6. Case Exploration Prototypes
I just got my 3D printed case design prototypes and also the crystals. I wanted to see what a domed crystal would look like with these designs.
The 3D prints are a good quality and definitely help get a better feel for the forms of the cases. The picture below shows the three designs side by side in a top view. Similar to the CAD renderings, #1 and #2 have a more defined form than #3 which looks especially uninteresting because the 3D printed material is very matt, so it is hard to see the surface transitions because they are so rounded.
3D printed prototypes of case designs 1, 2 and 3
I also put dials into these prototypes to give me a sense of size of the dial features. They came out much smaller that how I thought they would look based on the CAD models. More work needed on getting the features of the dials to be a good size for visibility, but not overly chunky looking.
The side view of the prototypes looks very much like the renderings. And, in person, the ‘pedestal’ effect is certainly visible, so I am very pleased with how that carried over from the concept designs.
Side view showing the ‘pedestal’ effect that I was trying to achieve.
The outer dimensions of the case was modeled on a watch I have, which is a 42mm case. Placing the prototype on my wrist, it actually looks a little bigger than my watch because it is thicker and the lack of straps make it looks more voluminous.
Key takeaways from these prototypes:
My preference is to use #2 as the base-line design moving forward
A slightly larger dial, similar to my watch in the image above might help make the case look a little more elegant and less hefty
The domed crystal works really well with the form of the case. It also gives me more room under the crystal, so I am going to re-think my dial design
There is a trade-off with the dial design in that showing too much of the watch’s movement makes the dial busier and more distracting. I need to explore some concepts that allow the movement to be seen but are not as distracting as the concept I printed for these prototypes