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Here you can find a case study of 2N wi-fi router. This project belogs among my first product designs that reached the market. I have learn important facts about manufacturing, injection molding, assembly, precise modelling.

2N

2N is a telecommunication company that produces Wi-Fi routers, gateways and intercom systems and asked to re-design their Wi-Fi router. These routers are used by small or middle companies that want to save money on calling fees.

2n router old

Ideation

The design team created several concepts. The concept highlighted is the selected one by the client, that emphasizes the right values and visual appearance that 2N company wanted to communicate to their customers : FAST, SHARP, STRONG, ELEGANT, FRIENDLY.

Implementation

There were done several loops of development. During these loops were discussed and improved a few issues such as the overall size that were decreasing during the process, the type and size of the batteries, the PCB and LED diodes. The whole construction was evaluated with the use of precise 3D model in SolidWorks with all the parts of the router, clips and connections.

Packaging and mock-ups

The secondary task was also to design packaging for the product. The whole package contains two boxes on top of each other holding together with a sleeve. Just after the buyer opens the first box the router will be seen, the second box contains additional wires and the charger.

There were done also several mock-ups of the product to see the development of the overall size and to have the feel of the product in real size. The types of mock-ups that were used were paper, foam and rapid prototyping mock-ups.

Final product

An elegant, rigid and smart looking enclosure was designed that is currently used by UMTS routers, Analogue routers, IDSL GSM routers and LME routers from the broad portfolio of 2N.

My role as a designer was to participate from the initial sketch to the phase of pre-engineering. I have been involved also with the communication with the manufacturer of the injection molding parts that allowed me to explore in depth injection molding production, assembly techniques and to design a sequence of assembly.

The router was awarded by Czech Trade with "THE EXPORT AWARD DHL HSBC". The special award is given to companies for implementation of industrial design in production.