Chromalight
About
Although the design of phones have become increasingly innovative, there has yet to be a feature to change the color of a phone's flashlight.
Aimed at the general population as an aesthetic and entertainment attachment for all phones (different sizes of case for different phones).
In addition to having the same potential user base of every phone user that wants to indulge in an aesthetic trend, it can also be practically used for photographers as it is a cheap way to create multicolor ambient lighting.
Overview
There is a rectangular box that is split in half. One half goes over the lens and has a through shell so that nothing obstructs the lens. The other half has three different “shelves” that hold three different colored lenses (red, green, and blue). These lenses can be slid into the first half to provide a colored screen for the phone light and change the color. They can also be slid in any configuration to get many different colors. The lenses are locked by a locking pin that is closed whenever the configuration is set. One of the benefits of this type of device is the fact that there is no need for external electronics or software. The different lenses are completely hardware. (Since this is the case, phones such as the iPhone X that can go underwater do not have to worry about this attachment becoming damaged)
Mechanical Components
Moving green acrylic screen
Moving red acrylic screen
Moving blue acrylic screen
Cylinder that locks the acrylic screens in place from moving side to side
Shelves/groove the acrylics will be sliding in, in order to stay in place and not fall on top of the camera.
Material
The component would either be 3D printed out of ABS plastic or PLA plastic. PLA plastic would be better for customization, personalization, and would be the cheaper option. On the other hand ABS plastic would be stronger and more durable. This would allow the grooves and clearance holes to be manufactured better, improving their functionality.
Reflection
All though the product could not be manufactured due to COVID-19, the case did have plans for large scale production. In order to optimize efficiency and minimize waste, the parts would all be manufactured using metal casting as it would be the fastest and cheapest way to create the desired parts. Additionally, 2.4 mm glass sheets would replace the acrylic. Glass can be melted, refined, annealed, and cut using diamond tipped tools for precision or bought from a subsidiary manufacturer. These changes would drastically reduce the cost and increase the supply of the product, ensuring the sale at an extremely cheap price while retaining a profit.
We would manufacture the parts differently, more specifically we would split the Casing and Lens Box into two parts. As it is now, printing both parts together causes problems with wastage as supports are needed (when prototyping) and in a large scale production, it is easier to get surface deformities). If the parts were manufactured separately, we would attach them with an easy push pin snap fit which would both decrease manufacturing time and surface flaws. Moreover, this would allow the lens box to be detachable (can be kept as an accessory that can be attached to phone when convenient, instead of always being stuck on).
