Project Responsibilities
• Oversaw project from first concepts to final manufacture and delivery
• Sourced manufacturers and final assembly partners
• Defined brief and set aesthetic direction
• Designed sheet metal parts, injection molded parts, and custom carbon fibre parts
• Performed extensive design for manufacture analyses for vendor
• Prepared drawings and applied for patent
• Managed project within budget and timeline - COVID permitting
• Spokesperson for product at a trade show and for Kickstarter video
• Successfully funded on Kickstarter ($260k+)
Brief
Noisy Clan wanted to create the ultimate portable music stand for its first product, one that was lighter and smaller than anything else while remaining fully featured for travelling musicians.
The result is Wee Stand— the lightest, most ultra-portable music stand on the market.
Core Considerations
1. Smallest closed size
2. Ability to go from tabletop to standing height
3. Versatile media holding options
Smallest Closed Size
The small size is achieved with friction locking telescoping legs and overlapping folding wings.
The key is that the legs fold up parallel, reducing the closed size.
Size was a significant constraint and I focused on combining the leg hinging and body angle adjustment into a small package.
The result was a leg assembly that was isolated from the body and wings and then screwed together.
Particular attention was paid to the hinge between the legs and the main body — it had to be:
1. Compact
2. Durable
3. Precise
Tabletop to Standing
Wee Stand is able to be used on a table as well as standing up due to the custom six segment legs.
I narrowed down the vendor choices based on sample quality and cost.
Carbon fibre friction-locking legs were inspired by Tenkara fishing rods.
They are lightweight, rigid, and fast to setup and tear down.
The feet provide grip on smooth surfaces and lock the legs closed to make tabletop usage easier.
I worked closely with our leg and plastics manufacturers to refine the tolerances for the feet perform both functions.
Versatile Media Holding Options
We didn’t want the small size to limit functionality.
So we added features for securely holding single sheets, two sheets side-by-side, tablets, and books.
1. Built-in tabs hold single pages securely.
2. Center badge holds margins of pages for side-by-side.
3. Swivelling clips stow flat and can be used to keep books from folding in on themselves.
These small features were challenging to prototype as 1:1 3D Prints weren’t accurate enough — as such, 2x scale prints were used prior to tooling to refine the snap fit.
