Laser-cut Smartphone Prototyping Frame
HCDE 451 progress blog, Oct 25 2021
For the second assignment for HCDE 451, we got to play with the laser cutter. Our goal was to make something useful for prototyping, such as a smartphone/tablet frame to do paper prototyping of screens with, or laptop/phone stand for making steady videos. The requirements were:
- must be cut from a single sheet of 18" x 24" chipboard
- must not use any glue, tape, or other fastening materials to assemble and use
- must be able to be dissembled into pieces that can be stored flat and transported (as in a backpack)I chose to make a smart phone frame
The Design
What my design basically boils down to is a flat box's open at the top and has a hole on the front side. The top would be open so that the paper screens can be easily taken in and out. the front would be the "screen" so there would be a hole to show the paper.
Process
First, I used made a basic box using https://www.makercase.com/#/basicbox with the dimensions of a standard iPhone. Opening the design in Adobe illustrator, I rounded the edges, and added the screen hole. I then laser cut the design.
Testing
Unfortunately, I was sick on critique day, so haven’t had the chance to get feedback from my peers. However, I did test my prototype with housemates, to see how it worked.
I tested the usability and feasibility of the product. It failed. The phone frame is not stable, which leads to it easily collapsing. When I tried making a very simple screen series, taking a paper out could make it collapse. I also noticed that, when compared to an iPhone, the screen was very narrow.
Improvements
An improvement to this design would be to add stability. What I’ll probably do for my own personal use is glue the frame together. However, that’s not allowed for this project. Instead, I think a more locked in structure would help. I designed a cardboard version, where instead of interlocking teeth on the edges, there are holes on the side of the frame, which the two sides of the frames can fit into. Here’s a simple cardboard design to show the principle.
Thanks for reading!
