Prototype 1 (3/12/19)
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Photos of our 3-D printed prototype from our first trial. Hexagon shapes were definitely evident. However, the design was not exactly what we had hoped for, so we headed back to the drawing board to improve our design and our CAD skills. |
Prototype 2 (4/9/19)
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Whittman-Battenfeld employee Paul Richard came to speak to our BioExpo team about how we could potentially manufacture our Bee Green phone case, and we learned how to better use the CADD program SolidWorks.
Since biodegradable resins are not yet available on the market but best fit our intended purpose and design for a final product, the BioExpo team decided to use DragonSkin silicone for our prototype as it best represents the material that would be used in a final product. Richard also taught us a bit more about the team’s own MakerBot 3D printers and the capabilities that they have for our project. With our MakerBot printers, we can easily print a mold from our SketchUp phone case design and use various materials to create phone cases. |
Prototype 3 (5/13/19)
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Once again, we enlisted the help of Paul Richard and managed to create our final prototype. Made out of silicone, this phone case better demonstrates the polished design that the BioExpo Team has envisioned for Bee Green Cases.
This phone case is also the prototype that was used to perform our experiment that is under the "Research + Development" page on the Bee Green Cases website. |
What we learned while making our prototype
In the process of making our prototypes, the BioExpo Team learned about the various challenges of designing a 3D printed phone case, including what materials to use, how to use computer aided drafting and design (CADD) programs, and the process of injection molding.
FLAM is a 3D printable material, but unfortunately the team was unable to access it and so we attempted to best simulate the same low density property through our prototypes. Thus, we decided to use silicone as it was easy and inexpensive for the team to acquire for the experiments, as well as simple to work with.
Some of the members had a bit of experience with Google's SketchUp program, but this turned out to be an ineffective way of creating our prototype as shown by Prototype 1. With the help of Wittman-Battenfeld employee Paul Richard, the team was able to better hone our design skills and we successfully designed a phone case mold with which we could create our phone case.
We also decided to use injection molding to create the phone case prototype rather than 3D printing, as we could readily switch out the type of material used to create the prototype if it were necessary. Once again, Mr. Richard helped us to create a silicone prototype through the process of injection molding.
FLAM is a 3D printable material, but unfortunately the team was unable to access it and so we attempted to best simulate the same low density property through our prototypes. Thus, we decided to use silicone as it was easy and inexpensive for the team to acquire for the experiments, as well as simple to work with.
Some of the members had a bit of experience with Google's SketchUp program, but this turned out to be an ineffective way of creating our prototype as shown by Prototype 1. With the help of Wittman-Battenfeld employee Paul Richard, the team was able to better hone our design skills and we successfully designed a phone case mold with which we could create our phone case.
We also decided to use injection molding to create the phone case prototype rather than 3D printing, as we could readily switch out the type of material used to create the prototype if it were necessary. Once again, Mr. Richard helped us to create a silicone prototype through the process of injection molding.