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Mitchell Schmenk

Product Progress Assessment

Introduction/Statement of Purpose:

My goal for my final product is to have the foundations of a business built for my phone
case idea. I want to conclude any market research and market testing that I can to ensure the
viability of the idea and target market. To complete this, I will have to build a prototype and
meet with manufacturers to potentially create a large amount of phone cases. I want this to be a
product that I can be proud of and hopefully make the lives of others just a bit easier.

Attempt #1 at a Prototype:

Objective
I decided to attempt to build the phone case with a mold and some plastic resin. This
would make it so my product could be duplicated fairly easily. Additionally, the material would
be easily sandable so I could manipulate the case to fit my design ideas.

Materials
Molding kit from Hobby Lobby
Plastic resin kit from Hobby Lobby
Plastic tupperware container
Normal phone case
Sanding Paper

Description of Process
After picking up the items at Hobby Lobby, I went home and found a plastic tupperware
container and my old iPhone 6s phone case. Luckily, the iPhone 7 has the same dimensions as
the iPhone 6s, so I didnt have to go out and buy another case. I placed the old phone case into
the tupperware container and poured the molding solution into the container, covering up the
phone case. After waiting for it to harden for a couple of hours, I removed the mold from the
tupperware container and the phone case. The mold now had an imprint of a phone case in it. I
then mixed the plastic resin solutions and poured it into the mold. After letting it cool, the rough
phone case structure was completed.

Result
The phone case that I created through this process turned out to need a whole lot more
work to it than I had originally thought. The main problem with this new phone case I had was
the place to put the technology didnt exist. Which, as you can imagine, is a problem. All of this
work was basically the equivalent of buying a normal iPhone 7 case. In retrospect, there was a
lot of wasted time spent doing this.

Attempt #2 at a Prototype

Objective
Upon Mr. Woodalls suggestion and Kyle Fritzs willingness, Mr. Fritz created a
computerized sketch of my phone case which I could then 3D print. This already sounded like a
much better idea than my previous method at a prototype. I could have a phone case design that
theoretically wouldnt need much touch up to function.

Materials
3D printer at the Frisco Public Library
Sanding Paper

Meeting
March 8, 2017- 10:00 AM- Skip Woodall and Kyle Fritz

Description of Process
After thoroughly explaining my idea for the phone case design and function to Mr. Fritz,
he would create a 3D model of it on the computer using a CAD software. This is a program that I
dont have a lot of familiarity with this program, so was thankful for Mr. Fritzs help with this.
Mr. Fritz would then send me the files to 3D print at the Frisco Public Library. This should result
in a phone case that would require minimal extra work to finalize.

Result
The files that Mr. Fritz were fantastic. I was very pleased with the design that Mr. Fritz
had helped me portray with the CAD software. However, I had a hard time trying to convert the
files in ones able to be 3D printed. Mr. Fritz sent me a .dwg file, which would normally work
with a 3D printer. However, for whatever reason, the Frisco Public Library can only use .stl or
.obj files. Instead of bothering Mr. Fritz, who already helped me so much, I tried to convert these
files by myself. I spent forever trying to find a way to do so, when I decided to ask Mr. Friz for
some help. At my meeting on March 8th, Mr Fritz took roughly 5 minutes to convert the files.
While this was a little frustrating, I was just glad to finally have a design I could 3D print. The
result from the 3D printing came within 7 days from the drop off, but came out very well.
However, upon further work sanding the edges of the phone case to make it fit a phone, I
realized that the hole for the camera was on the wrong side.
Attempt #3 at a Prototype

Objective
I would finally create a prototype from this method as I fixed the problem with the
camera hole. I would hopefully finally have the structure for the phone case that I had spent
forever trying to create.

Materials
3D printer at the Frisco Public Library
Xacto Knife
Sanding paper

Description of Process
After kindly asking Mr. Fritz if he could fix the problem with the camera hole, I was
finally confident in the prototype I was about to build. Like the previous one, I brought it to the
Frisco Public Library and received it within 7 days in great shape. Since the material is rather
hard and sturdy, the lip on the case covering the phone to prevent it from falling out had to be
sanded significantly to allow a phone to be put into the case. Then, I would insert and secure the
technology into the cases designated compartment.

Result
Everything was turning out great, except for the sanding process. It was taking much
longer than expected. The material used to 3D print was a whole lot harder to sand down
compared to my molded phone case in attempt #1 at a prototype. Additionally, if I oversanded
the case just a little bit, a phone would be able to slip out of the case which isnt desireable to say
the least. Additionally, after sanding the case to fit a phone, I discovered that some of the holes
for the camera, speakers, and charger were off by a bit. This was a fairly easy adjustment to
make as a heated Xacto knife seemed to do the trick. I now have a phone case that can hold a
phone which sounds underwhelming, but was a huge accomplishment for me. Now, I just need to
worry about how to secure the technology in the compartment to prevent any sliding around.

Patent Disclosure

Objective
By creating a patent disclosure, I could frame exactly what and how my phone case
worked as a whole and in parts. I would work with Mr. Hammond on this product as he is very
educated when it comes to patents. This would help start the process of filing for a patent if I so
desired.
Meeting
March 24, 2017- 12:30- Skip Woodall and Herb Hammond

Description of Process
I met with Mr. Hammond and Mr. Woodall at the Dallas Country Club to discuss if my
phone case idea was even patentable. While neither my case itself nor the technology itself was
patentable, the combination of the two might be. This was the kind of news I had originally
hoped for going into the meeting. To my surprise, Mr. Hammond suggested helping me create a
patent disclosure and a patent claim to start the patenting process. I had originally called the
patent disclosure a product description as I was unsure of the technical name. Additionally, thats
what the patent disclosure is. It goes into depth about each part of the phone case and its
functionality as a whole. I created this document over the course of a week, ensuring that I had as
much detail and effort into it as possible in order to impress Mr. Hammond. I sent him the patent
disclosure on Monday, April 3rd. On the 5th, I heard back from Mr. Hammond saying that he
received the patent disclosure and would take an in depth look at it during his free time through
the next couple of days. On April 9th, I received an email from him once again congratulating
me on the quality of the patent disclosure. I was really happy when I read this email as I realized
my hard work had paid off in impressing Mr. Hammond. The next step would be to write a
patent claim describing the phone case in its broadest terms. This will let us Mr. Hammon and I
figure out what to search for in the patent offices. To my surprise, Mr. Hammond said he would
draft the patent claim and send it to me. Although this whole process is making my original work
goal less achievable, I wouldnt ever pass up such an opportunity. This will be added to my
original work which will even further display the effort I have put into my phone case business
as well as incorporate more of the business aspect of entrepreneurship to balance the
engineering-heavy work I have thus far.

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