 Industrial
Design Student Creates Ergonomic Violin Using Hi-Tech Materials,
Including Veriflex®
For her senior design project, Tricia Ho,
a senior Industrial Design student at the University of New
South Wales in Australia, designed and created an ergonomic
electric violin using high-tech materials. The instrument
was constructed of lightweight carbon fiber and CRG's shape
memory polymer, Veriflex.
The ergonomic violin was designed to suit the
player, both in personality and ergonomics. Its lightweight
carbon fiber body is durable, with a sleek and versatile appearance
to couple with a range of detachable frames. These frames
are interchangeable, making the violin stylistically customizable
to suit the player’s persona or the setting of the performance.
The interchangeable frames include a "self-supporting"
option, where
the player no longer needs to grip the instrument under the
chin while playing. This eliminates the long-standing problem
of musculoskeletal disorders in a violinist's neck and shoulders.
The component of this frame which sits around the player's
neck, and the lip which curves around  the
shoulder, are made from a high-tech shape memory polymer [Veriflex].
This allows players to conform the shape of the frame to their
own body dimensions at the critical comfort areas. The reshaping
of the frame is a reversible process and may be changed as
often as required.
Trisha's ergonomic violin illustrates the industrial
design potential of shape memory polymers. For more about
her design project, see page 11, project 20 of the UNSW
Industrial Design student projects catalog.
(1-5-2006)
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