers to buy this premium product. After they had settled on a exterior design and modeled it in Rhino, my task was to take this solid model and shell it out, so that the model met the client's requirements.

I modeled the interior based on a previous existing model of the case, and then edited this part after later receiving more detailed information about the requirements from the client. Next, I modeled pieces and attachments so that they were mechanically compatible with the case, and worked with the client until each detail was satisfactory. At this point, a more formal DFM process was necessary, as I began adding fillets, drafts, and other important details in order to prepare these parts for injection-molding. I created a slide deck and began communicating with the manufacturer until the part was ready for molding. A few sample parts were molded, and after some tweaks, the client was ready to move forward with larger-scale production. It was very exciting to see an assembly I modeled in SolidWorks come to life as an injection-molded product that may come to market soon!

MECHANICAL PROTOTYPING

One of the projects I spent the most time on was a simple medical device. The client asked our team to produce various mechanical prototypes that could be actuated to achieve a specific displacement. A major challenge with this prototype was making sure it was very small and light with few moving parts while still being able to withstand great forces. I joined the project prototyping at a point where we were running low-fidelity tests with craft materials. I helped build various iterations of these low-fidelity prototypes to see which method of actuation would be most promising to achieve the client's goals and minimize production costs. 

After discussing these prototypes with the client and providing our recommendation, we moved forward into producing higher quality prototypes out of industrial materials and 3D printed parts I designed in SolidWorks. I helped determine a plan of action for the progression and development of the project and began to run thorough force testing to see which conditions and configurations were ideal for the prototype, allowing for further refinement. I spent a couple months optimizing this mechanical design prototype, focusing on testing different material combinations, checking in with my supervisor, and presenting my findings and new designs to the client at regular intervals. 

Finally, we reached a point where the prototype achieved the goals defined by the client, and moved forward into optimizing the product for manufacturing (cost, assembly, manufacturing methods for plastic parts, etc.), and introduced our industrial design team to revisualize the device for premium ergonomics and interactivity. Unfortunately, my time with Nova was coming to an end around this point, but I was able to help present the product to the industrial design team to help them understand the challenges and constraints we faced in developing the prototype so they may optimize their designs, and I enjoyed seeing the client excited about achieving the specific goals described after a long period of prototyping to see if the proposed product could actually perform as intended.