Tom Stevens Product Design Portfolio

Design Portfolio

Tom Stevens

Spectral

Material Identifier For Education

User Profile

Stakeholder Challenges

• Secondary schools need to facilitate visual and tactile learning

• Students need to identify different materials more proactively and discover their material properties

• Students need to learn about applications of the light spectrum in science lessons

Potential Solutions

• Identifying materials using near-infrared spectroscopy and displaying the material name on screen

• Directing students to material properties and further information on app or class projector

• Sending absorption spectra to an app or class projector

Brief

Design an IoT-connetced product that facilitates simpler and/or more engaging method of education about materials by employing near-infrared spectroscopy to identify them, and providing data or links to appropriate resources to assist studies.

Ideation

Final Design

Screen Housing Injection Moulding

Screen Cover Injection Moulding

USB Type C Module Pre-Fabricated

Top Housing Injection Moulding

Back Housing Injection Moulding

Spectrometry Processing Board & Bluetooth Module Pre-Fabricated

LCD Screen Pre-Fabricated

Spectrometer Cover Injection Moulding

Bottom Housing Injection Moulding

Button Battery Charger Pre-Fabricated

PCB Connector Pre-Fabricated

Pre-Fabricated

Touch Sensor Module Pre-Fabricated

Spectrometer Module Pre-Fabricated

Mini-Spectrometer Pre-Fabricated

2N °. Self Tapping Screws

User Scenario

Many secondary school students do not find science lessons engaging

Provide students with Spectral, a compact and intuitive spectroscopy product

Foster proactive learning from students

Supports a variety of lesson activities in which material samples are investigated

Teachers can disable material name display (via Spectral app) and task students with analysing data on their phones

Hold front end on flat surface to be scanned

Press bluetooth icon and hold still for 3 seconds

3s

Compares NIR absorption data with online database to identify most likely material

Directs students to further study resources

Chine Forest

Town Rejuvenation Project During Industrial Placement

Development

Assisting client to evolve their concepts and designing structural elements

Fabrikat was approached to provide service for a town centre rejuvenation project in Bournemouth called Chine Forest

Develop and produce of a range of feature lighting column and seats from the client’s concepts, with the theme of pine bark to give natural overtones.

Client meetings facilitated a series of design revisions, whilst ensuring the concepts suited Fabrikat’s manufacturing facilities and could be produced in the required lead time.

Key changes included:

• The addition of central fins in some lighting channels to achieve a split lighting effect

• Inclusion of flexible LED lighting mounted to the underside of the seats

• Modifications to the seat designs to suit NAL retention sockets

• Adapting the top of each column to aid the installation of each unit

From initial stages of extracting data from site plans and concept visuals I produced component layout diagrams to provide an overview of the products and to ensure the client approved of our interpretation of the initial designs.

Final Design

Through a Series of Revisions To Produce Manufacturing Specification

The 4 key variants of columns from the 14 configurations manufactured:

Manufacture

Liaising With Production Department and Factory Staff

Subtle amendments during machining and fabrication:

• The arrangement of channels that crossed over door apertures was modified to involve fewer machining processes and fewer fixings.

• This ultimately improved the aesthetic too due to the channel arrangement being more seamless and was closer to the originally envisioned designs.

Responsibilities included:

• Inspecting the Chine Forest columns and seats on the factory floor throughout manufacture to validate component fittings and dimensional accuracy.

• Agreeing the most efficient sequence of assembly with production supervisors.

Additional Projects

Final DesignStreet Furniture Concepts

For Market Rejuvenation

Brief

• Generate concepts for lighting columns, brackets, archways and seating to promote North End Road Market’s identity

• Concepts should have Carribean overtones and celebrate local fresh produce

• No prior input from architects

Assimilating existing rejuvination plans

• The project required more detail at the front end of the design process, and to date has had several revisions through stages of client feedback

Further Visualisation

Assembly and Operating Manuals

LED Fitting

With the safety cable still in tension, attach a carabiner (or similar), with a greater length of cable tied to it, to the eyebolt. Holding onto the newly attached cable, remove the D-shackle on the safety cable.

Once the safety cable is attached, remove the locking bolt with a suitable Allen key. This will allow the canopy to rotate freely and therefore it is critical for the cable to be attached to it prior to this.

Remove the Hex set bolts on the top flange.

Attach 2 R-clips to the centre pin and an R-clip into each of the end pins. Never remove the outer bolts

secure the lower flange to the foundation).

Secure with tamper-proof bolts using corresponding tool

Balsta

Balance exercise at home to reduce chance of falls

Scenario

Final Design

physical activity, sets a time of day they wish to do routine exercises with Balsta.

Balsta

Balance exercise at home to reduce chance of falls

View Progress

The interface highlights time remaining of a repetition (lasting between 3 and 10 seconds depending on the exercise).

Get Reminder

Once a day, Balsta slowly illuminates and fades in a notification tune, signalling to the user it’s time to start.

Adjust To Ability

The user may skip or pause an activity if they need to take a break.

Exercise

Balance training demonstrations are displayed for the user to copy whilst standing on the feet locators.

Safe Progressive Training

Occasionally suggests a slight increase of reps or new exercises after a consistent history of completing a certain threshold.

^ ^

^ ^

Progress icons update as user completes repetitions and full exercises. A notification sound indicates each progress checkpoint.

Receive Feedback

Comparative statistics are displayed at the end of the session for encouragement

^ ^

^ ^

Final Design Design Proposal

• Guides older people through consistent stability training and provides attend classes.

• A tactile interface app which is appropriate for many users over the age of 80.

• Provides a routine them to engage in physical activity they are comfortable with.

• A permanent feature to begin exercise immediately at their desired time.

• Safety and assurance a worktop or chair to brace themselves when performing exercises - this is facilitated by handrails, a rubber grip sleeve at the front, and a textured rubber platform.

Adjustable Height

The support bars and interface height is adjusted (in a range of 600-820mm above floor level) by loosening the knobs and pressing their pins in another locator on the tube.

Multiple Charging Points

DC connector and USB-A ports are provided with cables to charge an internal 7.2V battery pack. Located both at the interface and base to facilitate a cable route with the least trailing or trip risk if left plugged in permanently.

• Improvements being made to their overall balance time and their ability to follow exercises are tracked via 4 load cells. These measure differences between the user’s weight at their heel and toe positions on both feet.

• Tailored training routines

this data over time, in addition to any manual changes the user makes to them if they feel ready to progress or need a break.

appear more like furnishing

Silicone base pads

Reimagined Toaster

Sustainability Analysis

Of Conventional 2-Slice Toaster (morphy richards)

There are multiple sustainability issues with existing toasters, including the difficulty of maintenance, inefficient heating technology and the use of finite resources

Brief

Redesign the 2-slice toaster with a focus on sustainability, aiming for a product lifespan of 25 years

Ideation and Development

Card modelling demonstrated that the height and angle of toast ejection needed to be adjusted

• Tilting mechanism flips bread over and heats each side equally

• No spring loaded grates required, which are unreliable at centring it

Another card model was produced to reflect the changes in proportion and to increase the desirability of the external form

The structure was unstable and so required further refinement (through connceting the toaster legs into a loop)

30° to slide

BoM

Component (QTY) Material Manufacture

Casing, upper

Stainless steel

Stainless steel

Press forming, folding, die stamping

Press forming

Die stamping, folding

Stainless steel

Bread tray, centre Stainless steel

mica-TF®

Die stamping, folding

Die stamping, folding

Surface mount printing

Grate (x2)

Bread tray bracket (x2)

Shaft bearing

Leg, left

Leg, centre

Leg, right

Cable grommet Bearing

Self-tapping M3x0.5 screw (x17)

Stainless steel Extrusion, folding extrusion

Stainless steel Die stamping, folding

Stainless steel

Stainless steel

Stainless steel

Stainless steel

Silicone

Chrome steel

Hardened steel

Pre-fabricated

Press forming, die cutting

Press forming, bending

Press forming, die cutting

Pre-fabricated

Pre-fabricated

Pre-fabricated

Buttons PCB Fibreglass, copper Circuit board etching

Dial PCB Fibreglass, copper Circuit board etching

PCB bracket small Stainless steel

PCB bracket large Stainless steel

Worm gear motor Aluminium, copper

Die stamping, folding

Die stamping, folding

Pre-fabricated

21 Browning control dial Spruce Wood turning

Finishes

Body casing (1, 2) and leg exterior components (10, 11, 12) are powder coated. The browning control dial (21) is coated in lacquer.

Improvements to Sustainability

Features with a potential to increase the toaster’s lifespan and decrease its environmental footprint.

Conventional Toasters Redesigned Toaster

Use of Thick Film Heaters

(mica-TF®, produced by dateccoating.com)

Thick Film Heaters provide more uniform and efficient heating than conventional nichrome wire heating elements. This should reduce the chance that the user decides to reheat it and use more energy. Both sides of the bread are toasted equally as they are flipped over by the rotating toaster, which should also reduce the need for toasting bread a second time.

Reduced crumb accumulation

Grates do not compress the toast and the user doesn’t have to remove it by hand, meaning that few crumbs are created, and the issue of crumbs being continually reheated in the bread trays is eliminated. The lack of a pop-up toasting mechanism also reduces crumb buildup. Crumbs cannot accumulate in the toaster as the toast slides out onto the user’s plate. As the toaster design contains grates that do not compress the bread, irregular items such as bagels or hot-cross buns are less likely to stick.

Minimal use of polymer

Reduction in use of polymer (stainless steel structure throughout). The customisation allowed by Thick Film Heater production (custom printing onto a substrate) means that the dielectric layer on the elements can be well insulated from the surrounding metal structure.

Ease of disassembly

(to repair during lifespan or to recycle at end of lifespan)

The ease of disassembly also means the different component parts are easy to recycle - in conventional toasters some parts of differing materials are permanently attached, making recycling difficult or impossible.

Cleaning Aid

For Users With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Cleaning often requires use of spherical power

Problem

People with rheumatoid arthritis can struggle to live independently; performing everyday chores such as cleaning tends to aggravate joint pain

Solution

A cleaning aid to minimise pain by allowing the user’s hand to rest flat whilst it grips a soft item such as a sponge or cloth

grip

User Scenario

When the claw is released, the springs push it inward with a mild force, gripping the cleaning item

Small torsion springs are attached to the ‘claw’

Final Design

Cleaning Aid Body

Silico ne Injection Moulded

Torsion Spring (2N°)

Stainle ss steel

Pre-fabricated

Grip Poly propylene Injection Moulded

Team Prototyping Projects

Manufacturing a Single-Cavity Mould Tool

Group Project

Promotional giveaway widget:

• Toothpaste squeezer to promote Colgate

• To be distributed at supermarkets and cosmetics shops

Toothpaste squeezer design by:

Gloria Ocran

Translating mould design to drawings

Generating CNC code from toolpaths

Verififying the toolpaths

CNC milling

With project contributions from:

Sophie Hoare

Nicole Ibarra Rivas

Harry James

Dhruv Patel

Jamie Saunders

Andrew Sze

Manual milling of steel inserts

Assembly of mould halves and inserts

Injection moulding

Post processing and assembly

Automating The Use of an AeroPress

Group Project - Coffee Machine Prototyping and Testing

With project contributions from:

Georgia Lambe

Eleni Leontsini

Kaluba Mulemba

EJ Taylor-Watts

Design for Protoyping Concept

Optimising Component Parameters

• Reducing material weight and cost

• Ensuring maximum safe allowable stress and defelction would not be exceeded as a result of desired material thickness reductions

Prototype Testing

Features Requiring Further Development:

• A tilting effect was observed on the plunger carraige which made the depth the stepper motor could move the plunger unreliable

• A counterweight could be included on the right of the top carriage plate, or the number of guide rails could be increase to improve alignment

I am a final year Product Design and Technology (BSc) student at Loughborough University and am seeking a graduate position starting from July 2023.

tdc-stevens@outlook.com

www.linkedin.com/in/tom-stevens-design/