Earphone Holder

Intention:

The intention of this project is to create an earphone holder than is small and can be conveniently placed by your bed. It is compact and holds the earphones in a way that they do not get tangled but at the same time are easily accessible and can be pulled up on the go. I would normally throw my earphones on the ground after using them late at night (not a good idea for long term use) or sleep on them causing them to break. This project allows me to easily store them without fumbling for the earphones early in the morning when I am late for class.

Research + Context:

My research could not find any product serving a similar function. There were headphone holders designed for larger over ear headphones or small earphone holders around which the wires of the earphones could be coiled and organized. These did not serve my purpose as the headphone holders were too large and since there is limited space in the dorm room, there is no place to keep the headphone stand next to my bed. The earphone holders themselves were very small and designed to be mobile but the process of coiling the wire around them was extremely time consuming and every action of coiling or uncoiling was not something I was interested in doing every time I wanted to organize my earphones. This custom product could combine the functionality of both an earphone holder and a cord organizer into a compact size. 

    Aesthetic inspiration:

Process + Procedure:

I had never seen such a product and could find no similar example in my research. It allows for an easy storage of earphones without having to go through the cumbersome procedure of coiling and uncoiling the earphones every time you need to use them.

Initially, I wanted to design a holder that can be clipped onto your clothes but through the design process, I found more functionality and usefulness in this holder. 

I designed the piece in three parts. A holder, a cap and a bottom funnel. The cap is placed on top of the central holder piece as it facilitates easy cleaning from within. The bottom funnel was glued onto the holder to permanently hold it in place. The CAD design was created in fusion after I measured the dimensions of the area, I intended to place it in. I also measured the dimensions of my earphones so that the audio jack would fit through the mesh in the cap but not the ear pieces. The piece was designed to be stuck to the bed using double sided tape. It was difficult to figure out the right size of the holder so that the cab and the funnel fit together perfectly. The part had to be reprinted two times to get the right size. 

I tried several iterations of 3D printing these parts using several different printers. It did not always work out correctly.

Reflection:

The print could have been done better in quality and better removed from the raft. The sizes did not match up accurately and the sticking was not done perfectly. The finishing of the piece could be done better and more focus could be put on the aesthetic look and customizing the piece.