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Product
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Examples of SAGE's product design and industrial design work.
While much of our work cannot be shown for confidentiality and product ownership reasons these few examples demonstrate the range of products and services SAGE is able to offer, as well as an insight into the way we think and approach our work.
Please click on the thumbnails below to find more details of examples within the labelled design categories.
Please click on the thumbnails below to find more details of examples within the labelled design categories.
Consumer Product Design
A selection of concept designs for an Australian customer, for an intelligent mains plug-pack unit.
Concepts range from the currently fashionable minimalist “i-phone style” to more traditional “organic” designs.
Concepts range from the currently fashionable minimalist “i-phone style” to more traditional “organic” designs.
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The chosen plug-pack design is implemented as two injection molded parts and 4 stamped brass and phosphor-bronze contacts - only one screw is required to assemble the product.
Industrial Product Design
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This is a Machine Control Unit, an excellent example of a total mechanical/electrical package requiring expertise far beyond that of "industrial design". Here we have used the "inside out" design approach starting with the physical issues of thermal management, extreme high current connection systems, optics, and consideration of a wide range of environmental and installation issues. The project began with the writing of a detailed Product Specification that described every last point of functionality and user inaction, including detailed programming options. Miniaturisation, the ability to control and distribute high currents around the unit, and the provision of a wide range of features to support multiple customers with a single unit while allowing sufficient product differentiation were just a few of the changes overcome by this design.
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The unit's associated PCB is at the heart of the "Inside out" design philosophy. The fundamental question of the design is "how can we make this product as cheaply as possible while meeting all the functional requirements"? Everything starts from this point and works outwards.The outcome in this case is that the design revolves around the PCB assembly and the design of the PCB Assembly infrastructure is absolutely key. Here we show how a single low-cost PCB can integrate all the mechanical aspects (heat-sinking, Light pipes, FET clamps, High current connections, etc) into one low cost package. |
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The unit's associated PCB is at the heart of the "Inside out" design philosophy. The fundamental question of the design is "how can we make this product as cheaply as possible while meeting all the functional requirements"? Everything starts from this point and works outwards.The outcome in this case is that the design revolves around the PCB assembly and the design of the PCB Assembly infrastructure is absolutely key. Here we show how a single low-cost PCB can integrate all the mechanical aspects (heat-sinking, Light pipes, FET clamps, High current connections, etc) into one low cost package.
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Healthcare Products and Medical Devices
An Australian customer asked SAGE to develop new variants of their Over Bed Table. At left is a version with molded table top and gas-strut assisted table height adjustment, at right is a split-table variant with tilt adjustment.
The apparent simplicity of such designs is very deceptive. Designing a high-volume product is relatively easy – you simply tool up for anything you want. Designing a low-volume product made up from off-the-shelf raw materials and assembled using standard assembly processes, many of which are low tolerance, can be a real challenge and takes a good deal of lateral thinking and ingenuity.
The apparent simplicity of such designs is very deceptive. Designing a high-volume product is relatively easy – you simply tool up for anything you want. Designing a low-volume product made up from off-the-shelf raw materials and assembled using standard assembly processes, many of which are low tolerance, can be a real challenge and takes a good deal of lateral thinking and ingenuity.
Mobility Product Design
This reclining wheelchair for an Australian customer uses a locking gas strut to control the raising and lowering of the chair and also has adjustable armrests and foot rest.
Shown below is the steel framework for a more complex wheelchair with independent adjustability of seat base angle, seat back angle and leg rest angle using 3 separate locking gas struts.
The design also features swing-away upper body supports and leg/arm supports that swing away to facilate transfering the chair user into and out of the chair. SAGE provided the entire production package for this product, the 3 D models and the 2D drawings for every part, including all the foam work.
Point Of Sale (POS) Terminals This is a freestanding POS terminal for an Australian customer. The "Head" of the unit is injection molded and designed to support a wide array of various input devices plus a coin acceptor.
The "Base" of the unit is sheet metal and includes a coin receiving box. The entire design is designed to be shipped in small parts to safe on shipping costs and to be easily assembled by the ultimate customer. |
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User Interface (UI) Design
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This is a thermostat for a multi-zone heating system for a customer in Auckland. The Thermostat itself was sourced from China but the User Interface was custom designed by SAGE to suit the particular customer. If you think it looks simple we take it as a compliment because that was the design goal! The programming and display of a complex system involving programs for 3 zones for each of 7 days, using a limited number of input buttons, in a way that is intuitive, is not a trivial task. Our philosophy is that if you need to consult a manual or visit Youtube to figure out how to use your product then you've designed it wrong. With ever increasing functionality in even the "simplest" product good user interface design is more important than ever. Regrettably the evidence suggests that many designers would rather design UIs that show how clever they are rather ones people can actually understand. |
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Packaging Design for Optimised shipping
In the design of physically large, heavy products, particularly those made in Asia, design for shipping is a key part of the design process and can make the difference between product failure and product success. In this example the packaging design was a critical factor in getting the product to the local market at the right price, in the right condition, and in a format that enabled easy assembly by the customer.
Component Design and Electrical Contact Design
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Having a pretty product that wins design awards is all very well but in reality 9 times out of 10 it's the things you don't see that are the key to its success and profitability. Parts like custom fasteners, hinges, springs and cunning mechanisms to ease assembly may be unglamorous but make possible a product's functionality and its ability to be mass produced at the right price. Shown above is a collection of SAGE designed 230VAC contacts and retention systems, examples of the "little things" that make or break a product.
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Electrical Assemblies and User Interface Design
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This is the front panel for an industrial floor sweeper unit, an example of "appropriate design". It may not win any awards for style but it is the best design for its purpose and it is what the customer and the end user wants. The ability to understand the difference between the "best" design and the "right" design is vital and is the difference between good and bad design. This design is bombproof, uses controls that people can actually use and understand, and that are consistent within the floor sweeper market. Its labelling and operation are intuitive and simple, and the modular structure of the unit makes it a flexible building block that can be used in multiple models as well as giving the lowest cost possible given the limited volumes involved.
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Low volume Product Design
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As noted previously, design of lower volume products that cannot justify the expense of tooling are a considerable challenge.
This product is the basis of a Head Control Unit used to control a power wheelchair. The padded "yoke" that actually connects the driver's head to the right-angle bracket, which could if desired be custom made for each user, is not shown. The design is based on commonly available materials such as sheet plastic and simple metal brackets, the only concession to tooling being the vacuum formed cover, a relatively affordable process that gives the final product a professional appearance despite the product being made in a "workshop" environment. |
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Copyright SAGE designs 2013 For SAGE Designs New Zealand website please go to www.saged.co.nz