WORK ABOUT CONTACT

Optic laser cutter engraving an octopus design

INDUSTRIAL / UX/UI

Rendyr

Optic is the first portable laser cutter with built-in filtration and infinite workspace capability. My work focused on getting it built and into people's hands: assembly documentation and process changes that took build time from over 30 hours to under 15, packaging, a custom brush accessory, and the maker projects that showed what it could do.

MY ROLE

Industrial Design Lead, 2022 to 2024. I designed the brush accessory and the packaging, produced the assembly drawings, BOMs, and documentation for production, and helped design the website flows. For the website and marketing, I designed projects made on the Optic to showcase it and turned many of them into short-form video.

Optic folding into its compact storage form

Portability

Switches easily between compact storage size and a generous 12 × 18 in base work area.

Smoke and fumes pulled through the built-in filter

Built-In Filtration

HEPA and high-activity carbon media capture laser-generated smoke and fumes as they're pulled through the filter.

Laser head moving freely in any direction

Infinite Workspace

Detach the cutting mat to work directly on surfaces of any size, aligning multi-part cuts in software.

WHERE I JUMPED IN

Funded, ordered, and not yet buildable at volume

I joined after the Kickstarter campaign closed. Optic was funded and over 300 units were on order, but the processes to build, document, pack, and ship them at that volume did not exist yet. That is the work below.

300+

OPTICS ORDERED

$738K

RAISED ON KICKSTARTER

PERSONAL ROLE

From assembly line to unboxing moment

Developed and optimized manufacturing processes for in-house production of 300+ units.

Led creation and editing of assembly documentation, cutting assembly time from 30+ hours to under 15.

Gathered user feedback and proposed design changes directly to engineering.

Established and managed the packaging department: drop/vibration testing, sourcing and ordering packaging parts, and designing the unboxing and power-on experience, from the branded box stamp to the "Hello World" starter kit.

Collaborated on UX/UI for the company website and led content projects, identifying the laser cutter's strengths and choosing the projects that showed the product at its best.

01 / 04DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURING

Sophie assembling an Optic lower body at the production station

Early Production Builds

I learned every assembly process, then defined the build sequence and the consistency and accuracy tests that let us make more than one at a time. Space and system planning became part of the same job: the bench layout decided how fast a unit could move through it.

I treated the building experience as a UX problem of its own and pushed design and process changes wherever a step fought the person doing it, cutting tens of hours from assembly time and taking the frustration out of the steps that remained.

ASSEMBLY PROCESS

Heat forming

Using a heat gun to fold a 3D printed part to shape.

Board soldering

Soldering a PCB at the bench vise.

Hinge plate install

Installing the hinge plate that lets the upper body pivot.

Carriage mount

Bolting the laser module carriage to the linear rail.

Power button wiring

Soldering ribbon cable to the power button.

X-axis rail

Bolting the X-axis linear rail onto the upper body.

Comprehensive Assembly Documentation

As the business scaled, documentation became required to support the manufacturing process, preserve consistency, and record process changes along with tool and material requirements. I led the creation and editing of hundreds of pages of documentation, from laser diode focusing to soldering cables and boards to part installation.

Through design for manufacturing and process optimization, we took the assembly time of an Optic from over 30 hours to under 15 hours.

02 / 04USER EXPERIENCE

User Profiles

Using customer feedback, industry research, and my own user experience, I strategized communications with current users and potential customers through customer support, social media engagement, and advertising. User profiles aided in decision making.

Allison

36 · Librarian · Lima, OH

"I'm a hobby maker with a busy life and a small home. I can't have a large machine that sits idle 90% of the month."

Daily life — Works at the local library, crafts custom wallets and keychains in her free time, visits her elderly mother in the evenings.

Needs — A machine she can iterate on quickly in leather, acrylic, and thin wood, then clear away.

Frustrations — Residue and debris on the cutting mat between runs; no space for a machine that stays out.

LASER EXPERIENCE

WHAT I DESIGNED

Fast cleanup between iterations led to the custom brush accessory.

Louis

42 · Craftsman · Burlington, VT

"Now it's a brilliant tool I've started using in client projects that looks good in use and when wrapped up to take up less space."

Daily life — Works on woodworking projects all day at his shop, comes home late to a family, cooks dinner.

Needs — Precise curvilinear repetition and stenciled guides into wood, with a tool that packs up like his others.

Frustrations — Bulky machines that take over the bench; setup steps that slow down paid work.

LASER EXPERIENCE

WHAT I DESIGNED

Taking it out and putting it away like a power tool shaped the packaging and storage.

Jason

28 · Web Developer · Seattle, WA

"I have never used a Laser Cutter but program was super easy to start playing with if you follow the videos."

Daily life — Works a full-time job during the day, takes public transportation home, lives in a small apartment, chats with friends.

Needs — Clear steps for a first project, and a machine he can pull out of the closet a few times a year.

Frustrations — Forgetting setup steps between long gaps in use; unclear focus and alignment.

LASER EXPERIENCE

WHAT I DESIGNED

First-time users like him drove the setup documentation and unboxing order.

User Optic Project Journey

Using my own experience along with others, I mapped the process of beginning a new Optic project. This helped me identify pain points and strengths of using the Optic in comparison to other laser cutters. It aided project planning and customer advice, and informed the engineering team of areas of improvement.

SEAMLESS

FRICTION

PAIN POINT

SETTING UP OPTIC

PREPPING FOR PROJECT

SETTINGS TESTING

Clear Off Workspace

Open Optic

Clean Cutting Mat

Clean Laser Module

Place Scrap Material

Remove Shield & Prefilter

Check for Prefilter

Set Laser Module Height

Replace Shield

Check Support Wheel

Run Settings Tests

Locate a suitable place to run the Optic

Clear off the work area

Pull the Optic from storage

Set on table, power button facing you

Unwrap the cutting mat

Rotate upper body and set down

Wet a magic eraser

Wipe down with isopropyl wipe

Wipe down the mat

Use a paper towel to clean steel hinges

Release CAM lever and pull out the laser module

Blow out dust

Wipe exterior and bottom with isopropyl

Look for a dirty rectangle on the laser lens

Line up on the cutting mat, keeping desired orientation in mind

Pull from underneath the bottom lip to remove shield

Pull prefilter tab with fingers to remove

Assess if you want to use a prefilter

Determine if the prefilter needs cleaning

Loosen CAM lever so the module can slide

Identify the height gauge step to set to

Slide gauge under module, tighten at height

Hold module in place while tightening lever back down

Place shield with corners over the magnet holders

Ensure the shield is sitting correctly

Compare support wheel height to the upper body's left side

Use H3 key to adjust the support leg height

Check height by the support wheel; adjust as needed

Locate settings in the material library to start with

Informally test to refine quality

SMOOTH

TRICKY

PAIN POINTS

—Locating position to run the Optic

PAIN POINTS

—Upper body moves too freely (feels insecure)

—Hard to know which direction to maneuver it

PAIN POINTS

—Some residue is harder to remove completely

—Sponge is hard to use without water access and doesn't last long

PAIN POINTS

—Hard to view the lens inside the laser module

PAIN POINTS

—Knowing to line up with the center of the line, engravings, or edge

PAIN POINTS

—Hard to remove shield if there's material under the slot

PAIN POINTS

—Prefilter is difficult to fit in place

—Annoying to wait for it to dry before another project

PAIN POINTS

—Hard to access CAM lever without your arm blocking the view

—Hard to hold it flat while tightening

PAIN POINTS

—Sometimes the shield doesn't engage the shield switch

PAIN POINTS

—Height gauge's upper-body lip isn't always accurate to that Optic

PAIN POINTS

—Material library isn't obvious in the software

—Not easy to quickly learn without guidance

USER STARTUP SUPPORT

Welcome Envelope

This envelope is the first physical point of contact with a customer. It is the first item a user sees when opening an Optic box.

1Custom branded envelope

2Getting Started Guide

3Order confirmation slip

4Sticker with logo

5Protective aluminum card

6Completed 'Hello World' benchmark

7Blank 'Hello World' project cards (×3)

Getting Started: Hello World

With everything set up, it's time to make the first project. We designed the 'Hello World' project to cover the basics from start to finish and to confirm that each Optic arrives in the same excellent condition as right before it shipped. Once a user finishes their 'Hello World' project, they can compare it with the benchmark we placed in the envelope.

WATCH ON YOUTUBE

Cutting the 'Hello World' benchmark card on the Optic.

03 / 04PACKAGING

Optic In-Box Accessories

These items were intentionally picked to support the easy use and maintenance of the Optic in a user's hands.

Hover a compartment to see what it holds.

Cleaning Kit

Microfiber cloth

Cotton swabs

Cleaning solution

Cleaning sponges

Cutting mat brush

Laser Safety Goggles

Laser safety goggles

Maintenance Kit

Allen key

Small flathead

Height gauge

Power + Data

Power supply

Power cable

Data cable

Why a Custom Brush

Optic folds flat, so the cutting mat carries hinge grooves that a flat rag rides straight over. Residue collects in them cut after cut, and the journey map showed cleaning the mat happening at the start of every single project. A cloth was not going to hold up to that.

Optic unfolding, showing the hinged panels and the grooves between them

Custom Cutting Mat Brush

I designed this brush to integrate into the 3D printing queue along with other Optic parts. Six brushes print at a time on the 7"×7" Prusa Mini bed. The ergonomic design allows easy downward pressure, and the scouring pad can be changed out as needed.

BRUSHES PER PRINT

Six cutting mat brushes laid out on a Prusa Mini print bed

The finished brush resting on a workbench beside a bottle of adhesive

01 / 07

Overview

The printed body with its scouring pad bonded in place.

Side view of the brush held in hand showing the pad edge

02 / 07

Brush side

The scouring surface sits proud of the body for full contact.

Thumb sliding the end cap off the brush body

03 / 07

Releasing the end cap

A thumb push frees the slider that retains the pad.

End cap removed, held alongside the open brush body

04 / 07

End cap off

With the cap removed, the pad channel is open.

Worn scouring pad being slid out of the brush channel

05 / 07

Pad removal

The worn pad slides straight out of the channel.

Fresh scouring pad being fed back into the channel

06 / 07

Pad replacement

A fresh pad feeds in the same way.

End cap being pressed back onto the brush body

07 / 07

Closing up

The cap snaps back on and the brush is ready to use.

Drop Testing

To ensure the packaging design was sufficient for protecting the Optic during shipping, we completed drop and vibration testing. The Optic functioned after these tests, and the packaging was approved for use.

Packaged Optic dropping from the test rig onto the impact floor

A packaged Optic released from the drop rig.

Engineer running an Optic after a drop test to confirm it still works

Testing the Optic after a drop test to confirm it still runs normally.

Sophie cleaning a tested Optic at the packing bench, stacked shipping boxes behind her

Packaging Development and Management

Soon Optics were ready to ship to Kickstarter backers. I developed systems and instructions for the final cleaning, boxing, and shipment of the Optics and accessories. I created and maintained a Packaging Bill of Materials to organize costs and inventory, communicated shipping times to customers, and supported the development of new packaging designs.

Optic Shipping Preparation

01 / 08

Final bolt tightening

02 / 08

Alcohol wipe-down

Removing masking from acrylic cutting mat panel.

03 / 08

Masking removal

Adding protective paper to lower body to prevent scratches during transport.

04 / 08

Transport protection

05 / 08

Safety labeling

06 / 08

Lens cleaning

07 / 08

Shield replacement

08 / 08

Box sealing

04 / 04WEBSITE & MARKETING

Website Planning + Development

As fulfillment of Kickstarter orders neared completion, my focus transitioned to project development and web design. I initiated the homepage design by creating a foundational structure that integrated existing content and prioritized new additions. Based on user and competitor research, I supported the design of an intuitive, inspirational website. I also managed communications with our partnered marketing firm and participated in early marketing strategy meetings. My efforts then shifted to designing and implementing Optic projects that effectively highlight the machine's capabilities.

Sophie sketching homepage wireframes on large paper at the packing bench

Project Content Gallery

I designed targeted content that highlights the benefits and applications of laser cutting technology, appealing to current users and potential customers.

Diversity

With e-commerce sales impending, not all materials and use cases had been investigated or displayed online, so I focused on a diverse variety of projects.

Highlights Optic

The Optic has several distinctive features, so I honed in on projects that either can only be done with the Optic or work particularly well with the machine.