Jenny Hegelein
industrial design | project management
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​Design a product that brightly emits light outside the product from internal circuit board diodes via light pipes
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Design includes external power switch, battery, and circuit board
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3D printed housing must be able to be repeatedly snapped open & shut
Additive Manufacturing & CAD Design Exploration
Light Pipe Housing
Design Criteria:​
3 Programmed Light Settings
Pressing:
Form Ideation Based on Accessible Components for Assembly
Components to Incorporate Into Design:
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Light pipes
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Adafruit Circuit Playground Express
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3.7V Lithium battery
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Power switch
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Buttons
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Snap features
Light Pipe Design
Light Pipe 1
6 Diodes
Light Pipe 2
4 Diodes
Holes on flange correlate to pins in top housing to secure pipes in place in conjunction with an adhesive
Circuit Playground Express
Diode timing, colors, and button relationship coded in Java
Section View
Cutaway View
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3D printed light pipe in clear filament
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Testing my code on Light Pipe 1
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Color travels well from diode, but doesn't blend into each other in the top arc
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Replicated injected molded pieces through post processing methods on 3D prints
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This will also help blend the colors through arc
Housing Features
Support to keep switch in place
Skirt to prevent buttons from rocking
Lip
&
Groove
Section view of snap
Switch placement
Bottom housing 3D printed
Button support guides
Circuit board, power switch, and battery soldered together
Switch Cover controls power from exterior
Battery is secured under the plate
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Plate acts as a platform for circuit board
Light Pipes assembled into top housing
Printing & Finishing
Print 2 fail
Multiple 3D prints done to account for print failures, tolerance errors, & adjustments for snaps and lip & groove
Sanding button support due to tolerance error
Filling & sanding blemishes
Completed Prototype
