University of Michigan

2013

competed in a physical and virtual tradeshow

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Description: Integrated Product Development (IPD) was a cross-disciplinary experimental product design and development course in which cross-functional teams of art & design, business, and engineering students design and manufacture a fully-functional consumer product, cost out its manufacturing process, place it in the context of a larger business proposal, and compete with their product against other student teams in an economic market competition.    

The problem statement for this project was to design a piece or multiple pieces of college dorm room furniture that can be sold as a Distributed Manufacturing (DM) digital file, easily fabricated using commodity material inputs on a laser cutter and/or 3-axis router, and easily assembled by an unskilled customer using readily-available hand tools.    

Our design, Flightstand, is a nightstand designed specifically for lofted beds and bunked beds. With this product, the top bunk can have an alarm clock, water, tissues, even a tablet and some books within arm’s reach! This innovative design allows a quick and easy attachment to any style bed in seconds. Flightstand brings convenience to the top bunk. Flightstand is cut from a single sheet of plywood at any Makerworks facility. The assembly process is simple since al the pieces friction fit together. A single nut and bolt is used to secure the Flightstand tightly to the bed.

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Credits: Niloufar Emami, Evan Kovarik, Erin Potocki, Jack Walsh and Jeff Xu