Cormac Eubanks

Turbochef Double Wall Oven - I was the engineering lead on this project in 2005 working closely with the industrial designer and the interaction designers to deliver the client a complete industrial design as well as a full user interface. I sourced the display and the switch technology in the CookWheel which is the primary input method in the user interface. I also built the complex external components in Pro Engineer which was my first project using the software. I was named in several patents for this project.

Seagate FreeAgent Gen 1 External Drive Family - The Seagate FreeAgent Data Movers were the company's first product that sought to transform external storage from a PC accessory to a lifestyle product. I was the frog engineering lead on this project and in addition to building the Pro-E Surface files, I helped develop the light pipe solution that allowed for the uniform amber illumination. I also flew out to the contract manufacturer outside Shanghai to review samples and help resolve manufacturing issues for the products.

Maxtor One Touch IV External Hard Drive - The vault like design language of the Maxtor One Touch IV Hard Drives is one that exudes security, however, the look is not just aesthetic. The fact that the drives are wider at the base doesn't just make the drives look solid and stable, but allows the PCB to be placed on the bottom. This allows for lower placement of the connectors at the back. Also, the sunken sides of the aluminum side panels allow for optimal heat dissipation by bringing the conductive aluminum closer to the drives.

Maxtor Central Axis Business Edition NAS - The Maxtor Central Axis Business Edition by Seagate is a Networked Attached Storage (NAS) System. I was the engineering lead from frog on this project. We recognized that it was far better to put the drives in a flat instead of stacked orientation. The slimmer flat design allows the drives inside to dissipate more heat through the aluminum side panels. Cooler disk drives run more efficiently and are more reliable so the data is better protected.

Global Dosimetry Badges - These are a series of radiation badges we designed for Global Dosimetry. We improved the design by changing from a 2-piece design to one with a living hinge. This simplified badge processing. We also added the large clear window which allowed a larger area to clearly display the wearer's information.

Electric Vehicle Charger and Connector - This was a quick concept project for a company that makes rapid electric vehicle chargers. They needed a connector design that would make it easy to connect the heavy gauge cable with its large connector pins to the socket in the vehicle - an act that takes considerable force. I designed the connector so that when the user pushes to engage the connector the force is applied along the connector axis which prevents the connector binding. I also designed the internal locking mechanism.

Systimax Visipatch Door Mechanism Design - This was a project for Systimax where they wanted to design a door to cover a patch cable system that could open from either the left or the right. We designed the complex mechanism that allows the user to pull on the left handle and the door pivots from the right. When the user pulls on the right handle the door pivots from the left. If the user pivots both handles, they can remove the door completely. It was an industry first and we were awarded a utility patent for the design.

Kodak ESP Printers - I was the frog engineering lead on the Kodak ESP 7 printer program. I was responsible for helping establish design principles, packaging the printer engine in a way to minimize perceived product size, and helping maintain the design vision while ensuring all external parts were optimized for manufacturing. I also managed the CAD build of the final database ensuring a smooth transition to manufacturing.

Villaware One Juice Extractor - This Juice Extractor was part of a family of premium kitchen appliances. Most juicers have an ugly external bar that locks the assembly together and pivots down for disassembly and cleaning. We wanted a more well considered look so I designed an innovative release mechanism that integrates into the form maintaining the clean design language of the family. To disassemble the juicer, the user slides the lock bar laterally.

Villaware One Juice Extractor - This Juice Extractor was part of a family of premium kitchen appliances. Most juicers have an ugly external bar that locks the assembly together and pivots down for disassembly and cleaning. We wanted a more well considered look so I designed an innovative release mechanism that integrates into the form maintaining the clean design language of the family. To disassemble the juicer, the user slides the lock bar laterally.

Carmanah Evergen 1710 Solar Lighting - The Carmanah Evergen 1710 Series is a solar lighting system for use in places where cabled power is not practical. It stores energy during the day in batteries to power an LED light at night. I was the engineering lead during the Discover and Design phases, helping create the mechanical architecture. I also managed the CAD build and recommended the manufacturing strategy for the production unit including casting the rear housing as a single part to simplify the assembly process.

Myself Pelvic Muscle Trainer - This is probably the most unusual product I’ve worked on in my career. It is a medical device for strengthening the pelvic muscle floor to prevent female urinary incontinence. I was responsible for internal component layout, form studies, display component selection and overall manufacturing strategy.

This was a concept project I did at frog as part of a wearable technology competition. The concept of the Via helmet is that it conveys navigational information via an array of vibration motors in the shell. A compass in the helmet corrects for head orientation and the navigational information is conveyed to the motors by the GPS and application in the rider’s smart phone. The vibration motors can direct the rider to their destination in one of two ways: first, by vibrating “Left” and “Right” motors to offer turn-by-turn directions. Secondly, in teaching mode the motors can vibrate in such a way as to indicate relative proximity to the destination with the vibrations getting stronger when the rider gets closer to the destination. There is emerging research that this type of haptic navigational feedback can, over time, improve one’s sense of direction. The design was created quickly just to illustrate the idea. I build the Solidworks model in two days.

Here's an in-context rendering of the Via Helmet