I chose these three artifacts to highlight my design and development skills. Design for manufacturing is one of my largest skills, so I wanted to include projects that showed that. The clock shows conscious machine and material selection. The numbers would have been difficult to do by hand so choosing to have them laser cut for accuracy results in a more accurate final product. The hand routed face shows additional manufacturing steps and other machine optimization. There are also two CADs to show the development and thought process of the build. The final part of the build, securing it to the wall, highlights a difficult challenge since the clock is so large. French cleats offer a simple yet sturdy solution to this problem.
The dog lamp highlights design for assembly moreso than design for manufacturing due to its joints. The CAD hints at the ability to reverse engineer from just pictures, which is an important skill to have. The woodworking machines used are fairly basic but still deliver good results.
The pens are the most complex part of the portfolio, with multiple iterations and different styles and lessons learned along the way. The first pen I made used a poor advancement mechanism because of material limitations. This pen is shown to be a jumping off point to correct the outer diameter of the pen, the nose cone angle, and of course the advancement mechanism. The second pen rectifies the diameter issue and attempts to correct the advancement problem by using a cap, although it is shown that the cap scratches the surface of the pen. Other problems are noted such as aperture diameter. The next pen adds additional writing improvements, such as the aperture fix, grips, and accents. This pen had more care put into it as it was entirely sanded and polished. The fourth pen is the first twist mechanism pen made. It follows the same aesthetic structure as the previous pen (grips, accents, finishing). The inclusion of the twist mechanism introduces a new challenge of designing around another part. The last pen takes into account every problem that was found in all of the other iterations. It has fixed the diameter and length so the pen is comfortable to hold, the material has switched from primarily aluminum to entirely brass to increase weight, the aperture is exactly the same diameter as the cartridge tip so the pen does not move during writing, the nose cone angle has been modified again to be a curve to improve feel, the grips have also been improved by moving to a different manufacturing method. This pen serves as the compilation of knowledge of manufacturing all of the other pens and delivers a near perfect product.
These three artifacts highlight my knowledge of design and manufacturing. An outside audience should be able to look into this portfolio and understand that I can both reliably design and manufacture a component. This includes selecting a material and manufacturing process. The portfolio also shows my ability to iterate over designs and learn what went well and what needs to be improved in each step. The different CADs help show my thought process and the manufacturing notes to switch to different tolerances shows how I learn.
Creating this portfolio has helped me solidify my want to go into design engineering. I think that the creativity shown is an aspect that employers like to see in designers. I also know that having manufacturing knowledge is important so that the product you design can actually be created. I think that this portfolio shows both of these skills well.