We would like to welcome Rob Garland, HD’s newest Design Development Engineer. This week, Rob shares an introduction to himself as well as a rundown of what he’s been up to in his first couple of weeks at Haughton Design.
I’m a bit of a tinkerer and love doing little projects so my personal 3D printer is always on the go. Last year, I built an electric skateboard which got a bit expensive – I seem to have developed a habit of popping capacitors! This year, I’m working on a clock with a mechanical 7 segment display.
I also love the outdoors and more generally, sport in any form – I’m a bit competitive when it comes to that sort of thing. Whilst I had some time off before my start date I decided to walk Wainwrights Coast to Coast, 190 miles across three of England’s National Parks, which was stunning!
I first found my interest in design during A-Level Product Design, I enjoyed the satisfaction of making an idea real. Once I’d experienced that, I knew I wanted to be making stuff and so engineering felt like the right fit. I found a university course in the Dyson School of Design Engineering at Imperial College London that allowed me to further develop and hone my design engineering skills, my passion for which has only grown since.
Graduating was one of the most relieving experiences. Uni was already challenging (a fun challenge nonetheless), made harder amidst everything but I’m thankful for it. The realization of finishing was so satisfying. But the next step was tricky.
After a summer off, I spent the best part of the next 6/7 months applying for jobs. I’d had 6-month placement while at Uni using state of the art 3D scanning and 3D printing techniques but still, the amount of ‘sorry but we’re looking for someone that has a bit more experience’ or just no reply at all was really demoralizing, there were some tough days. But I kept going while working part time helping with the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Stoke and fortuitously I came across a post by HD on LinkedIn about their expansion and growth as a company. So, I sent across my portfolio and application, not expecting much in return. But thankfully, I got a reply and things developed from there. A huge thanks to Managing Director, David and the wider team for the positive process – I can’t wait to get stuck in and start working on client projects!
I think inspiration can be drawn from anywhere; sci-fi, textbooks, scientific papers, magazines, blogs, news, colleagues. I also tend to draw upon things I’ve seen in the past or from other projects that are relevant if I’m struggling to come up with something new. But mainly for me, I enjoy thinking about a desired function before drawing upon what I know, supplemented by further research, to figure out how I’m going to overcome a problem. If it doesn’t work, question why? Then, try something new, and continue iterating until your function is achieved. Hopefully in a subtle, beautiful way.
Something I’ve found so far is that when working with medical devices, (especially in detail development) there are differences in documentation – safety and efficacy are priority. But what’s great is that the principles of design remain the same. Ultimately, I want to create intuitive, unobtrusive devices that produce useful function. HD have a fantastic development workflow process that takes all of this into account. I really enjoy the human factors element of the process, thinking about how people interact with a product, and developing devices that ensure interactions result in safe and effective use.
Brilliant, the team has been so welcoming and helpful. There’s been plenty going on with the office move (for a few hours I was officially a professional flat-pack assembler!). I’ve been given an induction timetable to help get me up to speed with software and processes as well as get to know the team. I’ve already been sitting in on client meetings, participating in brainstorming sessions and even attended a formative human factors study. I can’t wait to get started on my allocated projects!
Design Development Engineer
Rob graduated from the Dyson School of Design Engineering at Imperial College London in 2021 with a Master’s in Design Engineering. Prior to joining HD, he worked in the automotive sector using state of the art 3D scanning and 3D printing techniques. He has a keen interest in human centred, interaction and experience design and has expertise in additive manufacturing, CAD, IoT, UI and mechatronics.
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