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There is a functional aspect to rounded corners. | 481 comments | Create New Account
Comments belong to whoever posts them. Please notify us of inappropriate comments.
There is a functional aspect to rounded corners.
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, August 28 2012 @ 10:14 PM EDT
Moreover, a lot of kids toy have round corner for safty reason. That's very
obvious and I don't see any innovating design that justisfy a patent/monopoly.
(In olden day, you won't see many round corner object because of manufacture
cost)

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

There is a functional aspect to rounded corners.
Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, August 29 2012 @ 09:42 AM EDT
Thanks Jesse, for bringing up the obvious mechanical
engineering aspect of design. I was looking for a good
place to post something along these lines and spotted your
post.

In production, the chamfer and radiusing of edges and
corners is done for several practical reasons. As you note,
sharp edges concentrate forces. They become a place where
cracks begin or propagate to failure. That's why attachment
points are carefully placed. In any design package, the
tools for proper radius and chamfer get used regulary. In
stacking or packing, sharp corners become sticking points.
Edges also become a place for excessive wear or a collection
point for dirt/grease.

Another consideration is cost and weight. Corners rarely add
any useful strength. You want to reduce material thickness
where it does not matter and build it up where it counts.
Every unnecessary gram you can shave off weight and
materials adds up to user satisfaction and reduced
manufacturing cost. It is drummed into designers, minimize.

There is also a manufacturing advantage. Your initial design
might be a blocky prototype, but the final design will be
sanded, shaped and typically rounded within the limits of
the materials. A cast and molded shape naturally forms and
releases from the mold or die if the edges are smooth &
rounded rather than sharp with complex angles.

For these and other reasons, final production design usually
involves several iterations of smoothing & rounding to get
the best fit, finish, durability and reduced cost. All
functional considerations.

~Tom S~

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

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