Feedback 10/05

- We should do a user-test with the finished product
- Some more details about the file we need to hand in:
     * We need to have technical drawings
     * A production plan
     * An investment plan
- We would better varnish the table, so it can be used outside and be washed off more easily. This can also be with a colour, but then you would lose the beauty of the wood.

Improving the textile

New changes are made to the textile done to test different aspects of the prototype.

- the sleeves are made shorter, so the side panels of the basket can be taken out easier.

- the corners are folded so there is no excessive material when the table cloth is converted to a basket

- zippers are added on the backside op the textile (these plates don't need to get out for the assembly of the table, but they need to be able to get out so you can wash the textile)

- the bottom plate is attached to the textile using an overlap layer of textile and a cord to ensure tension so the plate won't fall out.

The result:

The bottom

basket configuration

Basket configuration with lid

Table configuration

It is obvious that the table is not straight yet. To fix this problem, we will use the straps from the handles to add some tension to the table surface. We will use buttons to fix the straps to the textile.

The next step is to improve the overall finish of the prototype, to add the corners to the front and back panels so the lid will stay on top of the basket, add the restrictions (buttons) to prevent the basket for falling open and to make the table surface straight, as is showed in the picture below.

Working on the prototype

Today, we continued making the prototype. This time we used the milling machine to make the slots that are used to assemble the three legs of the table. 

           

   


































We used a 0,5 cm milling head, because this is the thickness of the wood. We milled it until halfway the plates, so we can shove them in each other. 
To do this in a proper way, we had to put another wooden plate with a big thickness under it to avoid damaging the machine. To ensure that the milled slides were straight, we lined our wooden plates with the machine, using a piece of wood and putting it against the side (90 degrees). 

After we finished milling the three pieces, we sanded the edges. We also sanded the plates again to make sure there weren't any pencil marks left on the plates.


         


















The next step was to make some holes in the top plate, so it can be opened more easily. We used a a drill of 3 cm to cut a quarter of a circle away in both corners (both corners to make it symmetric for a nicer look for the table legs) to do this. Hereafter, we finished it again by sanding it (also sanding away the pencil marks). 

         

We also made the pieces that will hold the lid of the basket (left) and the pieces that will hold the legs at their right plave (right). 
     
         









        

This was the final result (without the textil). 

The slides work perfectly.

Final result of the legs.

           

How the table looks like without the textile.

Feedback 03/05/2016

Today we had a feedback from Mr. Detand and Mr. Davy about our prototype and investment plan: 

Jan Detand: 

- Prototype 
    - What will be the finish of the wood (paint, varnish...) to have good look 
    - Test if people understand how to assemble the prototype (with a family member, ...) 
    - Make a patron simulation 
- Investment plan 
    - Make a budget comparing the low volume with the high volume (machines, costs...) 

    - Calculate the machine price per hour not per piece. Do this by estimating how long the 
       machine life is (1,2... years) 

    - How can we optimize the production? 

    - More details about the textile (sewing machine, type of  stitches, by hand or not, the 
       cost of them) 

Davy Parmentier:

- Prototype 

    - Look for strong velcro (e.g. duo lock velcro) or find another mechanic solution. You can 
       stay with the velcro if you find a proper way to attach it to the wood.

- Investment plan 

   - If we change it to Jan's consult, it will be ok. 

Adjusted textile, Cad-files, Cutting of the wood and Changing the Investment plan

Changes to the textile
We changed the clothing of the table a little bit with the feedback we received last week. We changed the place of the gaps where we put in the wooden plates.

What will be different for the final product ?
- the corners will be cut in half see drawing), so it will fold more easily if we turn the table into a basket
- the borders where the plate will need to be put in to make the basket, will have another colour, so the user will see easily where he can get it out/ put it on.
- there will be zipper on the back side of the plates we don't need to get out for the configuration. This way the zippers won't stand out for changing the configuration, but the plates can get out so the clothing can be washed easily.
- on the bottom, we will use the system of an ironing board textile to attach the textile to the bottom palte.


Changes to the Cad-file:
- The thickness of the plate changed from 3.6 mm to 5 mm. This is the thickness we will use for our final prototype.
- We made some gaps in the top plate of the basket, so the user can get this plate out more easily (the plate is inside the basker, so it

Cutting away the corners so it opens easily.

These corners don't make the design of the table bad.

Cutting of the wood
We also cutted the wood for our final product this week in the right dimensions. We chose to work with a multiplex plate with a thickness of 5 mm.

Investment plan

We also made a new version of the investment plan, according to the feedback last week. Now it looks like this.

Feedback 26/04

We got feedback from Mr. Detand this week (26/04). He made some useful suggestions for our design:

- He suggested using the system of an ironing board cloth to attach our textile to our bottom plate.
- The flexible material we use for the handle, doesn't have to be a useful part for the table, but it has to be attached to it. It has to be in both configurations, but he doesn't find it useful to attach it to the legs of the table. It won't give much more stability to it, and it would make it a lot more difficult for the user to know how to assemble it to the legs (difficult handling).
- The textile is almost ok, for the final product we can ask someone professional to make it for us, so it has a nice look. The gaps where we insert the wooden plates would be better if it's not on the edge of the textile (difficult to find out for the user), but it would be better if it's in the middle and very clear that it can be opened.
- He also gave some useful advise for our investment plan. He suggested making it in Excel instead of Word, so we could just give in another amount of tables we want to make in a year, and the file will calculate the rest for us. We need to make a difference in fixed costs vs. variable costs, a comparison if we buy other machines (more expensive ones for high volume production), we should also calculate the cost per piece if we produce 500, 1000, 2000, ...

Testing textile

We did a first trial of sewing some textile. The fabric we chose to work with is a green checked cloth. We made this prototype by sewing it together with a needle. For the final product, we would use a sewing machine for a better finished result.

The prototype is stitched with a needle.

Prootype unfolded.

Shoving the panels inside the cloth.

Cloth is open on the sides.

Flatpack prototype (downside)

Flatpack prototype (upside)

We still had some doubts about how to attach the textile to the bottom plate, but we got some very useful advise from Mr. Detand for this part. He said we could use some kind of system that they use for the textile of ironing boards (rubber or cords you can span).

Ironing board cover (with cords).

Ironing board cover (with rubber band).

Ironing board cover (with rubber band).