Internship
Introduction
During my internship, I worked at Jonite and was given the opportunity to design a tree and trench grate. It was an eye opening experience to work with the manufacturing group to get important information while designing the tree and trench grate.
Tree grate designs
These are just some of the design concepts for both the tree and trench grates from my thumbnail sketches.
Chosen concept for tree grate
For tree grates, I had four slightly different options in terms of the spacing between the slots and the number of slots. The two on the left has even spacing between the slots while the two on the right, the inner slots has shorter spacing between them compared to the outer slots.
I communicated with my colleagues whom was in charge of the manufacturing section about the minimum size for each details, such as, radius, slots, border sizes and the overall size as well as the reinforcement frames. The final decision was to have a 2 part trench grate.
After much discussion, this is the final choice.
For trench grates, after discussion with my colleagues, they suggested that having depression in the design is much better than having protrusion due to the flow of water flowing into the slots. The depression allows the water to flow into the grate smoothly. The depression is highlighted in grey while the slots are indicated in black as shown below.
I had three options for the trench grate continuation at the end of each panel. During my discussion with my colleagues, different options were suggested. The manufacturers would prefer the first option where there would be a empty space in between as it would be easier for them to cut the grate as needed without the risk of running the design. The third option is the opposite of the first option where the designs looks continued, the aesthetic of constant "water flowing" really appealed to my supervisor. Thus, I created another option where it has the best of both world to accommodate to both the manufacturers and my supervisor.
Cad model
Both tree and trench grate are ADA (wheelchair) friendly.
Environment render
Learning Point
I learned that depending who is viewing the product, the choices and suggestions would differ. Thus, getting as many insights and valuable feedback is essential to create products that suit the majority. Finding the right balance between appealing aesthetics and functionality.