Mechcircuit Sîstema Prototîpkirina Înteraktîf by Weijia Lin and Shuyue Feng

Mechcircuit Sîstema Prototîpkirina Înteraktîf by Weijia Lin and Shuyue Feng is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2023 Xelata A' Design Award a Zîvîn in Endezyariya Hilberê û Dîzayna Teknîkî Competition Category.

ZîvEndezyarî· 2023

Mechcircuit Sîstema Prototîpkirina Înteraktîf

by Weijia Lin and Shuyue Feng

Client: Zhejiang University

Xelata A' Design Award a Zîvîn Winner in Endezyarî Category

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View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

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The Design

About Mechcircuit Sîstema Prototîpkirina Înteraktîf

Mechcircuit sîstemeke prototîpkirinê ye ji bo amûrên înteraktîf ku dorpêçên elektronîk û avahiyên mekanîkî li hev tînin. Magnetên neodîmyûmê hem magnetîk in û hem jî guhêzbar in, ji ber vê yekê ew hem wekî movikên livok û hem jî wekî girêdanên elektrîkî kar dikin. Livînên zivirî û rasterast bêyî perçeyên mekanîkî yên kevneşopî pêk tên. Têlkirin û lehîmkirin bi magnetan û qulikên bi lazerê birrî tên guhertin, ji ber vê yekê perçe zû tên girêdan û guhertin. Prototîp ji rûpelên akrîlîk ên 2 mm tên birrîn, û mirekeba zîvîn a guhêzbar dorpêçan pêk tîne. Nermalava sêwiranê ya bi alîkariya kompîturê piştgiriyê dide bikarhênerên ne-pispor.

The Recognition

About the Xelata A' Design Award a Zîvîn

Mechcircuit Sîstema Prototîpkirina Înteraktîf xelatgirê Xelata A' Design Award a Zîvîn e, nasîneke bi awayekî awarte bi prestîj ku ji sêwiranên di asta herî bilind de, xweşik û bibandor re tê dayîn. Xelatgirên Zîvînê karên pir birûsk û pir afirîner in, yên ku pisporiya hêja, jêhatîbûn û zîrekiya sêwiranerên xwe nîşan didin. Tê hêvîkirin ku Mechcircuit Sîstema Prototîpkirina Înteraktîf karekî mînak, pir pîşekar û bi kûrahî nûjen be. Ev sêwirana bi Zîvînê serketî vedîtineke berbiçav û hatiye sitayişkirin e ku ji bo fireh kirina sînorên huner, zanist, sêwiran û teknolojiyê tevkarî dike. Mechcircuit Sîstema Prototîpkirina Înteraktîf afirandinek e ku gelek kes çavê xwe lê dikin, daxwazan şiyar dike, hestên erênî tîne û heyirînê çêdike.

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