Monday, 24th of October 2011 - Presentation: Video

Along with the Prezi presentation we will also be presenting a scenario video that shows the interaction with the product:

Scenario Video Link

The video shows how the users can input and receive output from the other users in a live sense.

Thursday, 20th of October 2011 - Presentation

The time is coming that we must present the final design to DNB601. The newly named "Levi-Mate" will be presented in an online format known commonly as Prezi.

The object part of the presentation covers:
Manufacturability:

 Practical Functions:

 Symbolic Functions:

 Technology:

The presentation covers these aspects in a concise yet comprehensive manner and will give the audience an excellent view into the Levi-Mates functions and usability.

Tuesday, 18th of October 2011 - Personality of the product

It is in our nature to want to be unique. Everyone strives to have their own form on individuality.. So why should that stop with the things we interact with..?

Render: Green

Render: Blue

Render: Red

Render: Yellow

Render: Not in use.

 This feature will allow users to differentiate themselves from the other users.

Tuesday, 18th of October 2011 - CAD 4: Refinements

From the initial CAD completion, the group got together to discuss the use of the product as well as how it functions. One of the key visual issues that turned out to be a technical issue as well was the fan and its position in a levitative state. At current the fan was positioned above the electro-magnet though this proved to be a difficult technical challenge in keeping the fan in a steady position. It seemed that one knock would send the fan off center. For this reason the design was changed so the magnet support would extend up further and allow the fan to hang beneath it.

Render: Handing the fan instead of levitating it from below

One of the other refinements that was needed is a way of oxygen to enter the flame path. From the proof of concet (link) model, we can see that an air gap is needed for the oxygen to flow from the outside of the product, past the flames to heat up, then rise past the fan to spin it. For this reason it was decided openings in the glass casing would be made to make sure there was sufficient air flow through the product:

Render: Air flow gaps in the glass to allow heat to rise and spin the heat fan.

These opening will allow for a big reduction in air flow turbulence that would have happened if air needed to be drawn from above as well as exhausted that way. The group agreed that this form was one to keep and that we would continue to develop the behavior development of the product.

Monday, 17th of October 2011 - Standards

With the use of gas AND electrics in the design of the product - it is important that all Australian safety standards are met. According to AS 2381.7 - 1989 Australian Standard for Electrical equipment for explosive atmospheres - Selection, installation and maintenance: Part 7: Intrinsic safety "i" -

"3.3.3 Insulation. The insulation of conductors of interconnecting cables shall comply with the following requirements which may be satisfied by evidence supplied by the cable manufacturer. Where the conductors of interconnecting cables are insulated with thermoplastics, elastomeric or equivalent material the insulation shall have a minimum radial thickness of - (a) 0.3 mm if the intrisically safe circuits operate at extra low voltage (<32V a.c. or <115 V d.c.); ...."

Even though the butane is contained in a sealed environment, it is important that if this were to break, there would be no way the gas could ignite from the electronics in the device. To make the product meet these standards the product:

• features a PTFE sealed printed circuit board
• power supply and connections are <24 DC (automatically meets standards)
• connections between batteries are insulated with PVC >0.3mm
• servo motor housing is sealed to a point where bearing and cable inlets are the only way gas can enter
• all materials are compatible according to chemical database management software ChemAlert

Screen shot: Chem Alert chemical compatibility program

 This will allow the product to be sold because of it's compliance with all standards.

Monday, 17th of October 2011 - CAD3

After further refinements to the design from the group members, the features started to become those that could and would be set in stone to allow use to think about presentation. Now that the housing, base, mechanism and flame dial were set in place.. the application of some of the other key technologies were sorted. These were: SAFETY, LEVITATION, FAN 

All of these components really needed to be considered off of one another. The casing was going to be a product of the housing diameter as well as fan size, the fan size was a factor of anthropometric's and casing size, and the levitation was going to be a product of the fan size and casing size. For these reason the fan was modeled first with anthropometric data considered of the 99%tile male being able to hold the fan comfortably in his fingers (big enough) and the 1%tile female being light enough, and have enough grip to be able to hold comfortably.

Render: Fan design."L" for levitate

 From here the glass casing could be designed with a few of these factors considered. As a secondary safety measure the casing needed to be tapered (fan large enough) that if the magnets were to fail for some reason, the fan would have something to fall onto that wasn't the flame. Originally it was thought that the levitation could occur from the bottom forcing the fan upwards and it would also double as a catch point (seen below) though it was still seen that an added measure of safety was needed in protecting the fan from falling into the flames.

Render: Fan, casing and levitation stand

With both the fan and the casing modeled we could start to see what options in terms of the levitation stand could be utilized into the design. A simple stand that followed the contours of the glass casing was the outcome of the groups discussions. This would allow and easier manufacture as well and assembly when it came to it.

Render: Batter storage in base.

In this discussion with the group, it was also decided that primary source of energy would come from a 9V batter to be stored in the base, under the circuit board. This will be sufficient as the only constant source of energy draw is the electro-magnet, with the servo motor activating when required. This will be supported by a smaller back up battery built into the circuitry to make sure power is shut off completely every-time (bringing the servo motor back around and cutting off the gas supply).

Friday, 14th of October 2011 - CAD 2

After designing the mechanism, it was time to model the main housing for the product.. The basic shape was going to be fairly straight forward as we had to have a small ring at the top for the flame dial and a larger ring at the bottom for the mechanism. Through our previous research into the lighting distances for lighters, we were able to determine the distance required for the gas outputs to be apart (hence finding the diameter of the output holes.. as well as finding the diameter to house the mechanism through the previous model research and simulations.

Render: Mechanism in housing.

The above image shows the initial housing model that easily houses the mechanism while tapering up towards the flame dial for the output of the ring of flames.

Render: Initial housing with flame dial.

The image above shows the housing with the flame dial above. The flame dial's size is set because of the gas line outputs but there may be room for the housing to change depending on gas storage requirements.

Render: Housing rounded to give warmer, welcoming appeal.

 This image shows how the base can run smoothly into the housing then into the flame dial - the housing needs to be made somewhat thicker to allow for the mechanism to screw into the side walls without protruding through the housing wall.
 

Render: Gas release concept with OTS servo and circuit board in base.

The gas storage concept shows how a distribution ring can be manufactured to be placed on top of the tank. however this will change as the ring is unnecessary and the distribution can be built into the take itself.

Render: Servo motor with switch wheel. Calculating required distances for mechanism and servo arm.

The servo motor arm needed to be adjusted several times to suit the diameters required to "knock-on" and "knock-off" the gas release mechanism. Space is being saved by mounting the servo motor directly on top of the PCB that will be used to control the product, using the same M3 x 5mm screws.

Wednesday, 12th of October 2011 - CAD 1

CAD Software:     Autodesk Inventor 2012 Suite: Educational Version
Render Engine:    Inventor Studio 2012: Educational Version
Image Editing:      Adobe Photoshop CS4 Version
                              Autodesk Sketchbook Pro 2012: Educational Version
Presentation:        Adobe Illustrator CS4 Version


 The mechanism has been designed and the form has a set criteria, but these need to be explored through the computer aided design process. The first part of this process is to determine the precise geometry of the mechanism as there will be many moving parts in close quarters to each other. This is expected to create some changes to the design of the gas release mechanism as the wedge mechanism will be pivoting back and forth around other wedge mechanism -

Render: Mechanism 1. This image shows how the mechanisms can work in harmony side by side without interference. NB: render is of completed Levi-Mate: purpose for explanation of CAD process.

Render: Mechanism 2. Close up of the gas release mechanism with the servo motor wheel in use. NB: render is of completed Levi-Mate: purpose for explanation of CAD process.

 As can be seen from the above render of the mechanism - the wedges are able to be work together to create a variable gas release mechanism that will allow the flames to update how many users are working together on the same project.

The modeling of the mechanism was relatively simple (although very tight tolerances). The key aspect was making sure that the outputs of the gas were close enough together (Lighter exploration) while allowing for the mechanisms to be far enough apart to be able to operate effectively. At first this seemed to be quite a challenge as the mechanisms would have to be so small (almost un-manufacturable) for the gas outputs to be so close together. This was because it was thought that the mechanisms would have to be the direct flame output.. this was until it was discovered that the use of a secondary gas line could be used and the mechanism could be positioned further down in the housing.


As the gas release mechanism was the first part to be modeled, some assumptions had to be made regarding the mounting. They were designed so they could be screwed into the side wall of whatever housing was going to be placed around the mechanism. It was also assumed M3 x 5mm counter-sunk machine screws were to be used though it is likely that smaller could be used.

The model will then be built up from here, now that the mechanism is shown to work (through the CAD simulation).

Monday, 10th of October 2011 - From in the context

It is approaching the time when the product needs to be explored further to the point of CAD and form exploration. With this there had to be some things to consider- for example: the context in which the product will be placed, does it suit the application, does the form invite the user to use the product...?

For starters we need to consider our user, and what their collaborative or individual workspace might look like...

Image: Uni student work space

Something like this image is what comes to mind: especially when we consider the original aim of "burning the candle at both ends". We can observe the time of day being at night, what is on the screen being what looks to be work or some kind, the warm dimmed lighting suggesting possibly late at night not wanted to keep others up, and the feet up meaning the only motivation this person has is to procrastinate by taking photos of his feet on his workstation...

So how can we fit our product into this context..?

The following sketches show some form exploration as to how we can fit the product into the context as well as meet with the functional requirements:

Sketch: Looking at how to incorporate the magnetic levitation into the clear outer casing

Sketch: Incorporating the protection into the magnetic levitation support

Sketch: Protection from flame as well as support???

Sketch: having the fan spin on top of the magnetic levitation rather than hang below???

Primarily the form will be following the function of the product as the system must work harmoniously to create the desired effects. However, these considerations must be taken to allow the products aesthetics to suitably fit into the context. To put this into a viable process, the main mechanisms will be modeled in CAD to allow for tolerances and allowances in the design.. so the form can then fit around these mechanisms to allow for a fully functional product without hindrances from the form.

As the main part of the product will be the base and the mechanism to allow the gas release, this will be modeled first to determine the approximate size that the overall product will need to be. After this has been completed and simulations have been run to determine feasibility of manufacturing as well as full functionality, the form will be modeled around this, with strong considerations into the environmental aesthetic appeal as well as the symbolism behind the from in its specific context.

Thursday, 6th of October 2011 - Fan: form and symbolism

One of the major visual stimuli in the interactive product will be the fan (second to the flames..or maybe not) and it is important that there is a focus on how this fan will be viewed by the user. Will it look harsh, sharp and dangerous OR soft, welcoming and motivating... there is definitely a strong push into what direction the form should go considering the context and what it's purpose is.

With the aim of the product to motivate and promote productivity in a group collaborative environment, the form of the product is very important. However, we must also follow "design law" and follow the form off of the function while still considering how it relates symbolically to the user.

But it's a fan... how can you make a fan relate to the user in a way that it will change the way they think and act in a positive way..? It is as simple as what has just been mentioned.. "harsh, sharp and dangerous OR soft, welcoming and motivating".. if we can describe how the fan should look, then we can design the fan to suit the description.. rather than what normally happens of describing something that already has form..


Some words that may spring to mind when thinking of the context of group collaboration... stress, procrastination, deadlines, distractions, assignments, group members, exhaustion, frustration, collaboration, "burning the candle at both ends", communication, achievements, togetherness...
"
Q6. How should the fan look?
A6. The fan should have a soft feel, easy to hold.. and shouldn't hurt you when you go to remove it from its position. I think it should feel intuitive to place whilst welcoming to be grabbed at the same time..
"
With this information we can start creating forms and exploring shapes in which the fan will be:

Sketch: Fan blade form concepts 1

Sketch: Fan blade form concepts 2

 With the previous information we can begin to see which fan blades would most suit the users. With a fan spinning it must also be remembered that a level of safety is required. All the of the sketched fan blades look as if they would spin in the direction of the sharper part which is something that needs to be avoided.. However sketch 7 seems to suit the manner of what is required looking soft and motivating, yet applying a sense of purpose. If this were to be placed upside down with the defined point on the top side, it would mean the fan would spin in a direction in which the curve would lead and take out any safety issues - it almost brings a sense of.. "follow me.." with the form of the blade. This form will be further explored through computer aided design and simulations.


 

Monday, 3rd of October 2011 - Methods of mounting the fan above the flame

With the group decision made to use a spinning fan as the added visual stimulus - a method had to be used to suspend the fan above the flames to allow the heat to pass through and in turn spin it variably depending on the amount of flames that are active. Several methods were discovered with some brainstorming:

Sketch: Brainstorming for fan suspension system

Through the exploration we can across a few ideas. They were split into two sections: hanging and supported. Hanging referred to the fan being suspending by a flexible material or something that was not physically holding it in place. Supported referred to methods that would suspend the fan in place and use a bearing system of some kind to allow the fan to spin freely. All methods proved to be somewhat viable although there seemed to be some common problems:

Hanging
The problems with most of the hanging concepts is that in using a flexible material to suspend the fan while the hot air spins it will cause problems once the material has wound itself up to a point where the fan must attempt to spin the other way. Eventually any kind of material that suspends the fan in this way will be subjected to this. It will cause the fan to spin back and forth in an irregular formation and eventually come to an ultimatum where the fan will stop spinning all together when the force from the heat and the force from the tensioned material will equal out.

Supported
The problems with having a supported fan are much the same. You will lose out on the visual affects by have an almost static spinning fan (as opposed to a dynamically moving spinning fan with hanging applications) and there will be much the same problems with the use of bearings in the creation of too much friction. With very little force being produced by the flames, the bearings friction co-efficient will easily overcome the force of the heat. This will also add a less fee flowing fan movement which will move away from the positive visual stimulus that is required.

However a solution was found when looking at a magnetic levitation globe (available from national geographic):

Image: Levitation globe

Through the use of a mix of permanent magnets as well as electromagnets - the globe is able to levitate steadily as well as spin completely frictionlessly. This seemed to be the perfect solution to creating a frictionless bearing system to suspend the fan above the flames, while allowing it to spin freely and easily.

How does it work...?

It seems this type of magnetic levitation has already been achieved using an Arduino circuit board. Basically, the concept uses an electromagnet as the hanging support with a permanent magnet as the levitating device. Because the electromagnet is able to be variably controlled, the magnetic strength between the two can be adjusted to make whatever is levitation to sit at the desired position. The output to the variable electromagnet however, is controlled by a hall effect sensor - these output an analogue reading of what the magnetic field is in the immediate vicinity. So, when the permanent magnet gets close enough, the hall sensor will read that there is a change in the magnetic field and will adjust the variable electromagnet accordingly to allow the object with the permanent magnet to levitate and spin freely. The following video demonstrated magnetic levitation via an Arduino circuit board.

Using magnetic levitation to suspend the fan will allow it to "hang" freely without the need for any kind of mechanical support as well as spin with very minimal friction. This means the heat from the flames below will be able to control the speed at which the fan moves easily and more noticeably to allow for the positive visual stimulus to take full affect.

Saturday, 1st of October 2011 - Prototype for gas release exploration

The group got together to try and come up with the model for the gas release mechanism. Building and manufacturing this mechanism are two very different concepts but to prove the concept we must make these scrap models. This model in particular used mechanics sets to construct a frame for the lighter to sit while the wedge was positioned to depress the gas release lever on the lighter. The wheel that can be seen in the following images is spring loaded to allow it to push past the wedge whilst forcing it to depress the lever.

Photo: The wheel away from the wedge.

Photo: The wheel touching the wedge but not depressing the gas release lever

Photo: The wheel forcing the wedge to depress the gas lever and igniting the flame

This concept can be used int the product to create real flames!