You are on page 1of 22

Sata Cable iPhone Charging Cable

Lorena Santos
William Brotherton
Engineering Design and Development
Anderson Career and Technology Center
5/1/14












Abstract
In an effort to create an iPhone 4/4s charging cable that is both affordable and durable,
teammates researched, designed, built, and tested their version of the iPhone cable that was more
susceptible to bending and harsh treatment than the original chargers. The new charging cable
would allow iPhone users to charge their phones without the current hesitation of having their
cables bent at an odd angle that might damage it.























Acknowledgements
The students would like to thank the following people for their time, resources, and expertise for
this project. Without their help this project could not have come together.


o Sean McCullough PLTW Instructor, Resource Provider
o Bryan Bacher PLTW Instructor, Expert
o Brooke Parker Resource Provider



















Table of Contents
Abstract.i
Acknowledgements..ii
Introduction..1
Research....2-3
Problem Statement...4
Approach..5
Materials..6
Process..7-9
Results..10-11
Conclusion.12
Appendix..13-19
Citations.....20














Introduction
The challenge the students faced throughout this project was to come up with a solution
to an existing, real-world problem. This concept would appeal to any current Apple customer
who has ever experienced the many defects of iPhone charging cables.
The teammates thoroughly researched the need for a more durable iPhone charging cable.
The students applied many concepts learned in previous Project Lead the Way courses such as
the use of Inventor to generate 3D models and annotated drawings, the process of building and
testing a prototype, and working drawings.





















Research
iPhone charging cables are a very important factor in the everyday life of an Apple costumer. It
has been brought to the attention of many that recently most costumers have not been pleased
with the performance of their chargers and want to see an improvement. 18/20 costumers on the
Apple website complain about: breakage of product (poor insulation), wire exposer, or breakage
of wires. (See Figure 1.1). These costumers are not at all content with the existing product and
complain that paying $19.00 - $29.00 for a new charger every couple of months is ridiculous.
When researching the topic the students came to the realization that Apple Inc. was one of the
few companies/persons that had an existing patent on iPhone charging cables. With that
information the teammates had a very wide range to work with in pursuit of their product. While
the students could not find the actual patent for the Apple the following one was presented:
Publication Number: US 2013/0270002 A1

In this patent the inventor put extra insulation around the applicator and the USB and further
down the cable to protect the wires inside from being bent and damaged. The inventor also used
thicker insulation around the wires to allow more flexibility and durability to the product.
The students took a different approach as they wanted to use flat cable to allow flexibility and
durability to their product. After researching, sata cable was the most durable cable having three
layers of insulation on each wire. The teammates also used applicators and USB ports from
existing iPhone chargers for their product. This concept takes everything existing apple
costumers are unsatisfied with and incorporates it into one product.












Problem Statement
Apple costumers need durable iPhone chargers because current ones are expensive and
do not last more than a few months due to the fact that they are cheaply manufactured.
















Approach
Ever since Apple became a very popular industry and almost everyone had an Apple
product there has been an evident issue regarding the iPhone charging cables. Costumers want
what they are paying for and that is a durable charging cord that will last them more than a few
months, weeks even. Because cellphones have become such a vital part of peoples everyday lives
it is very important that their expectations for the products they buy are presented in their
performance. Most of the existing iPhone chargers either come from Apple themselves or a small
company in China that sells them at five dollars by the hundreds.
iPhone charging cords have become such an important factor of any Apple costumers
everyday life but there are some pressing issues relating to this product. Numerous costumers
have complained about the cords getting the turtle neck, when the insulation builds up and
compresses at the top near the applicator, cables inside the cord breaking off or becoming
detached, the insulation on the cord breaking and having wire exposer, etc. This makes charging
your iPhone extremely difficult and also puts the users cellphone at risk of becoming damaged
due to a messed up cord. Not many solutions have been presented trying to solve this issue,
given that many of the companies that have do not even bother to make any patents on it and still
do not last any longer than the original ones.
The goal of this project is to be able to create a durable, more flexible, and inexpensive
iPhone charging cord that the everyday Apple costumer could use freely and be satisfied with the
results.

Materials
o Soldering Iron
o Solder
o Sata Cable
o USB
o Exacto Knife
o Pliers
o Vise
o 30-bit receivers


o Old broken chargers
o Scissors
o Charging box
o Old iPod







Process
1. Process of choosing a topic defining a real issue
2. Narrow topics to at least two
3. Begin researching topic of choice
4. Meet with partner and create Gantt Chart and Team Norms
5. Discuss ideas for product
6. Sketch out possible solutions for final product
a. Most efficient for target consumers
7. Measure/look up measurements of iPhone cord and draw out final sketch
a. Measure applicator, and USB
b. Measure cord/wire of choice (in this case sata cable)
8. Make a 3D Inventor Model of product referring to measurements taken in
previous step
a. Sketch out product on Inventor


b. Extrude according to the necessary dimensions
c. Repeat for each of the three parts (applicator, USB, and cord)
9. Discuss materials that need to be collected/ordered
a. Materials need to be economic, and durable.
i. Sata cable
ii. Existing iPhone cords were provided for team
10. Begin sketches for final product
a. Annotate thoroughly
b. Front view, side view, top view, isometric view sketches
11. Discuss design with teammate and come to an agreement before beginning work
12. Look at existing positions of wires and figure out where the new wires need to go
a. Choose a wire to represent the black, red, white, and green wires
i. Recommended to write/sketch it out to avoid confusion
13. Unsolder existing wires from the USB and applicator ports
14. Strip insulation off sata cable and expose about 3/4
th
inch of bare wire
15. Solder new wires to applicator and USB ports
16. Begin testing of prototype
a. If issues present themselves unsolder as many times as needed without
creating damage to cable or ports
17. Begin final preparations for Senior Showcase
a. Three-fold display
b. Final details with product
c. Finalize technical report














Results
After researching different types of cables to replace the existing one on the Apple phone
chargers the teammates came across two: sata cable, and flat wire. Bryan Bacher, one of the
experts contacted by the students advised that sata cable would be easier to acquire and work
with. The students were able to redesign and solder a brand new cable onto old USB and
applicator ports that was more resistant to being bent and had more insulation than previous
cables.
There were numerous issues the students encountered while trying to throughout the
completion of the project. For example the students could only get two sata cables in their
possession in time to finish the project on time, on the first cable the wires got burnt and so did
the first applicator. On the second cable the students had to re-strip the cables five times, and one
of the inputs of the applicator was 3/4
th
burnt off when removing the existing cables. Because the
third input was almost completely gone it made that particular wire almost impossible to solder.
Soldering the sata cable wires was not an easy task, the students had only soldered once in
another PLTW class prior to this project and the soldering iron used was not the highest quality
but the best they were provided with. After struggling with the soldering of the applicator part
they went back to visit with Bryan Bacher and he assisted them with the difficult wires.
This product could do very well out in the future industry because the use of flat wires is
almost necessary in these types of chargers that undergo a lot of strain by their users. The
product does have current running through it, although it was not as successful as the students
would have hoped. A lot was learned throughout the process: not be afraid to gather a little more
than needed in case problems like those that occur happen, sata cable, any flat wire or cable, is


virtually impossible to solder without a very good soldering gun, sata cable is hard to work with
because the wires are in a straight line across and that doesnt not allow for a lot of wire
flexibility. Throughout the entire process of testing the charging cable the students would test the
flexibility of the cable to ensure durability.
With the correct soldering gun and other needed materials sata cable charging cords
could be a very great product to hit stores. It provides everything apple costumers are looking
for: durability, flexibility with the cord, and inexpensiveness.












Conclusion
Both teammates learned a lot of lessons during the entirety of this project. A few
examples were learning to not be afraid to get extra materials, keeping calm when a team
member messed up in a big or small proportion, and remembering some skills from previous
PLTW courses can be difficult. Although the final product did not work, the students are almost
positive that it was due to the broken insert on the applicator and although it was impossible to
find a new one on time, they are pleased that their cable was as flexible and durable as they had
hoped.













Appendix
Figure 1.1 Market Research

Drawing 1.1 - Sketch



Drawing 1.2 Sketch

Drawing 1.3 Sketch



Drawing 1.4 Sketch

Drawing 1.5 Sketch



Drawing 1.6 CAD


Drawing 1.7 CAD



Drawing 1.8 CAD


Drawing 1.9 CAD




Table 1.1 GANTT Chart


Table 1.2 Decision Matrix




Table 1.3 Materials Spreadsheet
















Citations
o Patent Application Publication. (2013, October 17). . Retrieved March 4, 2014, from
https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pdfs/US20130
270002.pdf
o iPhone 5 not charging. (n.d.). . Retrieved March 10, 2014, from
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4326244?start=240&tstart=0
o Wall, A. (2008, August 1). SATA Cable Properties. . Retrieved March 1, 2014, from
http://www.techcable.com/IMAGES/TCC%20HIGH%20QUALITY%20SATA.pdf
o

You might also like