Product Design
The design phase of the product is when the plan comes together. Now that extensive research on track spikes has been made, it is time to put that knowledge to work and create a better spike.
Noah and I were extremely eager to begin designing our product. We spent two days dumping any and every design we could think up onto a large post it note. We understood that for any idea to be viable a female adapter piece would be necessary as all current track spike shoes were produced with a threaded hole in the sole.
We left not idea out and pretty soon, after some discussion with other classmates, talks with our instructor, and a few moments of inspiration, we had a total of four potential solutions:
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After formulating some ideas for potential solutions, Noah and I had to zero in on two potential solutions to focus on. Due to the fact that our product would be extremely small, we were able to focus on more than one final solution. This was an opportunity not afforded to the other groups in the class as their prototypes would be large and more time consuming to design and create.
To decide on the two solutions to move forward with we used a decision matrix which would grade each potential design on important criteria. The two designs we decided on were:
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Male Piece
The male piece of the spike is the piece that will come into contact with the track surface and provide the athlete with the much needed traction and energy return. The geometry at the base of the piece allows for quick and secure fastening with the female piece with a quick and easy release upon removal.
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Female PieceThe female piece of the spike is in essence the adapter which allows for the male piece to remain fastened in the sole of the shoe. The threading on the outside of the piece allow for easy screwing of the piece into the threads that are already manufactured into the sole while the geometry on the inside of the piece allows for quick secure fastening of the male piece with a quick and easy release upon removal.
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