Daniel Morel ATCM 3355.001 F23: Project 2 Flashlight Sleeve

 Concept:

        As a former soldier, and fan of late-night walks with my dog, one of the first ideas that popped into my head for this project was to design a sleeve with a “tactical” look that could also work as a self-defense tool. Whether cougar, coyote, or crazy, I wanted to make a sleeve that could help me out of a bad situation if I ever find myself in one. One common theme in self-defense lights is the use of “breacher” teeth seen on some weapon barrels that are used to push people away or breach windows/doors. I started sketching out ideas using the teeth as a starting point while brainstorming features that would give the tactical feel and techniques I might employ throughout the build.

Process:

    After my usual bout of sketching I landed on the design elements that gave me the “tactical” look and feel I wanted, while also incorporating details like the breacher teeth, a solid grip, and a slim profile. I used my sketch to create the curve I would revolve into my main shell and followed that up with a mix of shapes and tools to detail it. Tools like Polar Array, distribute, and Booleans were used the most as I cut in details and shaped the body into the design I had planned. A few failed prints helped me troubleshoot things like what wall thicknesses I could get away with and where or how deep some grooves and cutouts could go.

Materials:

For my print materials, I used some plain white PLA but for my Keyshot renders I gave the would-be metal sleeve a matte black finish while leaving some areas (the grooves at the top and bottom of the handle) as bare metal for the aesthetics of it. The Handle itself would be a soft textured rubber material for grip and was textured as such using some materials I found built into Keyshot or found in the cloud library. This color scheme follows the typical subdued “tactical black” look, though I left the print blank 

Finished Print Update: