One of a maker ́s most important tools are his own eyes. So why donʼt give them the same attention as a maker gives his creations. Low-cost plastic glasses may provide sufficient protection for most use- cases, but if the customer gets involved into the design process, the overall functionality and appearance gets important.

Testing the frame on various face shapes became part of my working process. Making a frame that fits a large group of people turned out to be more challenging than I had anticipated.

Stainless steel proved to be the ideal material for everyday use and a long-lasting product. However, for the purpose of handcrafting a prototype, I chose regular steel because it requires less force to bend and has less springiness.

Not only the frame but also the selection of a material capable of meeting the requirements and precision needed for manufacturing the prototype necessitated a variety of prints and tests. Typically, parts of glasses that come into contact with human skin are made of acetate, which is easily deformable when exposed to heat. However, as I didn’t have access to a piece of acetate, I began working with materials like TPU, PLA, or resin. TPU, in the end, proved to be the ideal material for my prototype due to its high flexibility and resistance to slipping from the nose.

Using fewer parts and materials to create more sustainable products sometimes requires innovation. The challenge with safety goggles is that they need to be robust while maintaining their primary function of protecting the user’s face. By placing the joint on the outside of the frame, another risk of injuring the user’s face is eliminated.

datasheet
timeframe	oct. 2022 – feb. 2023
project category	main project
mentor	André Baschlakow
project partners	Haffmanns & Neumeister
materials	resin, 1 mm steel, TPU, 6mm hollow rivets
colors (hexadezimal)	#878681, #A60A3D
manufacturing process	lasercut, resin print, FDM print
supplier	Geyer Umformtechnik GmbH