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| DESIGN DETAILS |
DESIGN NAME:
Mechcircuit
PRIMARY FUNCTION:
Interactive Mechanics and Sensors
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.
UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
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.
OPERATION / FLOW / INTERACTION:
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.
PROJECT DURATION AND LOCATION:
The project starts in July 2022 and ends in December 2022 at the School of Software, Zhejiang University, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China
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PRODUCTION / REALIZATION 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.
SPECIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL PROPERTIES:
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
RESEARCH ABSTRACT:
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.
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.
ADDED DATE:
2023-02-19 11:17:53
TEAM MEMBERS (8) :
Weijia Lin, Shuyue Feng, Jiayu Yao, Jiayi Ma, Masulani Bokola, Ziyu Fang, Guanyun Wang and Cheng Yao
IMAGE CREDITS:
Weijia Lin and Shuyue Feng, 2022.
PATENTS/COPYRIGHTS:
All photos/videos are from Shuyue Feng, Department of Industrial Design, School of Software, Zhejiang University
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| CLIENT/STUDIO/BRAND DETAILS |
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NAME:
Zhejiang University
PROFILE:
Zhejiang University is a prestigious institution of higher learning with a long history, located in Hangzhou, a historical and cultural city and a scenic tourist resort in China. Zhejiang University is a comprehensive, research-oriented and innovative university with distinctive features and great influence at home and abroad, covering 13 disciplines including philosophy, economics, law, education, literature, history, art, science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, management and cross-discipline, etc. It has 7 academic departments, 37 professional colleges (departments) and 1 college of engineers. The university has 7 campuses, including Zijingang, Yuquan, Xixi, Huajiachi, Zhijiang, Zhoushan and Haining, covering an area of 6,223,440 square meters, with a total library collection of 7.87 million books. During its 120 years of operation, Zhejiang University has always adhered to the fine tradition of "seeking truth and innovation" as its motto, and has gradually formed the common values of "diligent learning, cultivating virtue, discernment and truthfulness" and the "sea of rivers, enlightenment" as its motto. It has gradually formed the common values of ZJU people as "diligent learning, virtue cultivation, discernment and truthfulness" and the spirit of ZJU as "to take in the rivers and rivers, to enlighten the truth and virtue, to open up the things before the people and to make our country a nation".
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