Solar Lights

Design for Manufacturability Learning Labs

for MIT Design for Scale, 2014

• Led development of a solar light to teach students about design for injection molding, wire forming, investment casting, post-machining, printed circuit boards, assembly, reliability, and testing, among other topics

• Some aspects of the light were free to be designed by students each year, while other aspects were static and made the same way each year

  • Wire formed stand was designed and made by students, using bending jigs of their own design (inspired by Kurt Kornbluth's Whirlwind Wheelchair brake bending jig)

• Injection molded housing was shot by students (static design)

• Lost wax cast bronze feet were invested and post-machined by students (static design)

• Provided a circuit diagram, students laid out a printed circuit, soldered components, and debugged boards

• Time depending, instructors or students laser cut or vacuum formed lens