Overview

Recon approached the team at Synapse with a proof of concept (POC) prototype for a sunglass-mounted heads up display. They were looking to make their design manufacturable and get into production as quickly as possible.

The Challenge

The project timeline was tight and there were many parts and subsystems. The proof of concept also needed a lot of work to make it manufacturable. The product was a high end consumer product and the user interface points were to have a polished, intentional feel. Lastly, the product needed to be able to withstand the rigors of use in a sport (sealed to IP-65, chemically compatible, drop survival, etc).

The Solution

The project was staffed with up to five mechanical engineers. We created an intricate master modeling approach that allowed us to work simultaneously and efficiently. We each worked on our subsystems and created numerous high definition SLA prototypes for validation. Once we had confidence our subsystem was complete we added it to our master CAD file. The completed files were shared with the CM and underwent several rounds of DFM. After we proofed the first articles for all the parts and ensured it could be assembled the project was handed back to the Recon team to complete.

My Contributions

• 3D design in Solidworks
• Designed gaskets and assembly features to keep keep audio ports sealed to IP-65
• Assisted in design of interconnect FPC
• Designed FPC BLE antenna
• Assisted with design of two-shot side rocker switch.
• Completed design of spring loaded release tab that holds the modules to the glasses
• Coordinated communication with CM to obtain several iterations of DFM
• Processes
  • Injection molding
  • MIM
  • Compression molding
  • Die cutting
  • FPC and PCB manufacturing
  • SLA

Links

• Mashable review of Recon Jet
• Project overview