Design and Manufacturing II
MIT Class, Spring 2022
Over the course of a semester, four other students and I designed, CADed, and produced 50 identical injection-molded yoyos. We dubbed our product Ninjagyo, as we were inspired by the LEGO Ninjago TV show and line of products in our design. My role was to design the blue dragon piece and its mold; this required design iteration to ensure manufacturability, as the smallest endmill we had access to was 1/8" in diameter. After milling the mold, I helped experiment with the injection molding machine parameters to ensure plastic filled the mold but didn't overflow or undershoot it, create a consistent color, and produce parts within specifications. I also became our thermoforming guru to design and produce the colored swirls that poke through the top piece.
I had a great time working with my team and learned a lot about collaboration and project management; I also experienced my first design review. In lectures, I learned about manufacturing processes and principals, and was able to experience and employ these elements hands-on as I worked on our yoyos.