We here @ #Outsiders have just received another update from one of kickstarter-backed projects and wanted to share this update with all. We will continue to keep all informed:
Well, I don’t know about you but I think it’s high time for another Bevel update!
This week I want to show you the progress we’ve made so far on Bevel’s industrial design. Be warned, I’m about to completely geek out about things like enclosures and form factors.
Now, Bevel’s design has been evolving from the very start (even during our kickstarter campaign). If you’re the sort of person who pays particular attention to detail, you might have noticed two different Bevels floating around our campaign page. One had pronounced angles and the other had a more rounded look.
These were the very first iterations of Bevel’s industrial design.
When we successfully reached our funding goal and we knew Bevel was a go, we dove right into product and app development. As it happens, our team has a couple very good friends who are also the founders of a little design house calledPeak Design Co.
Meet Scott and Heather, the industrial designers of Bevel:
The first thing they did was put together a few concepts for us to consider. We knew we wanted to make Bevel as small and sleek as we could. They came back to us with the collection below, and asked us to pick one:
I really liked option A because the clip was integrated into the rest of the enclosure, but that presented flexibility issues. If we went with a single piece for the clip, instead of a separate assembly, we wouldn’t be able to manufacture the Bevel in brushed aluminium, which would be an issue. So in the end we decided to go with something close to option B but with a few revisions for style and mechanics.
It’s still very open to revisions, but here’s what we’re working with right now:
The best part is, since it’s much smaller than our original design, we were able to reduce the size of the boards as well. And trust me, they are small.
Check out this bad boy:
(It’s really tiny, about the size of a quarter and just so slick)
So at this point we’ve got a couple of assembled boards and we’ve 3D printed the new industrial design. Now we’re just putting everything together to verify tolerance, fit, and make sure everything is mechanically sound. So far so good! We're really close to being finished and that feels great.
Once we’ve finalized the Bevel’s industrial design once and for all we can start sourcing components and manufacturing the tooling we’re going to use to make your Bevels.
First production run here we come! We're thinking that we'll be making tooling in in November, which means we're pretty much on schedule right now. Of course, that could change any day and if it does we promised to tell you immediately.
I’d love to hear any and all feedback from you folks. What do you think about the Bevel’s new look? Please leave us comments or message us anytime!
Our next Dev Team Diary will probably be about the Bevel app again, since things are grinding away there as well.
Until next time,
Drew
| 
WARNING: Contents may blow your mind.
Ari wastes the last of the super 8 film.
All work and no play make C.H.I.P. a dull toy.
