Planning Process

My mentor and I met once more this week to further discuss the design process. Our plan is to pick out the materials for the sign and make initial measurements for the sign within the next week. We decided that it would be best to scrap the idea of using recycled rubber from old tires to use because the material would not be as flexible. We would like to pursue the notion of using recycled materials down the road, but want to make the signs as simple as possible to begin. 

Our first drawings have the sign at standing about six inches tall and a total of about 12 inches long if laid flat. If you think of the sign as a piece of paper, fold the paper "hot dog style" (lengthwise). The make a fold at the center of the "hot dog" with the halves at a ninety degree angle. The paper standing up is the face of the sign. The half of the "hot dog" sitting on the ground will be the base of the sign.

In our meeting, we found that the greatest trouble we will face in the design process is how we will secure the base of the sign to the ground. Many of the current road flaps installed are secured with glue on a ceramic tile which is secured to the ground. Because rubber is a tough material to bond, it may be difficult for us to glue the rubber directly to the road. We are currently searching for alternatives to the ceramic tile, which would increase the cost of each sign significantly.

Within the next month we will also be using a CAD program to create a design on the computer of our sign. When we submit our papers for a patent, we will need the CAD drawings to include. We hope to have a "patent pending" statues by the end of November, so we will need to get started on the CAD designs as soon as possible. My dad already has a lot of experience with CAD and I currently have limited experience using the program, but he will be guiding me on some of the design because it is a simple design.

Overall, our process has not yielded tangible results as all work has been planning, but we will soon be starting the CAD work, which I am looking forward to. We are on track to meet our goal of the "patent pending" status and remain steadfast in our overall goals of marketing the product by the end of the year.

All of this planning seems a bit tedious now, but I understand that it will save is much time in the long run as we will not have to go back to revise mistakes that we may have glossed over because we were going too fast in the initial process.

Now weeks in, I am pleased with our progress thus far and look forward to the work that will follow. I hope to be able to post pictures of our designs soon!