www.3ders.org

Aug 6, 2015 | By Simon

Although there are more 3D modeling programs in existence today than one could seemingly count on all of their fingers, it goes without saying that some of those programs are just simply more versatile and better than the others when it comes to performing specific tasks.  

While mechanical engineers and even industrial designers might turn to a program like SolidWorks to create manufacturing-ready parts that are carefully executed using the program’s accurate modeling tools, some designers and makers may find more success using a program such as MODO, which is considered to be more like ‘digital clay’ that can then be visualized and even animated immediately within the program while the design is in development.  Of course, a combination of these tools doesn’t hurt for satisfying different workflows, but most people likely aren’t going to be spending tens of thousands of dollars on their software, either.  

Among others who have found success with using MODO - along with 3D printing - for bring a product design to life include Tom Evans, the founder of BleepBleeps and his 3D artist Matthew Burnisten.  

After nights of frustration that came along with being a new parent, Evans was inspired to create what is ultimately a family of sensor devices that are aimed at helping parents with a number of different parenting aspects ranging from fertility to geolocating and baby monitoring.   

Each device in the BleepBleeps family connects to the BleepBleeps app to give users access to the specific tools that the sensor is designed for.  Thanks to some clever design direction, each of the BleepBleeps characters has a name, a personality, a sound and a story that help engage interaction in ways that many other similar devices don’t offer - which ultimately helps make the parenting experience much more fun and enjoyable.

While Evans, Burnisten and the rest of the Bleep Bleeps team started off the design process like most other product designs - with pencils and paper - they soon moved into digitally sculpting the designs - such as Sammy Screamer - using MODO: 

Along the way, they were able to animate the products using MODO’s easy-to-use animation tools which also allow users to easily move around various environment settings such as backdrops and lighting, among others.  

Once they had a more refined vision of how their functional prototype worked and what they thought was the ideal design direction and identity, they were then able to use the digital files to create 3D printed prototypes.

“Our design language is inspired by the simple geometric shapes of kid’s building blocks with a sprinkling of Japanese vinyl toys and hat tip to the Alessi brand,” explains Evans.  

Once 3D printed, the physical designs were tested to ensure that the sensors, app and other details worked before going through the process again repeatedly until a final design had been established.  

After developing their final design, Evans and Burnisten launched a successful Kickstarter campaign for their Sammy Screamer Motion Alarm, which successfully raised nearly $100,000 using the crowdfunding platform.  

To find out more about the rest of the family of smartphone connected sensors, head over to BleepBleeps.  

 

 

Posted in 3D Printing Applications

 

 

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