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Broken Sunglasses

March 2022

Context: 

At the beginning of Spring Quarter, I broke one of the temples of my only pair of sunglasses. Not wanting to spend money or time buying a new one, I needed a solution to keep the sunglasses on my face. I also wanted to highlight the importance of repurposing or fixing broken objects rather than simply replacing them and throwing away what could be fixed. 

Planning:

Before fixing my sunglasses, I brainstormed some ways to fix it. After putting down a list of possible solutions, I chose my favorite three and analyzed them on some criteria:

  • How easy the solution was to implement

  • How long the solution would last

  • What materials/tools do I need or have to implement said solution

  • How well the solution will catch the eye and give me a reason to explain my choice to fix and not replace and throw away the broken sunglasses. 

  • How easy the solution would allow me to carry/use on a daily basis

Screenshot 2022-06-14 222615.png

Implementation: 

I chose to implement the third option because it was the easiest to implement, I had the necessary material, and it was easy enough to carry around on a day-to-day basis. I wrapped the notebook spiral metal around the top of the sunglasses plastic and created a loop out and back to the sunglasses. The loop I then manipulated to fit my face firmly and comfortably. 

Result: 

Screenshot 2024-03-10 122158.png
IMG_20220421_153509.jpg

Lessons Learned: 

  • I definitely got the reactions I was looking for with people asking to see my work and ask why I don't just buy new sunglasses. 

  • I need to work on my explanation to focus on how I chose to "fix rather than discard and replace like so many people are used to doing" instead of saying "It works so why should I get a new pair?"

  • I learned that many people prefer brand new objects and do not like trying to fix what can be fixed. Instead they throw away and replace, which in my opinion is why we have so much trash and produce so much waste. 

  • Also, I still have the original sunglasses arm if I want to glue it back on in the future. But I don't want to because I want this to be a talking point.

  • The sunglasses hold on my face well, but are knocked off easily if hit accidentally by a hand. I might want to make a longer, bendable wire arm in the future to solve this. 

Jan. 2023

Context: 

I bought a 3D printer and thought it would be good practice to model and print a sunglasses arm to fix these sunglasses completely. 

Implementation:

I modeled the arm in Fusion360, printed it, and fixed my sunglasses

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