QuickStand Eco 2: CAD, cables, color and a bad spring

The product

QuickStand is an aftermarket sit-stand product that sits on a desktop. A carriage rides a vertical column carrying a monitor mount and a work surface, so a regular desk becomes a standing desk. Generation three added a flatter base for a lower seated profile, a mounting architecture that is easier to assemble and service, fully enclosed cable routing, and a hardwood and MDF work surface to replace a less sustainable material. I learned most of this from the Sit-Stand Lead, a principal engineer with exacting standards who taught through the projects themselves.

What I did

• Built and managed the SolidWorks CAD package for the whole product: new parts, revision tracking, prototype builds, tolerance and design analysis, and drawings through release to production.
• Executed documented design verification testing and wrote the reports.
• Designed the dynamic cable routing covers and panels. Tested minimum bend radii for power and data cables across use cases, cycled units to failure and mapped where cables kinked, and compared the results against supplier bend-radius guidance.
• Ran a color-matching program for blacks, whites and grays across aluminum, plastic and painted hardwood and MDF, including UV stabilizers, fire retardants and primers. I measured Lab color values with a colorimeter, which resolves differences the eye cannot, and checked them against human judgment of color, texture and variability.
• Helped investigate the lift performance of the counterbalance drive. Inconsistent performance traced back to spring quality, so we built a spring test fixture to evaluate springs directly.

How it came out

The product launched successfully.