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For almost 5 years, James Olander worked as Senior Systems Engineer for Lockheed Martin, a large aerospace company, leveraging his degrees in Aerospace and Space Systems Engineering to develop innovative satellite technology and launch vehicles.
但大规模组织的一小块like Lockheed Martin, no matter how great the company or the work, has certain limitations. So eventually, James found himself working at TechShop in the Bay Area, surrounded by people who were quite literally building their own dreams.
经过多年的工作捕获一台笔记本电脑，詹姆斯被启发到开始建立一个人，他一直在设想，并知道可以解决一个广泛的问题：一种创新和符合人体工程学的笔记本电脑立场栖息。
从爱好转移到职业的那一刻？用埃里克的回应向鹅卵石首席执行官埃里克·米科夫斯基展示了原型，“你得到把这件事放在Kickstarter上。“
A few months later栖息was up on Kickstarter，$ 189,983承诺2,448名支持者，从那时起，他售出超过10,000个单位。
Now James is研究河流v2。第二个版本的发展的最大变化是引入注射模具以增加产量。通过第一个栖息地，原型和生产单元都采用激光切割机和相同的材料加工，因此两者之间没有差异;如果原型破坏，那么生产单位会破裂。
通过注塑成型，这是一个完全不同的过程。您需要了解原型的结构元素，采用不同的材料和工具，然后通过测试和分析预测最终注塑部件的结构特征。
This is where James’ aerospace background goes to work. Using very intentional and detailed analysis, he’s able to assess the structural elements of his prototypes created with plastics, and then extrapolate those results to understand how an injection molded part will perform.
在这个硬件聚焦中，詹姆斯分享了他的过程的元素，利用了他的航空航天工程背景，使他能够设计具有高耐用性的产品，无需猜测。
了解您设计的关键组件
在您做任何其他事情之前，您必须了解您的部件设计中最关键的组件。如同，哪些结构元素对产品的机械完整性最重要？“在航空航天，如果你发动车辆，你就不能解决它，”詹姆斯说。“当你意识到错误时，空气中有10,000英里！所以你至少在纸上更好地了解，并且已经测试了它的力量。“
For Roost, the most critical design components are strength and stiffness. The Roost stand is designed to be extremely strong and stable, for a lifetime of heavy usage. So that’s where James placed his focus.
我不知道如何在不知道我正在使用的材料的机械性质的情况下正确建立任何东西
了解他需要分析的物理性质，詹姆斯利用了他的背景。“在航空航天工程中，您以两种方式设计：优化刚度或优化力量，”詹姆斯说。““所以有两个物理属性来分析。有一种称为模量的刚度的衡量标准，并且当物质将破裂时，称为拉伸强度的量度。然后你每单位重量看这些属性 - 所以你看起来特定模量你看起来specific strength。用材料几何优化这些，以获得最低重量的最佳部分。“
Once you know the most critical components of your design and what you’re optimizing for in regards to structural integrity, you need to find the materials that maximize those properties.
Know Your Materials
为了找到合适的材料，您需要了解可用材料的机械性能。“我经常要求各种制造商的材料物业表，他们通常回应'为什么需要这一点？”詹姆斯股份。“这总是让我混淆！因为对我而言，我不知道如何在不知道我正在使用的材料的机械性质的情况下妥善建立任何东西。“
For the final production material, James is using glass-filled nylon, which replaces the carbon fiber used for the first Roost product and has very high stiffness. “Stiffness is really the most important component to optimize for since you don’t want your laptop to wobble at all on the stand,” James says. “So I chose a glass-filled material, which is used in car parts and will provide that critical stiffness.”
当然，玻璃填充尼龙不是用于迭代他所有原型的詹姆斯。因此，詹姆斯在寻找合适的材料中为他的原型工作的主要挑战是找到与玻璃填充材料僵硬的东西。“我终于找到了一个称为蓝玉的3D打印材料，实际上非常脆弱”詹姆斯股份。“它没有很高的强度，但它确实具有很高的僵硬。由于刚度与注塑材料的刚度相比，它不会在不缩小的载荷下破裂，然后用相同刚度的生产材料和强度的四倍，结构将在最终生产中工作。“
通过栖息地，我实际上可以建立它并打破它，所以我知道它肯定会在哪里休息而不是理论上
Another new material James uses in this second version of Roost is silicone on the pivoting grip mechanism that latches to the laptop. “Silicon is interesting because it’s an A and a B component where you mix it together and a chemical reaction happens such that the final shape is permanent,” James notes. “Plastic, on the other hand, is in a constant, albeit slow, state of deforming.”
这是詹姆斯在他的过程中使用的详细分析。他了解他正在使用的材料的属性，优化其设计中的两个关键元素之一：力量和僵硬。这允许他通过严格的比较和测试来预测，最终注射成型单元将在其生产之前就像它一样。
验证您的机械设计
The advantage James had in designing Roost versus a satellite is he could understand the mechanical theory behind the design, but also physically test it before sending it off into the universe.
“用rowost，我实际上可以建立它并打破它，所以我知道它肯定会突破它，而不是仅仅是理论化，”詹姆斯说。“了解纸上的机械结构和CAD是一件事，但如果可以的话，它就像你可以用物理原型测试你的理论一样重要。”
Never assume you’re going to have it designed right on the computer
也就是说，詹姆斯是一个CAD向导，他认识到减少您的开发过程的体力劳动的一个很好的工具。“随着这个第二版的Roost，我已经能够利用我已经制作的参数模型在我的几何形状中为我创造了调整，”詹姆斯共享。“在真正的手动之前;我正在进入并让自己的一点变化。现在我可以改变一个数字，它重新创建整个事情。“
但翻译理论几何real product is still another thing entirely. “Never assume you’re going to have it designed right on the computer, no way,” James emphasizes. “For a long time I was 3D printing different shapes out of different materials and judging, ‘well, if the injection molding material is going to be four times stronger but the same stiffness, and this one broke at 10 pounds that means it should hold up to about 40 pounds when molded.’ There were tons of these comparisons.”
因此，虽然纸张似乎如何优化刚度，然后比较3D印刷材料与注塑材料的相对强度，但詹姆斯的过程涉及大量的测试。他在不同的重量下测试了多种性质和价格点的多种材料，以利用最佳材料的信心。
Then to bolster his predicted analysis of the final production parts, James plans to use a statistical analysis of fits on the first 25 injection molded units to validate the tolerances. “I’ll build a few parts with tolerances above and beyond what you would usually want for an injection mold because you get shrinkage,” James say. This will help to understand, for example, the tolerances needed for one of the components which is a perfect circle. “Perfect circles are not a good idea in injection molds, but it can be done,” James adds. “You just have to spend a lot of time tweaking the tool.”
利用材料数据表，CAD和工程理论，但不要低估物理测试这些材料，设计和理论的重要性。
The process James used to develop Roost is part theory and part hands-on engineering. He is absolutely detail-oriented when it comes to assessing the properties of his materials and the most important components of his design, but he’s also very hands-on when it comes to validating the mechanics of those designs.
因为有时理论失败了。例如，用于创建Roost V2的多个迭代的第一材料james不是在后敏感中最好的材料。他忽略了一些关键特征，进行了一些计算错误，并且属性与所需的最终生产强度无关。
The point is, be detailed in your theory and just as detailed in your validation of that theory; preparation is critical but mistakes are inevitable. Even for aerospace engineers.
