Architecture and platform - paper shredders · shredders that are explicitly safe especially with regards to children. The home office segment needs a method to store paper until

Brian BrighamJohn Ekholm11/2006

Information DestructionArchitecture and platform - paper shredders

Brian Brigham | John Ekholm | 11.06 ID547 | Product Architecture and Platform 2

product analysis // functional model

The functional model displays the functional hierarchy of the paper shredder as well as the individual components as they correspond to each function.

Overall purpose:

Main Functions:

Supporting Functions:

Components:

identity protection = information destruction

Shred Paper - Shred Credit Cards - Shred Compact Discs

Indicating

Overheat •LED

Power LED•

Controlling

ON/OFF •

Reverse•

Sensing

Bin Sensor •

Paper •Sensor

Temp •Sensor

Storing

Trash Bin •

Cutting

Motor •

Gearing •

Blades•


competitive analysis // product offerings

6 sheets 8 sheets 10 sheets 12 sheets 20 sheets

cut type diamond diamond diamond diamond cross

duty light light medium heavy heavy

capability

dimensionsnote: recheck

12 x 7 x 14 12 x 7.5 x 15.5 13.5 x 9.5 x 21 13.5 x 9.5 x 22with wheels

15.5 x 10 x 24with wheels

warrantynote: all 1 year limited

3 year cutter 3 year cutter 3 year cutter 8 year cutter 7 year cutter

price $2999 $3999 or $4999 $7999 $11999 $19999

HOME OFFICE

This product line is produced by a single manufacturer. The retailer then sells the shredders based on size, features, and specs. The retailer also divides the shredders into two groupings, home & office, based on size, sheet count and price point.


user needs // market segments

HomeNeed: Safety

Home OfficeNeed: Storage

Small OfficeNeed: Convenience

We divided the shredder market into three segments and identified an un-met user need for each.

Women 25-35•Middle income•Household w/ children•Keep shredder in den or closet•Purchased shredder for mail, bills and personal •informationConcerned about safety of shredder around kids •and pets

For the home segment, safety is a user concern that is not being fully addressed. People want shredders that are explicitly safe especially with regards to children.

The home office segment needs a method to store paper until it is shredded. Few users shred sensitive materials as they receive it; instead they collect it into pile and shred the entire stack at a later date.

Small offices need the shredder to be faster and more convenient. No one wants to count out 12 sheets of paper in order to keep the machine from jamming.

Women 35- 55•Middle to upper income•Own their own business•Keep shredder in home office•Purchased shredder for business records, mail, •bills and personal informationBusy with running a business, shredding is put •off until last minute

Men 35- 65•Middle to upper income•Own their own business•Keep shredder in a common office area•Purchased shredder for sensitive business data.•Wants speed and efficiency. Can’t wait around •to feed paper into a shredder


platform strategy // component breakout

Motors

CD shredding module

Top housing

Cutter body

Bottom housing

Face Plates

Bins

Differentiated partsCommon parts

The mechanical assembly consisting of the cutter body, motor and CD is the core of the platform strategy. The cutter body is the base platform on which a variety of motor sizes can be plugged in and the CD module added. For the proposed product line, the top housing and bottom housing are common parts that are used throughout the product family. The face plate, bin and motor are the elements of the platform that are switched out to provide for the differing needs of the home, home office and small office.


platform strategy // revised functional model

The revised functional model adds four supporting functions and multiple components to support user needsThe needs are tied to the market segments; below each additional supporting function, the individual components in-corporated to support that function are shown.

Overall purpose:

Main Functions:

Supporting Functions:

Components:

identity protection = information destruction

Shred Paper - Shred Credit Cards - Shred Compact Discs

Indicating

Overheat •LED

Power LED•

Controlling

ON/OFF •

Reverse•

Sensing

Bin Sensor •

Paper •Sensor

Temp •Sensor

Storing

Small BIn •

Standard •Bin

High •Capacity

To-Be •shredded

Safeguarding

Locking Cover •

Anti-tip Base•

Moving

Wheeled •Bin

Side •Handles

Automating

Auto-Feed •Unit

Cutting

Motor •

Gearing •

Blades•

StorageUser need: Safety Convenience


platform strategy // base model

Stage 1 motor:8 sheets

Small Bin

No CD module

Basic face plate

The base model has a plain face plate w/ the small bin. The CD module is not included and the smaller motor can handle 8 sheets.


platform strategy // home model - safety


Medium Bin

CD module

Face plate w/ locking lid

Anti-tip base

The Home model has a face plate with a locking lid to safely cover the shredder opening. The CD module has been added and a larger motor. The bin is taller with and anti-tip base to add extra stability to the unit


platform strategy // home office model - storage


Large Bin w/pull out front

CD module

Face plate w/ “to shred” storage bin

Castors

The Home Office model has a face plate with an integrated “to shred” storage bin. The CD module has been added and a motor that can handle 12 sheets. The bin can be pulled out the front for easy emptying and the unit is on castors to increase portability.


platform strategy // small office model - convenience


Large Bin w/ pull out front

CD module

Face plate w/ auto feed indexer

Large castors

Platform Strategy: Small Office - convenience

Side handles

The Small Office model has a face plate with an indexer that au-tomatically loads paper into the shredder. No need to count out sheets and with the heavy duty motor the shredder won’t over heat. CD module is included and the bin can be pulled out the front for easy emptying. The unit is on large castors and side handles have been added to make the shredder highly portable


platform strategy // product line

Base - 59.99

• 8 sheets• Space saving bin

Home - 89.99

• 10 sheets• CD capable• Locking safety lid• No tip base

Home Office - 149.99

• 12 sheets• CD capable• “To Shred” storage• Easy empty/ large capacity bin• W/ castors

Small Office - 249.99

• 20 sheets• CD capable• Auto feed indexer• Easy empty/ large capacity bin• Side handles• w/ Large castors

In addition to the efficiencies of manufacturing and reduced number of tools (molds), the platform strategy also enforces a uni-fied design language. The size and shape of the shredder head are set, but the parts that provide the added benefits of safety, stor-age, and convenience are configured in such a manner to create a product line that hits several price points.


Information DestructionArchitecture and platform - paper shredders

appendix


product analysis // paper shredder

on/off switch

LEDs

credit card slot

paper slot

trashbin

Our analysis began with the disassembly of an existing paper shredder in order to understand the architecture of the underlying compo-nents. The product we disassembled was a crosscut style shredder claimed to be able to shred 10 sheets (experimentation proved 8 sheets to be a more realistic limit) as well as credit cards.

Externally, the shredder consists of a plastic housing containing the shredding mecha-nism which sits atop a plastic bin intended to catch the shredded documents. The external housing includes a combination on/off/reverse switch with a safety lock mechanism, a power LED, overheat LED, and slots for feeding paper and credit cards into the shredding mechanism.


product analysis // tear down


product analysis // components schematic overlay

bin sensor

on/off switch

controllerboard

papersensor

motor

gears

blades

temp sensor

power

paper

trashbin

paperpower/energyfeedback

powerLEDs

overheatLEDs

Disassembly of the shredder revealed the components shown below. The functional diagram overlaid on the photograph depicts each component, as well as the flow of paper, energy, and information through the shredder.


product analysis // components schematic diagram

Product Analysis: components schematic diagram

bin sensoron/off switch

controllerboard

papersensor

motor gears blades

temp sensor

power

powerLEDs

paper

overheatLEDs

inputs

trashbin

paperpower/energyfeedback

output

This functional diagram indicates the functioning of the shredder. At the most basic level paper flows into the shredder, triggering the paper-sensor, and then passes through the shredder’s blades and into the trash bin.

The flow of power is slightly more complex. Power enters the shredder via the power cord and is transmitted to the bin sensor, which interrupts the power supply if the trash bin is not attached to the bottom of the shredder unit. After the bin sensor, power passes through the on/off switch and is distributed to the paper sensor and the main controller board. If paper or a credit card activates the paper sensor, a signal is transmitted to the controller board which, in turn, sends power to the motor. The shredder’s motor then drives a system of reduction gears which ro-tate the cutting blades, shredding the document.

Within this system, user feedback is provided by two LEDs on the main shredder housing. Whenever the on/off switch is in the on position, the power LED is illuminated, indicating that the shredder is receiving power. During shredding, a temperature sensor monitors the motor’s operating temperature. If the temperature exceeds a prede-termined level, the sensor sends a signal to the main controller board, which shuts the motor down, and illuminates the overheat LED to indicate the status to the user.


task analysis // shred paper Product Architecture and Platform Brian Brigham | John Ekholm Shred Paper

Is shredder on?

Depress switch lock button

Move switch to “ON”

Are more than 8 sheets being shredded?

NoYes

Are there any paperclips on the paper?

Remove paperclips

Yes No

Remove first 8 sheets

Feed sheets into shredder

Is shredding complete?

Did shredder jam?

Switch shredder to “reverse” Is overheat light

on?

Remove sheets

Split sheets into smaller groups

Turn shredder off

Allow to cool down

Turn shredder on

Are more than 8 sheets left to shred?

Remove next 8 sheets

Are there sheets left to shred?

Finish

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

No

Unknown Problem

Is bin full?

Lift shredder unit off of bin

Empty bin

Replace shredder unit on top of bin

Yes NoThe task analysis shown represents the typical task flow a user encoun-ters when using a paper shredder. In the task analysis diagram, dia-monds represent decisions or judgments that must be made by the user. Rectangular boxes represent actions taken by the user.


task analysis // empty the bin Product Architecture and Platform Brian Brigham | John Ekholm Shred Paper

Is shredder on?




NoYes


Remove paperclips

Yes No




Did shredder jam?


on?

Remove sheets


Turn shredder off

Allow to cool down

Turn shredder on




Finish

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

No

Unknown Problem

Is bin full?


Empty bin


Yes No


Product Architecture and Platform Brian Brigham | John Ekholm Shred Paper

Is shredder on?




NoYes


Remove paperclips

Yes No




Did shredder jam?


on?

Remove sheets


Turn shredder off

Allow to cool down

Turn shredder on




Finish

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

No

Unknown Problem

Is bin full?


Empty bin


Yes No

task analysis // powering ON and indicators


task analysis // prepare and feed Product Architecture and Platform Brian Brigham | John Ekholm Shred Paper

Is shredder on?




NoYes


Remove paperclips

Yes No




Did shredder jam?


on?

Remove sheets


Turn shredder off

Allow to cool down

Turn shredder on




Finish

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

No

Unknown Problem

Is bin full?


Empty bin


Yes No


task analysis // paper jam Product Architecture and Platform Brian Brigham | John Ekholm Shred Paper

Is shredder on?




NoYes


Remove paperclips

Yes No




Did shredder jam?


on?

Remove sheets


Turn shredder off

Allow to cool down

Turn shredder on




Finish

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

No

Unknown Problem

Is bin full?


Empty bin


Yes No


task analysis // over heat Product Architecture and Platform Brian Brigham | John Ekholm Shred Paper

Is shredder on?




NoYes


Remove paperclips

Yes No




Did shredder jam?


on?

Remove sheets


Turn shredder off

Allow to cool down

Turn shredder on




Finish

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

No

Unknown Problem

Is bin full?


Empty bin


Yes No

9 3

6

12


task analysis // shred cdShred Credit Card

Is shredder on?



NoYes

Feed card into shredder


Did shredder jam?


on?

Remove card Turn shredder off

Allow to cool down

Turn shredder on

Unknown Problem

Are there more cards to shred?

Finish

Yes

YesYes

Yes

No

No

No

No

The task analysis for shredding a CD is slight-ly less involved than shredding paper, but there are a couple differences. For example, there is no need to count out sheets as only one CD fits into the slot at a time.

Documents

Architecture and platform - paper shredders · shredders that are explicitly safe especially with regards to children. The home office segment needs a method to store paper until