Argint Inginerie · 2023
Mechcircuit Sistem Interactiv de Prototipare
- A' Design Award de Argint 2023 in Inginerie
- CLIENT: Zhejiang University
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 1,218,946
- Verification code 85841D83B4 · Verify this award
Colors
About Mechcircuit Sistem Interactiv de Prototipare
Mechcircuit este un sistem de prototipare pentru dispozitive interactive care combină circuite electronice și structuri mecanice. Magneții din neodim sunt atât magnetici, cât și conductori, astfel încât servesc atât ca articulații mobile, cât și ca conexiuni electrice. Mișcările rotative și liniare sunt realizate fără piese mecanice tradiționale. Cablarea și lipirea sunt înlocuite de magneți și fante tăiate cu laser, astfel încât piesele se conectează și se schimbă rapid. Prototipurile sunt tăiate din plăci acrilice de 2 mm, iar cerneala conductoare din argint formează circuitele. Software-ul de proiectare asistată de calculator sprijină utilizatorii fără experiență.
About the A' Design Award de Argint
Mechcircuit Sistem Interactiv de Prototipare a câștigat A' Design Award de Argint, o recunoaștere extraordinar de prestigioasă acordată designurilor de top, superbe și impresionante. Câștigătorii Argintului sunt lucrări extraordinar de strălucite și extrem de creative, care ilustrează expertiza, talentul și perspicacitatea remarcabile ale designerilor lor. Se așteaptă ca Mechcircuit Sistem Interactiv de Prototipare să fie o lucrare minunată, de referință, remarcabil de profesionistă și profund inovatoare. Acest design câștigător al A' Design Award de Argint este o invenție foarte notabilă și admirată, care aduce beneficii și împinge limitele artei, științei, designului și tehnologiei. Mechcircuit Sistem Interactiv de Prototipare este o creație extrem de invidiată, care trezește dorințe, aduce sentimente pozitive și stârnește uimire și mirare.
Press Kit
- 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
