February - May | 2016

This project was given as a group project in E27, Introduction to Manufacturing and Tolerancing. Our goal was to design a case for the iPhone that would add some additional functionality. We had to also describe the different types of fits that were involved in this design as well as the tolerances required. While primarily meant as an exercise of tolerancing, the project also provided some additional exposure to product design, ideation, iteration, modeling, and prototyping.

The first step was ideation and what functionality we wanted to add. Typical of many innovation exercises, many post-its were used describing common problems that people have, such as losing keys. Through this, we decided that one way to augment the iPhone was to add a user-customizable system to the case. The case would feature a lattice structure on the back. We would then design additional attachments, such as backup battery, key holder, or pill holder. These attachments would slide into the lattice in whatever way the user preferred. An inspiration for this was a Google phone that was being marketed at the time touting user customization.

With the goal in mind, the team was assigned different parts to CAD in a simple manner. For instance, the battery was just modeled as a rectangle. Our main task in this project was to go into detail on the manufacturing and tolerancing aspect of this product and demonstrate a proof of concept. I CADed the pill counter and whistle and also helped with the printing.

Our project was mildly successful. Due to limitations of 3D printing, the lattice needed to be printed separately from the case, requiring gluing after. Due to variation in glue thickness as well as the lower quality 3D printer, some lattice routes were tighter than others. We did decide that for mass manufacturing, a plastic injection method would make much more sense. However, for the purposes of the project, 3D printing was our only method of rapid prototyping. Overall though, the attachments were able to slide on as envisioned.