Vax's best ever vacuum cleaner, designed for a powerful, easy, whole home clean.
Released: 2024
Role: New Product Development - Design Engineer
Responsibilities: UI Design - Plotted user journey, working closely with ID to redefine the VBL. Owned the power and mode switches sub-assembly, which including the Battery Level Halo and Debris Detect indicator. Travelled to China and Vietnam to refine the assembly process and support the wider build.
Debris Detect & EE
Engineered instep with PCBA development working with tight tolerances to mate hard plastic with delicate components. The design employed both refractive and reflective light paths and pipes, to maximise the light halo effect on a minimal budget for LEDs (less then half typical for similar systems).
Multiple SKUs & Far East
In spite of different UI feature levels, and different internal components, careful design enabled SKUs to share as much tooling as possible for consistency and cost efficiency. To ensure coherent parts across multiple SKUs I travelled to China and Vietnam to support engineering builds and react to tooling and assembly issues as they appeared.
Ergonomics & VBL
Multiple rounds of UX and physical prototyping were taken to find a button layout that was clear, unique and enabled easy actuation without shifting grip. Extensive iteration sculpted the product handle and UI sub-assembly together, creating an clean join and ergonomic layout. We challenged Vax’s previous VBL to deliver on this vision and had to present multiple decks to convey the benefits reaped from breaking with tradition.
DFM & Tolerance Management
Defined part splits to enable complex light tunnel geometry and manufacture a reliable living hinge for boost actuation. Maintained tight tolerances of moving components and buttons, considering the impact of other parts using tolerance stacks, to ensure the feel of actuation remained consistently excellent while the wider assembly evolved.
