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Lensmate

CASE STUDY

Lensmate – Custom ThumbGrip

Lensmate designs and creates aftermarket products, primarily thumbrest for digital cameras that includes brands like Fujifilm, Sony, and Panasonic.

My mission was turn Lensmates design into a manufactured ready 3D CAD model while making sure the design requirements were met.

Our approach needed to be comprehensive and cohesive, impacting all customer touchpoints from user experience and everything in between.

CHALLENGE

Design an aesthetically pleasing thumbrest that complemented the design of the camera as well enhancing its functionality.

OUTCOME

Through collaboration I was able to deliver a production ready CAD design along with 2D production drawings. This helped Lensmate to drive the product successfully into the market place which led to growth in sales.

Understanding The Users

The main purpose of the thumbrest is to allow the user to relax their grip on the camera, reducing camera shake allowing slower shutter speeds.

Another parameter was that the thumbrest needed to make one handed operation easier and prevents unintentional button presses.

And lastly, all camera controls still needed to be easily accessible when new thumbrest is installed.

Workflow

To execute our thumbrest design efficiently we had to lay out our project scope. We used Trello to keep us both informed on whats being worked on, who’s working on what, and where something is in the process.

Reverse Engineering

Before we got too far into the thumbrest design we first needed to 3D scan the camera so that we could design a thumbrest that had the proper tolerances when installed and that we had enough clearance between the camera buttons.

3D CAD Model

Now comes the task of selecting the best of the rough ideas and making them more presentable. This involves converting concept from 2D into 3D as we create a first CAD model using sketches and scan data.

Prototyping & Testing

To quickly test our idea’s we 3D printed a few prototype using a Lulzbot Mini that we had inhouse. The outcome was that we were able to quickly determine fit, function, and form then make critical adjustments before we sent it out for machining

Production Tool Ready CAD For Manufacturing

When appropriate design for manufacturability (DFM) had to be considered especially for the molded rubber inserts for the design and fabrication of tooling.

Product Documentation

To make sure our designs were understood and conveyed properly, production ready 2D drawings we made to clearly communicate how the design should be manufactured and assembled.

Marketing

While parts were in manufacturing we wasted no time to get the word out of the release of the new Lensmate thumbrest. To do so we create product visuals such as hero shots, toon illustrations, and a short 360 animation which we soon later featured in blogs, website, and forums. As a result this would help drive more traffic and in return increase sales.