Creating Comfort: The Making of the Logitech Comfort Wave Design - Page
But to the surprise of everybody, however, the most comprehensive design approach –
the curve + wave + palm rest combination – turned out to be the favorite.
The Logitech Comfort Wave Design was chosen and named. Logitech would be the first
to combine a wave-shaped key frame, a U-shaped curve and a padded palm rest.
All the research and development – taking the keyboard design from concept to a viable
model – was completed. It was time for the development team to start working with their
colleagues in Asia to determine how to manufacture the Wave keyboards on a large
scale.
Reinventing Assembly Tools
Traditionally, straight keyboards are assembled in several stages, which include creating
the keys, the membranes and the housing. Because of the wave-shaped key frame,
Logitech completely redesigned nearly every element of the assembly process, including
key molding, rubber dome production, printing and testing.
Typically, keyboards have approximately a dozen different types of keys. There is one
tool that creates all of the key caps. The plastic is injected and each key cap is molded
by the tool in one shot. These are then automatically inserted into the keyboard’s
topcase.
For the Wave keyboards, Logitech’s industrial design team, located in Taiwan, created
an entirely different approach that involves seven tools with several key cap sizes for
each tool. Then, Logitech’s Suzhou, China-based manufacturing team went to work.
Once molded, these key caps are collected into seven different bags and manually
inserted on the product lines by operators, one by one.
But the key stamping process wasn’t the only element that caused Logitech to alter the
manufacturing process.
Like most keyboards, the Wave keyboard uses a rubber dome underneath the keys to
send signals from the keyboard to the computer. Unlike the flat shape of traditional
rubber dome membranes, the Wave rubber dome had to be fitted to conform to the
shape of the Wave. That meant, the rubber dome had to be redesigned on three
dimensions instead of just two.
Finally, the manufacturing-testing process had to be redesigned to accommodate the
wave key frame.
New Packaging
Manufacturing wasn’t the only group within Logitech that had to make substantial
changes to accommodate the Wave keyboard.
After assessing existing Logitech keyboard-packaging designs, the California-based
packaging team realized that the Wave keyboard demanded a new package altogether.
One that would allow shoppers to get a feel for the Wave, rather than make a purchase
decision based on a picture on the box.
To accomplish their goals, the packaging team created a specially designed, contoured-
Thermoform plastic shaped to conform to the Wave key frame so people can experience
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