Microsoft Surface: Innovation in Design, Engineering, and Manufacture

By GEOFF HEDGES | Published: JUN 20, 2012

With the unveiling on Monday of Microsoft’s new Surface tablet computer, the company is challenging Apple’s iPad – and its own PC hardware partners.

The 10.6-inch Surface tablet, boasts covers that double as keyboards and trackpads, taking it beyond today’s tablets. Including the soon-to-launched Windows 8 operating systemthere’s some remarkable design and engineering evident in the device, best marrying software and hardware.

The Microsoft Surface even uses a new manufacturing process—VaporMg—that reduces weight while keeping strength. That process results in a built-in kickstand, invisible when using the product in tablet mode. It may seem obvious, but it’s innovative and easy. The same happen for the cover, it becomes a keyboard—with its own design breakthroughs. And again with the combination of multi-touch and pressure sensitive pen technology – there are dozens of breakthroughs not found in any tablet or computer today.

Go to timestamp 28:40 to hear Panos Panay, leader of the team that created the Microsoft Surface, talk about the design, engineering, and manufacturing of this new innovation.

Microsoft is no stranger to the hardware market. Its Xbox and Kinect devices (both designed in Creo) have become hugely popular living-room devices for gaming and much more.

And as you appreciate the styling and design of this tablet, one final point- Creo was used for the mechanical design aspects of this new generation of tablet.

Creo Customer: Arc Touch Mouse a Concept Design Winner

By GEOFF HEDGES | Published: OCTOBER 18, 2011

When designers at Microsoft dreamed up the Arc Touch Mouse, they were thinking about form, ergonomics, and portability. The device lies flat for easy storage in your laptop bag, and then pops into a graceful arch when you’re ready to use it.

Physically, it fits comfortably into your hand and provides haptic (that is, a sense of touch) feedback as you scroll and click.

Modeled with Creo Parametric, this new generation of mouse bears virtually no resemblance to its rodent-like predecessors, which, it turns out, is a good thing. Sure, designers at Microsoft started with something like a familiar mouse body in early concept design, but they also explored profiles that looked like speed boats and beach mats. Everything seemed to be up for discussion.

And that’s been our point; it’s the reason we’re placing so much emphasis on concept design with the release of Creo 1.0. When everything is on the table, developers can explore, and product innovation can thrive.  At least it did for Microsoft. The Arc Touch Mouse has won two major design awards so far:

• The jury at RedDot online awarded it 2011 Best of the Best; they praised its symmetric design and well-balanced proportions.
• IDSA presented it the 2011 IDEA Gold award, saying the mouse was “executed superbly,” with “excellent tactile feedback.”

The Arc Touch has been a hit with consumers, too. In the online reviews they’re calling it “sharp” and “stylish.”  And more importantly, they’re saying its aesthetics and form are key in their decision to purchase the device. Or in the words of one online reviewer:

“I bought it because it looked cool.”

Creo Customers: World Records, Microsoft Kinect, and Creo

By Admin | Published: June 13, 2011

 

How Creo helped Microsoft’s Kinect for Xbox 360 become the world’s fastest-selling consumer electronics device ever.

 

“Officially named the fastest-selling consumer electronics device ever by Guinness World Records, Kinect for Xbox 360 has gone down in history as one of the greatest successes in the gaming sector. The first of its kind on the market, the controller-free entertainment system sold an average of 133,333 units per day to total eight million units in its first 60 days between 4 November 2010 and 3 January 2011 – a figure no other consumer electronics device has exceeded within this time span.. Rebecca Lambert takes a look at how the use of PTC technology has helped make Microsoft Kinect the success it is today.

 ‘The incredible speed and flexibility of direct modelling has enabled us to achieve results that would not have been possible with a parametric approach. Each method has unique advantages, so the blending of these capabilities in Creo enables users to access the extended capabilities of both. The result is a toolset that is powerful, flexible and very fast.’ Louis Barinaga, director of mechanical engineering, Xbox Accessories.”

Go to pages 32 & 33 to read the full article