Product Design help...
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- josimarX
required...
I'm looking for assistance on a current project I am working on. I entered a design competition recently – The 'Taiwan International Design Competition 2003' and have been lucky enough to be selected as 1 of 20 candidates worldwide (from 365 entries) to produce a prototype of my entry. I have been asked to send a real-life 3d model of my design to Taipei before November 5th along with further explanatory visuals and will be given a commission of 20,000 taiwanese dollars to do this (£400). My question is really, where should I start? I am a graphic designer and know what i want to make and roughly what it should look like, but not much else. ie how should I build it, what out of, how much, who could do it for me??? etc...Ideally, I was hoping I could 'borrow' an A-grade student or two
and set them this as a real-life project and would obviously use some of the
commission to pay for their time and skills.
I can't post any visuals unfortunately but the product itself would be approximately mobile phone size with a fair amount of engineering and mechanical problems to solve too.
any thoughts appreciated,
cheers
- rasp0
try the 3d/product design staff at a local college or uni staff. see if they can tell you how to do it/ what materials to use or if any students would be up to it etc etc?
- lowimpakt0
What is the product (if you dont mind telling) because there may be a few routes to go. When they say prototype do they mean working or scaled visual.
You may just need to make a model from wood, cappa board or use simple rapid prototyping such as vacuum forming. But dont underestimate how important the model is and how long it could take.
If you dont mind me asking : If you dont know about model-making or rapid prototyping how will you square up to actually designing and engineering the product. Do you have experience with material or production processes etc. Just curious.
Because to be honest the model making will be the least of your worries. When you get past the concept stage.
- Nairn0
Are those natty 3d printers not coming under the £400 benchmark yet?
Or am I just talking absolute shit?
- lowimpakt0
those printers are the bomb but cost a bit more that 400 bucks
- joyride0
You just need to send a mock-up. Something to physically look at and hold. Most design comps are student related so they don't expect something finalized. There are so many ways to build mock-ups and each have pros and cons. Small cell phone type stuff is tricky to make look right. Start with foam and get a generalizain for how complicated it will be. Then move on to better material or you can Coat the foam if it looks good.
- thumbluv0
I am a design student in the states and it seems reasonable to have a 3d printout of your design if it is only phone sized. The price often depends on the material being printed in, you could even have printouts in cornstarch to be very ecconomical. Im guessing it might run a bit over $200, but its worth it right? I make foam models much of the time by hand and it never compares to a cnc for small, detailed, non-organic forms. As long as you have a good 3D cad rendering you will have a sweet model once it is 3d-printed. And with all this fabulous modern technology all you have to do is email your cad files off and in a few weeks you'll recieve your model in the mail!
- lowimpakt0
to go the cnc route or 3d stereolithography route you have to at least have the product exterior modelled up in 3d. I dont know if its possible to send 3d Max to cnc etc. Youd probably have to use something like solid works or pro-engineer. I dont know how far youve got on that end.
If it is a competition that doesnt require much development on the technical aspects of the projects - molding details etc. - the youd be focussing in really working on the presentation of the product and the stylistic intent of the product. A good model could make or break. Small detail model-making can often require more time and patience than larger scale models that can be formed in the wood-workshop.
let us know how your getting on!
- josimarX0
really sorry I didn't reply but I wrote two massive replies on the ady I started this thread but they didn't show up?! I hope this one does. Anyway, thanks for all your advice. I'm beginning to panic a bit nowe as time is running out (5 weeks max) and I still don't know how to model the thing or what material to use. It will be metal but I'm thinking of modelling whole thing just in white but making it fairly detailed and to scale.
cheers for now!
josi
- lowimpakt0
dont panic too much - thats a sure fire way to lose a comp. I still dont know what the product but is but is it possible to model it with the actual material that its going to be made from ?
I just looked at their site and damn I wish i entered. They set a 20% benchmark for feasibility that means they might be less concerned of the real engineering aspects and the details etc. but dont leave it out.
If they have shortlisted you they were obviously hooked on something - figure out what that was and capitalise on it. It might have even been a conceptual approach to the application of a particular technology set that they liked. That would mean finished detailing would be less of a concern.
again, good luck and damn I wish I entered... If you want to mail me privately for any more pointers do. word
- trueiddesign0
Just wondered if a photorealistic 3d computer generated model would be of any use? if so im your man, otherwise try somewhere like loughborough university in the UK, as you may find some poor student who is willing to produce a wood block model, which can then be sprayed to look like the final model..... the process itself is pretty simple.
email me at
should you need any further help.....
- lowimpakt0
I wonder how a visual would go down. Might be worth checking into.
The product might be a tactile object and be better served as a model. Letting them pick it up and try it out is usually a godd way to draw them in. Of course having a nice visual presentation and a model to play with is pretty good.
- josimarX0
thanks again. I'm freelancing today but will get in touch with you both in due course a bit more privately because you sound like you know what you're talking about. The visual has to be a solid 3d object – I want to create a glass/perspex case to house it so you can see it 360degrees but cannot touch it.