Luke Shen


Resume
LinkedIn

Projects:

  1. MH3D Alpha SPECT Mini
  2. Snapdragon RS9V
  3. Pirarucu
  4. Himmelnest
  5. Nerf x The Witch From Mercury
  6. Plasso Forms

About
Hard Skills:

Sketching
Hand Prototyping
SolidWorks
Blender
Keyshot
Adobe Suite
DaVinci Resolve
Figma
PythonSoft Skills:

Teamwork
Communication
Systems Thinking
User Research

MH3D Alpha SPECT MINI

Project Type:

WorkDuration: 

2 months
Tools:

SolidWorks
KeyShot
Blender
SketchingRole: 

Industrial Design Intern

Task: To design an outer shell for medical startup, MH3D Inc.’s revolutionary spectroscopy scanner to be used in a veterinarian medical environment. The case design needed to visually reflect the novel, state of the art technology found in the scanner.

As my supervisor put it “our scanner’s imaging capabilities are the Ferrari of spectroscopy”



My finalized concept
Manufactured version       cite. www.mh3dinc.com


Learning the process:


Coming to the startup through a remote position, I needed to learn from the resident chemical, mechanical and radiation specialists to understand the princples of spectroscopy, as well as their vision for the device’s core functions.

Furthermore, being the only designer at MH3D, translating these values through form and visuals was essential. 

Sketching and rendering informational graphics on the components provided company visual assets, but also helped me understand the device’s specifications.







I rendered the SPECT hardware for process understanding
Current design 
Previous design
I was also provided a previous design to reference for aesthetics, since much of leadership liked the design.

However, the example model was not scaled to the final gantry and needed to be rendered with more specific materials in mind. There were also limited perspectives and references for this model, since it was just a concept.

Some adjectives to describe the goal aesthetic would be:

Premium, fresh, impactful, elegant


To learn more, I scheduled on Google Calendar some meeting times to get an in-depth understanding of their specializations.
From our talks, I found these 3 key points,

Key Features:



Easy to disassemble for maintenenceThe parts should separate easily to check internal components


Easy to clean for medical setting
Curved surfaces and minimal gaps make surfaces easier to clean

Visual cues for on and off
Glowing lights indicate on or off to determine successful boot
Iterations:


Through initial sketches, I conceptualized different forms and methods to disassemble the case. To keep up with the fresh and premium theme, I found inspiration from the forms of cars and motorcycles, with varying angles and sleek fluid curves that continue around the form



Pivoting Directions



I did not recognize the signifiance of prior attatchment leadership had with the visual form of the previous design. This conflicted aganinst the disciplined approach of form evolution taught to me at CMU. However, I recognize that the cylindrical form of the prior design may be a more fitting aesthetic for a hospital setting. I was recomended to follow the prior design more strictly. To continue practicing, I mocked up the form in Blender.




Modeling in SolidWorks:

Near the end of the project, I was instructed to model the design to scale in proportion to the current gantry design. I started by measuring the dimensions for the gantry, and then reverse engineered the form by looking through the FeatureManager. 

Through this process, I surface modeled the final form, synthesizing old and new aesthetics of the outer shell.



Final Shots:

Thank you MH3D Inc. for giving me the challenge and opportunity to grow as a designer! 
lukeshen@andrew.cmu.eduBack to homeMore projects soon!
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