During my time at National Instruments I and three others designed and built an automated unit testing rig for Wii remote controls. The idea behind it was to demonstrate the NI SMU product range. Allowing multiplexed measurement of devices. The suite was also capable of testing many other aspects of the Wii Remote, including the infrared camera.
There were a lot of design processes involved, allowing me to brush up on my CAD skills. A lot of space management was needed to contain the two break out boards and LED power management.
I was really excited with how it turned out, but I only wish I had more time to improve the perspex mounting :/
There were a lot of design processes involved, allowing me to brush up on my CAD skills. A lot of space management was needed to contain the two break out boards and LED power management.
I was really excited with how it turned out, but I only wish I had more time to improve the perspex mounting :/
The best project to come out of the Applications Engineering department
To being the design process I began by creating sketches of how I wanted to make the box look. Following this I decided to create a 3D model of these sketches using CAD (computer aided design) software SolidWorks®. CAD meant we knew the unit was both functional and attractive prior to the building process, reducing the cost of development. These 3D models also allowed for the required parts to be cut to size by a third party. This included the aluminium X-frame skeleton and acrylic shell (shown below).