I believe that this was such an amazing experience to see and work on as a group. We put in tons of hours to get our product up and running and it felt so gratifying to come out with a product we were happy with!
Initially, we started with a plan to work by making a 1:1 replica of Jenna’s leg. With this, it was really such a huge help to propel our ideas forward. From there we worked on constructing our pad, outer shell, and designs.
When constructing our pad we used 2 pieces of Styrofoam padding with strips of metal on the inside to help with structure and security. After we created the interior lining of the pad we wanted to sew a nylon fabric around it to give it a better aesthetic appeal.
After our pad was complete we began working on shaping our outer shell and design to lay on it. Jae made so many fantastic designs so after we had our shape laser cut out of acrylic we were able to laser cut Jae’s design into it. After our piece was designed we were able to use the heat gun provided by the FabLab and mold our design to Jenna’s model leg we had. After we had the shape we cut our shell down the middle and attached a hinge to make it simple for Jenna to attach the guard. Final we attached the pads and traps we had made to the design to complete the final touches.
Overall this experience was amazing to work with and around such fantastic people that all had a common goal to make the world a better and easier place with their designs. After our presentations were put together and the judging was over with me and my team had been lucky enough to be named one of the winners of the competitions! Thank you to the school of design and school of business for coming together and making this happen. Im am so happy I got to experience something like this before I graduate.
My name is Ryan Kane, and I am a senior graduating in the spring of 2019 from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Gies College of Business. I have a double major is both Supply Chain Management and Information Systems and Information Technology.
Thanks for sharing