FOCUS LIGHT THE AMBIENT LIGHT When users active the ambience light, a protective cover will slide downwards to reveal the ambient light.
When users only need focus light, they can simply tap the top of flashlight to activates the focus light. This ejects focus light component outwards, and allows the user to pull it out to reach the tight and crowded areas within the engine for inspections.
HUM AND THE MAGNET First 45 degree counter clockwise turn for ambience light. Second 45 degree clockwise turn turn: Focus light, and Ambience light on the side and the top
MAGNET EFFECT By magnetic force, the rubber magnet will slide down as it’s highly positive charge attracts the highly negative charge of a metal surface. This allows users to place the flashlight on a variety of metal surfaces.
Zachary Wang Irene Wang Dean Liu Laurinda Yao IAT 336 Materials in Design E102 Assignment
Brad Miller, a 35 years old auto mechanic. He works from 7am to 5pm on a daily basis. When diagnosing car engines, he wants to be able to examine every parts rigorously. He is detail-oriented, and hygienic. He tries his best to keep all his tools free from engine oil stain, particularly the flashlight. His environment requires the needs of his tools being very durable in a way that it must resist corrosion, as his tools often comes in contacts with a variety of chemicals. Frequently, he finds his hands both occupied with tools, or stained by engine oil, therefore, experiencing frustration because he cannot work with both hands if he needs the flashlight. Brad needs a flashlight that provides ambient light, and focus light that is reachable to harder to reach areas within the engine.
The overall form of the Handy Light mimics the shape of the car gear stick for ease of grasping, and to indicate it’s functional relationship with automobile. The circumferences of the handle is comparably smaller to other components. The length of it is determined from the hand measure for average male to create an ergonomic interface. The average palm width of a man is 3.5 inches, and when bent, it is increased by 14%, which makes our handle 3.9 inches in length, 1.75 inches in diameter for ease of grasping with bare hands or wearing gloves. To indicate the orientation of the flashlight and the beginning of the handle section, the top is extruding forward similarly to a gear stick. The focus light is at the crown of the flashlight, and the ambiant light placed at the top front side of the flashlight.
The dominant material we choose for the Handy light is Aluminum, more specifically 6061-T6 alloy that also contains magnesium and silicon. It is rugged and long-lasting, which matches with our constraint. It’s nature of low-density makes it drastically lighter compare to other metal such as stainless steel. Furthermore, it is more corrosion-resistant, affordable and abundant compare to stainless steel.
IDEA
PROTOYPE
REVISED FORM
INSPIRATION OF FORM
ALUMINUM
COPPER
TPE U
MAGNET
The wire that connects the focus light and the body component is 39 inches in length, and inside of wire is copper wire for conductivity, for it’s most outer layer, the wire is wrapped with Thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPE U). TPE U acts as a cable jacket to protects the copper wire, and leak of electricity. A rubber magnet plate is embedded to the bottom of the flashlight, to enable the user to place the flashlight on to metal surfaces such as the bottom or top of an automobile.
Our flashlight is designed for auto mechanics, who would use it to inspect automobiles in auto body repair and paint shop.
It is common for flashlight to made out of aluminum, but it is not common for them to be made out of the low-density aluminum lithium alloy. Aluminum lithium alloys are commonly used for aerospace industry due to its weight advantage. As lithium being the lightest metal,, it makes aluminum lithium 10%-15% lighter compare to regular aluminum alloy. Besides it being low density, it is also durable, not easily scratchable, good for low-temperature, and resist corrosion. Therefore, making it a suitable material for the Handy Light. Downside of this novel material is when comparing to standard aluminum, it is costly to manufacture.
Our constraint for the car mechanic flashlight is rugged and durability. This is because the flashlight will be placed on the ground, or stuck against metals or squeezed into tight places. Also the flashlight is being used along with heavy machineries and hard objects. Lastly, working with cars may result with using different fluids and oils, which will cause the flashlight to become slippery. Hence, using aluminum as our everyday material will be suitable for the job because it’s light while being sturdy. Using Aluminum Lithium as our innovation material will also be applicable.
The most interesting thing about materials our team has learnt during this exercise is how incredible metals can be when infused together. This first erected when researching about the Aluminum Lithium alloy, we found that even with only 1% of Lithium in the compound it would dramatically change the properties of the compound. This was astonishing to learn, and we imagined the combination of compounds could be endless, and we were so interested that we researched into other properties of alloys and compounds.
Construction worker’s flashlight is focused on multifunctional properties that are similar most of the other constraints. We want it to be able to be used as a flashlight but also the same time, to be used as a light source to convey traffic at night. It is large so it can be held with heavy gloves and requires no small buttons to turn the device on. Some significant differences between the contexts is that this flashlight can extend to become larger in size, as well as becoming a tool to regulate traffic. Car mechanic’s flashlight, again is based on multifunctional properties, it was built regarding many jobs of the mechanic, so it can stuck again metal surfaces, placed on the ground to face upwards, and extended out to reach into hard to get spots. The shape is created for both gloves and bare hands, similar like the construction worker. Some differences are that using variation of materials such as magnets, rubber and wires used to create more functions for the flashlight. Infant’s flashlight is the last flashlight that serves on a multifunctional bases, it is a toy shaped flashlight that can also be used as a whistle to alert parents of activities at night. The shape, particular where the hand is placed, is based off an infant’s hand just like the other flashlights. The difference with this flashlight is that it has 3 main bulbs, facing different angles and directions, and it can be used as a toy. Elderly person’s flashlight is constructed based on the limitation of the user, since they cannot grip, the form is based around a band to put around the hand. The difference is that there is actual button to press, but rather the user bumps it again their body or another object. Also this is the only device that is not hand held, rather it is strapped to the hand for easier accessibility.