Group 12 - Fuji Waterproof Camera

Latest revision as of 12:07, 8 December 2006

Executive Summary

We were given a reverse engineering project whereby we had to disassemble a product and understand and work out how the product functions. For our little project we were given the task to dismantle a disposable waterproof camera. Here’s an overview of what we undertook.

Disassembling the camera was relatively simple and it required minimal tools. Most of the tools used were very basic ones such as screwdrivers and knives as the product was mostly assembled using snap on fits or glued together in some instances. After disassembly we proceeded to catalogue and document each part of our camera. During this process we looked at how each part was made, it’s functions and how the camera came together with the integration of all these small parts.

The reassembly process of the camera was also straightforward with some hiccups along the way. As the camera is designed for single use only, some of the parts broke during disassembly and we think that this was done to prevent the consumer to reuse the camera with another roll of film. We also came up with a few minor suggestions on how to improve the product further. For one we could put a little box in the viewfinder to show the user which parts of the picture will be cropped out which would make composing and taking a picture much easier. Another improvement is to make the shutter release lever arm a little more stiffer to prevent accidental shots being taken when the camera is not in used. Overall we had a pretty successful project, we had met our goals that we were given at the initial stages of the project.

Introduction

The Fuji Waterproof Disposable Camera is a product designed to be user friendly, simple and easy to use under harsh conditions. The camera works just like any other conventional film camera whereby light enters thru the main lens and the image taken gets exposed on a film. The only difference between a normal camera and the disposable camera is that the latter has no power source and all of the parts work mechanically. The other distinct difference is that it also has waterproofing capabilities up to a specfied depth. The disposable camera is design for a single use with the film providing 27 exposures per use. The design of the whole system makes the camera robust and tough for outdoor activities.

Group Members

• Chung, Jun Young (After Disassembly, Wiki Page)
• Deyo, Raymond (Wiki Page Master & Group Leader)
• Gomez, Adrian (Wiki Page Master)
• Heath, Vatsana (Disassembly,CAD Work)
• Lewczyk, Tomasz (Assembly)

Before Disassembly

The Fuji Waterproof disposable Camera, is waterproof which allows the user to take pictures under water. Just like any other film camera, when the shutter is open, light enters the lens and it is exposed to the film where the image is recorded. Electrical energy is charged and than released as a light form in order to operate the flash. Mechanical energy opens the shutter for a set period of time.

When a picture is taken, it gives a "click" sound and the shutter quickly opens and re –shuts back to its original position. After each snapshot, it is required to advance the film in order to take another photo. The process is than repeated untill the spindle reaches the end of the film.

It is predicted that it consists of at least 30 parts other then the cases. Also, the materials are made out of metal for springs, plastic for the majority of the components, glass for the lenses and possibly rubber for interior seals. So to summarise there are 30 components, consisting of 4 different materials.

Disassembly Procedure

After Disassembly and Table for Parts

The table belows lists the Bill of Materials for the disposable camera:

Table 3.1: Disposable Camera Bill of Materials

Part #	Part Name	# Req'd	Mat'l	Reason of Material Used	Manufacturing Process	Design Function	Image
1	Paper Case	1	Paper	Fairly cheap, easy to produce, More durable and stronger than plastic	Printing and Folding	Rectangular shaped boxes can easily be "stacked" on top of each other to form rows and columns. This makes it convenient for storage and transportation of the product.
2	Plastic Packing	1	Plastic	Very cheap and easily produced into mass quantities	-	Outer protective "shell" which protects the product before it is purchased.
3	Waterproof Strap	1	Plastic	Light and Waterproof	Plastic Shaping	Enables the user to hold the product in a convenient manner.
4	Front Waterproof Cover	1	Plastic	Light, Waterpoof	Injection Molding	Middle is partially trasparent to allow the user to see a few of the major components & for aesthetics.
5	Back Waterproof Cover	1	Plastic	Light, Waterprrof	Injection Molding	transparent to view the details
6	Waterproof Seal	1	Rubber	Best material since it has low production price yet provides more than enough force to tighten things together.	Injection Molding	Keep a tight seal and integral in waterproofing
7	Shutter Release Arm	1	Plastic	Cheap and easy to produce since plastic is very easy to be used in Injection Molding	Injection Molding	Ease of use with a single finger
8	Film Spindle	1	ABS Plastic	Cheap and easy to produce	Injection Molding	Spokes are there to advance the film
9	Shutter Release Clip	1	Plastic	Cheap and easy to produce	Injection Molding	-
10	Shutter Release Seal	1	Rubber	Seals and insulates well after tightened	Injection Molding	-
11	Shutter Release Spring	1	Steel	Gives strong enough force to function as a spring when shaped.	Steel Shaping	Provides a counter force when needed to release the shutter
12	Outer Film Spindle	1	Plastic	Easy to mold to produce massive amount of same part	Injection Molding	Acts as another clip in holding the camera shells together
13	Outer Film Spindle Seal	1	Rubber	Seals very well after tightened	Injection Molding	-
14	Front Chasis	1	Plastic	maintains its own shape well, fair weight and durability	Injection Molding	Gives the camera the shape and major components sit on the chasis
15	Camera Lens	1	Plastic	One of the best material to make transparent parts, less easy to be broken compared to glass, light weight.	Injection Molding	Transparent and curved so that it refracts light
16	Front Viewfinder	1	Plastic	One of the best material to make transparent parts, durable & light weight.	Injection Molding	-
17	Back Viewfinder	1	Plastic	One of the best material to make transparent parts, durable & light weight.	Injection Molding	-
18	Magnifier	1	Plastic	One of the best material to make transparent parts, less easy to be broken compared to glass, light weight.	Injection Molding	Maginfies the object to make picture composition easier
19	Frame Counter	1	Plastic	Provides good grip with high enough friction force when spun with fingers. (Not slippery)	Injection Molding	Gives user feedback as tohow many exposures left
20	Top Film Advance Lock	1	Plastic	Stretches fair amount in order to open and shut. Also creates good "clicking" noise when shut	Injection Molding	Slightly intricate design to keep a few internal parts together
21	Film Advance Lock Spring	1	Steel	Has strong spring constant when shaped into springs which will provide large force to maintain lock	Steel Shaping	Designed to keep the film from going forward without a picture being taken first
22	Bottom Film Advance Lock	1	Plastic	Stretches fair amount in order to open and shut. Also creates good "clicking" noise when shut	Injection Molding	Intircate design to keep a strong hold on internal components
23	Film Advance Gear Trigger	1	Plastic	Easy to be molded, easy and cheap to mass produce	Injection Molding	It must fit into Film Advance gear
24	Film Advance Gear	1	Plastic	Easy to be molded, easy and cheap to mass produce	Injection Molding	Has teeth so that it creates good friction so that is easy for the users to turn the dial
25	Lens Mount	1	Plastic	Easy to be molded, easy and cheap to mass produce	Injection Molding	Once lens is mounted, it protects the lens
26	Shutter Cover Spring	1	Steel	Functions as a spring very well after shaped into it	Steel Shaping	Must be responsive towards user inputs to release and close the shutter
27	Shutter Cover	1	Plastic	Waterproof.	Injection Molding	Controls exposure of the lens to light
28	Back Inner Shell	1	Plastic	has good durability and easy for users to notify that it's closed by giving off good "click" sound	Injection Molding	Must keep every component and Film in their position.
29	Inner Film Spindle	1	Plastic	Easy to be molded, easy and cheap to mass produce	Injection Molding	Has teeth so that it makes sure it spins along with film
30	Film	1	Various Materials	-	Various Process	Rolled into a cylinder so that maximum surface area is kept while consuming least volume
31	Inner Film Spindle	1	Plastic	Easy to be molded, easy and cheap to mass produce	Injection Molding	Has teeth so that it makes sure it spins along with film
32	Tools used for Disassembly	1	Misc	-	-	-

Assembly

1.Front Inner Shell was put on the table with hand (very easy)

2.Film, with Inner Film Spindle, was put in the Front Inner Shell with hand (very easy)

3.Film Advance Lock Spring was attached between Top Film Advance Lock with hand and Bottom Film Advance Lock. (easy)

4.Film Advance Gear Trigger was put together with Film Advance Gear with hand (easy) Shutter Cover Spring was assembled with Shutter Cover and was placed in the shell with hand (easy)

5.Lens mount was attached to shell by using flat head screw driver (easy)

6.Magnifier was attached to shell by using flat head screw driver (easy)

7.Shutter Housing was attached to shell by using flat head screw driver (easy)

8.Front View Finder, Camera lens, Back View Finder, Frame Counter were put in the shell by hand (easy)

9.Back Inner Shell was used to close the shell by using flat head screw driver and was sealed (hard)

10.Outer Film Spindle was put back on the inner shell by using Pliers and hand. (hard)

11.Outer Film Spindle Seal was put on Outer Film Spindle by using flat head screw driver (easy)

12.Shutter Release Arm, Shutter Release Clip, Shutter Release Seal and Shutter Release Spring were assembled together by using hand and the assembly was put together with inner shell (easy)

13.Front Chassis was put on the shell by using flat head screw driver (medium)

14.Water proof seal was placed inside the front and back waterproof cover (hard)

15.Front and Back Water proof cover was put back to the assembly by using flat head screw driver (medium)

16.Water Proof strap was put on with hand (easy)

Improvements

The camera was convenient and easy to use with a few changes which could have enhanced the product.

1. The Front Waterproof cover has a rubber attachment grip on the right hand side of the camera. The purpose for this, is to avoid slippage. Common practice while taking snapshots, is to hold the camera with two hands and not one. It would be a reasonable improvement to have rubber grips on both sides of this part.

2. The Viewfinder allows the user to see what snapshot is going to take place before the Shutter Release Arm is executed. Unfortunately, the physical photo when developed, is not consistent with what the viewfinder was showing the user before the picture was taken.(according to Amazon.com's Product Evaluation) Inscribing the virtual photo to the viewfinder would give the user more feedback before taking the snapshot.

3. The Shutter Release Arm controls the shutter to open, which allows the film to be exposed in the form of a picture. Unfortunately, this part is very long and can easily be executed unintentionally by the person taking pictures. The geometry of the Shutter Release Arm could be modified to elimiate this error. Changing the length and the curvature allowing the part to be closer to the camera is ideal.

CAD drawings and Assembly animation clips are uploaded below as separate files.

Files

CAD Files

Video Animation

Shutter Release Animation

Class Presentation File

Class Presentation