Brief
To design and develop a commercially viable product that will save users energy within the home. The final design should be able to be batch produced and also cost effective.
This is Bumble. He is a thermochromic energy saving bee that changes colour when the temperature of your house rises above the recommended living temperature. His stripes change from yellow to white when 24ºC or higher is reached, informing the user to turn the boiler down, saving money, energy and improving living.
Bumble was designed as part of a Design for Manufacture brief. Computer renderings and engineering drawings were produced before being given to another team for manufacture.
Bumble himself is a Jelutong turned bee with dowel reinforcements through the center to hold the sections together. The wings are laser cut and etched acrylic and the eyes are vinyl cuts. The black stripes are sprayed with gloss and the yellow stripes have a thermochromic pigment mixed within the paint. A clear lacquer is sprayed over the whole bee to complete manufacture.
5 Bumble's were manufactured in total and each was finished to a retail quality. The hive is made from maple that has routered grooves throughout for the orange acrylic sections to slot into.
Bumble was finally made into a commercially viable idea, reducing the hives to just 1. This saved material and money. If Bumble was to be put into commercial production, the manufacture price currently sits around £6.98 each unit with an expected retail value of £15.
For more projects or if you'd like to drop me an email visit www.stuartsco.co.uk
