Mechcircuit Qhov System Ua Qauv Sib Tham Sib Cuam Tshuam by Weijia Lin and Shuyue Feng

Mechcircuit Qhov System Ua Qauv Sib Tham Sib Cuam Tshuam by Weijia Lin and Shuyue Feng is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2023 A' Design Award Nyiaj in Tsim Kev Tsim Kho Khoom thiab Txuj Ci Competition Category.

NyiajKev Tsim Kho· 2023

Mechcircuit Qhov System Ua Qauv Sib Tham Sib Cuam Tshuam

by Weijia Lin and Shuyue Feng

Client: Zhejiang University

A' Design Award Nyiaj Winner in Kev Tsim Kho Category

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Verified Award Winner

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View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

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The Design

About Mechcircuit Qhov System Ua Qauv Sib Tham Sib Cuam Tshuam

Mechcircuit yog ib qho system rau kev ua qauv rau cov khoom siv sib cuam tshuam uas muab cov circuits hluav taws xob thiab cov qauv tshuab ua ke. Cov hlau nplaum neodymium muaj zog nplaum thiab tseem xa tau hluav taws xob, yog li lawv ua tau ob yam: cov pob qij txha txav tau thiab cov kev sib txuas hluav taws xob. Kev txav kheej thiab txav ncaj ua tau yam tsis siv cov khoom tshuab ib txwm muaj. Kev txuas hlau thiab kev txhuam hlau raug hloov los ntawm cov hlau nplaum thiab cov qhov txiav nrog laser, yog li cov khoom sib txuas thiab hloov tau sai. Cov qauv raug txiav los ntawm cov daim acrylic 2 mm, thiab cov kua xim nyiaj uas xa tau hluav taws xob ua cov circuits. Software tsim qauv hauv computer pab cov neeg siv uas tsis muaj kev txawj tshwj xeeb.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Nyiaj

Mechcircuit Qhov System Ua Qauv Sib Tham Sib Cuam Tshuam yog tus yeej ntawm A' Design Award Nyiaj, ib qho kev lees paub muaj meej mom heev tshaj li qub uas muab rau cov qauv tsim qib siab, zoo nkauj thiab ua rau neeg xav tsis thoob. Cov neeg yeej Nyiaj yog cov haujlwm ci ntsa iab heev thiab tsim tshiab heev uas qhia txog kev paub, kev txawj ntse thiab kev ntse ntawm cov kws tsim qauv. Mechcircuit Qhov System Ua Qauv Sib Tham Sib Cuam Tshuam xav tias yuav yog ib qho haujlwm zoo kawg nkaus uas tsim rau qhia, tshaj lij heev thiab tsim tshiab tob. Cov qauv tsim yeej A' Design Award Nyiaj no yog ib qho khoom tsim uas pom tseeb heev thiab neeg qhuas uas pab tau thiab nthuav dav ciam teb ntawm kev kos duab, kev tshawb fawb, kev tsim qauv thiab thev naus laus zis. Mechcircuit Qhov System Ua Qauv Sib Tham Sib Cuam Tshuam yog ib qho khoom tsim uas neeg coob xav tau, uas ua rau xav, coj kev xav zoo thiab ua rau xav tsis thoob thiab xav paub.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Mechcircuit enables non-expert users to design and fabricate interactive prototypes with electronic circuits and mechanical structures. Users can achieve mechanical functions like rotary and linear without using traditional mechanical parts. Meanwhile, instead of involving complicated operations like wiring and soldering in conventional electronic circuits, Mechcircuit applies magnetism and laser-cut slots to connect the components, making connecting and replacing quick and easy.
Dimensions & Packaging: Mechcircuit uses acrylic sheets with a thickness of 2mm. Usually the prototype is no smaller than 10mmX10mmX5mm. the size of the prototype varies depending on the actual design.
Tags: Interaction Design, Magnetoelectric Materials, Prototyping, Computational Aided Design
Production Technology: Taking advantage of the fact that rubidium magnets are both magnetic and conductive, we have designed mechanical structures with magnets. It is much easier to design and assemble than the traditional mechanical structure. At the same time the mechanical structure is still interactive. To facilitate user design and generation, we have developed computer-aided design software. The software integrates various modules for user-friendly prototyping. We used a commercial grade laser cutter for cutting and processing and conductive silver ink for the circuitry.
Design Challenge: Mechcircuit wanted to integrate the design of structures and circuits, while simplifying the design and manufacturing process. It was challenging to use a different design and fabrication approach than traditional ones and to use materials that were readily available. Based on several attempts, we finally chose rubidium magnets as the magnetoelectric material and used conductive silver ink paint to replace the traditional Dupont wire.
Research: Mechcircuit leverage the neodymium magnet’s natures of magnetism and conductivity to integrate electronics and mechanical structure joints into prototypes. We conduct the evaluation to explore technological parameters and assess the practical feasibility of the fabrication pipeline. And we organized a user-observing workshop for non-expert users. Through the outcoming prototypes, the result demonstrates the feasibility of Mechcircuit as a useful and inspiring prototyping method.
Inspiration: In prototyping, the design of electronic circuits and the design of mechanical structures are often carried out separately. In addition, the electronic circuitry and the mechanical structure also affect the prototype's styling. This makes the design often not optimal.
Project Duration: The project starts in July 2022 and ends in December 2022 at the School of Software, Zhejiang University, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China
Operation Flow: The mechanical structure composed of magnets allows the user to design and assemble easily. As the user manipulates the structure, the circuit signals change. The user can interact with the circuit by manipulating the structure.
Patents: All photos/videos are from Shuyue Feng, Department of Industrial Design, School of Software, Zhejiang University
Team Members: Weijia Lin
Shuyue Feng
Jiayu Yao
Jiayi Ma
Masulani Bokola
Ziyu Fang
Guanyun Wang
Cheng Yao