michaeljonesdsdn104-blog

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Project 3 Description

In this project I explored the form and function of a typical computer mouse, and how that form could be improved. By moving away from the typical mouse shape, I was able to create a form that is much more comfortable and - I believe - would provide a greater degree of control in real-world usage. Where the traditional mouse shape, which varies little, encourages the user to simply rest their hand on top, this mouse shape allows the user to actually grab the mouse and take control by wrapping their fingers around and underneath.

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Final Object

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Third Iteration I can't take all the credit for this design, as Bettina gave me the idea. The idea is to step away from traditional mouse design by providing a handle shape for the pinky and ring fingers to REALLY grip on to. The shape is very comfortable to hold on to; so much in fact that it makes me wish I could build an actual mouse in this shape to have at home! The shape doesn't provide much leeway for the different gripping styles - it strongly encourages the user to adopt the palm grip. However, I don't think that's much of an issue as I believe those grip styles only apply to a traditional mouse design.

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Second Iteration I modified the sides of the mouse to be sloping inwards a lot more, and provided the thumb with a slight overhang, to make picking the mouse up easier.

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According to gaming peripherals company Razer, there are three main styles of gripping a mouse.  - Palm grip has the whole hand resting on the mouse.  - Claw grip has the palm resting on the mouse, and the fingertips resting over the buttons.  - Fingertip grip has the palm not touching the mouse at all, and only the fingertips controlling mouse movement. My design should take these different gripping styles in to account.

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First Iteration With groves for each finger, a wide body, and large round palmrest, this design is very comfortable to rest your hand on... but with the sides tapering outwards, it's not very easy to grip in order to pick up (something we do a lot with mice).

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The gripping of the mouse is done entirely with the thumb and pinky / ring fingers, leaving the index and middle fingers free for clicking. The design should take this in to account and have a shape which allows easy and comfortable gripping with these three digits.

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The ubiquitous and infamous Dell mouse. Much in need of improvement, and the focus of my project.

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Project 2 Description

For this project my aim was to create an inwardly simple object with an outwardly complex appearance. Indeed, the final object is conceptually very simple - a cube with the corners "pushed in" - yet this simple geometry creates a shape that is almost difficult for the eyes to grasp.

To add to the internal simplicity, the entire object is made of just two 2D shapes - a triangle and a square - repeated over and over at different angles. I also kept the etching design simple, outlining the shape of each face.

To enhance the outward complexity I removed the centre from each face, leaving a frame, or lattice structure, which creates complex patterns and criss-crossing lines from almost any viewing angle.

The metaphor I chose for this project is "party light", as the shape I created is reminiscent of a paper lantern, or light shade.

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Model completed - final images.

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Laser cutting complete - ready for assembly.

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Final net, ready for cutting. (I have thickened the lines for the screenshot to make them easier to see) For the etching pattern, I chose to keep it simple and highlight the two basic shapes - triangle and square - by etching a 0.5pt outline around each hole.

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Solidworks showcase

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To test that the finger joints all fit together I put together an assembly of the pieces. There was some clipping of the pieces initially, so this vitual assembly helped me to refine the finger joint shape of the two pieces and make everything fit nicely.

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Internal support structure.

Made up of 2 intersecting 3-sided pyramids.

I'm still working on an idea for the mechanism by which it will connect to the outer structure...

EDIT:According to my tutor, the support structure will be unnecessary, which makes things much simpler.

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Had an idea to reveal the geometry of the shape by removing the faces of the object and just having the edges with their joints, so it would create a hollow frame rather than a solid object.

This would create a much greater emphasis on the joints, which is the whole focus of this project, and it adds to the appearance of complexity while still being a simple geometric shape.

I may need to create an internal support structure to prevent it from warping and skewing.