Vinyl records as a music format has seen a resurgence in recent years. As a record collector myself, I set out to create a device for handling vinyl records without risk of damaging them and to avoid leaving dirt and fingerprints on them.
To avoid damaging the groves of the record, it needs to be handled by the label in the centre or by its rim. A record is typically stored in its sleeve, so the device needs to be slim in order to be able to reach inside a sleeve. For such a device to handle records securely, it needs to apply sufficient pressure to the centre label. This combined with the thickness limitations requires the product to achieve the right balance of rigidity and flexibility.
The current solution is a tweezers-type device. It is slim enough to reach into a record sleeve, and when pressure is applied to the intended area, the device clamps down on the rim and the label, allowing actions such as removal from and placement into a sleeve, and flipping of the record after one side is done playing. The product is built using mSLA 3D printing.
Fine tuning of the design and the material is still needed to improve its performance. If the product is to be put on the market, IP protection measures are needed and the design needs to be adjusted for manufacturing.
Copyright © 2024 Paul Zhou - All Rights Reserved.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.