Group 14 - Fuji Quick Snap Camera
- This page is dedicated entirely to the Fuji Film Quick Snap Outdoor camera. This camera, which was first introduced in 1986, was a bench mark for other companies. Competition and environmental needs lead to the development of the modern Quick Snap Outdoor Camera. Our objective was to gain intrinsic knowledge on the inner workings of the Quick Snap camera. How was it manufactured? Why was it done this way? How does it work? Does the camera seem recyclable? In order to meet this objective, we initially observed our product and made some basic speculations as to the number of components and their function.
- After that, we completely disassembled our camera. The disassembly was fairly smooth, and no tools were needed. The snap fits on the camera allowed us to just pry the camera apart. The rest of the inner pieces were pretty easy to remove. Keep in mind this is a disposable camera and these parts were not made to endure much. Once the camera was completely disassembled, we could evaluate each piece to see how it was made, what it was made from, and what each part’s function was. This is all listed below.
- We then proceeded to put our camera back together with the goal of having it be functional again. However, whether or not our camera truly works properly will be unknown since we had to use all of the film in order to get it into the film cartridge. Without doing this, the film would have proved to be an obstruction.
- To conclude the project, we took what we learned to make a few suggestions and deductions on our product. These are listed in the After Assembly section. Overall we found our product to be well made. It was apparent that Fuji made this design with their budget and the environment in mind. On the back of the outer casing of our camera was a warning for electric shock. After opening our camera we realized that there was no power source, and concluded that Fuji used this casing for various styles of camera. This is smart since it saves them money; they have fewer molds to make. Also, Fuji is working to perfect the “inverse manufacturing” process which means that they either re-use or recycle all of their parts. The camera, although simple, had a lot of thought behind it.
The Fuji QuickSnap Camera Outdoor is the most basic Fuji model consumers can buy. This camera has no flash, no special lens, but only the latest in technology for film, the ISO 800. Obviously technology has advanced since then, but this camera was the first of its kind. This camera was built for people that don’t want to pay for extra features they don't need. This lightweight simple to use camera comes with 4 easy steps right on the cardboard cover.
- Buono, Christa - Technical Researcher, After Assembly
- Harrison, Cassandra - CAD Drawings
- Heiermann, Adam - Presentor, Disassembly, Assembly
- Robinson, Alex - Group Leader, Presentor
- Wells, Michele - Technical Researcher
Before Disassembly Section
- The purpose of this product is for the consumer to easily capture images. The consumer takes their 27 shots, then brings it to a place that develops photos, and in as little as an hour they have their pictures! This product was designed to be simple and easy to use. Along with function ability, the disposable camera was made so that it could be sold at an inexpensive price. This way it targets most consumers. These features allow the disposable camera to compete with the digital world. Consumers who are concerned about breaking their digital cameras, or who can't afford one can easily turn to the disposables.
- Since this camera is so inexpensive we have to believe that all of the energy conversions are mechanical. Also, since there is no flash feature there is no need for electrical energy. When the consumer advances the film, they transfer their energy to the wheel which in turn mechanically transfers its energy to another device in the camera. However, since we have yet to disassemble the camera, it is hard to know for sure what exactly happens.
- We received a completely brand new camera and it worked perfectly. To use the camera, all we had to do was advance the film wheel, point and shoot. When you advance the wheel it makes a clicking sound. When you push down on the button to take the picture it makes a click sound. It was simple and easy to use and appeared to have no issues.
- By knowing the basics of how a camera works, we can make an assumption on how many components make up the camera. We know there must be the advancement wheel, the film, the two outer casings which make the camera, a track for the film to follow, the lens, a shutter, the button, a device that transfers the kinetic energy from the wheel to the film, and a device from the button to the shutter. Overall we can approximate about 14 components. This is making the assumption that each of the inner "devices" are composed of at least 2 parts each.
- By looking at this product we can tell that it is mostly made out of plastic. The basis of the camera is made of a thick black plastic while the lens and the view finder appear to be made of a clear plastic. Also, there is a cheap cardboard cover over the camera that serves the purpose of aesthetics, advertisement, and liability protection.
Before beginning, check to ensure the film count reads "0". This will guarantee the film is enclosed in the canister and will not interfere with the disassembly.
- Note: Only human hands were used as tools for this disassembly. There was no need for anything else.
Disassembly Procedure Table
|Step Number||Process||Level of Difficulty||Image|
|1||Pry open the film canister housing and remove the canister.||Easy, this is the only action a film processor has to perform.|
|2||Unsnap the outer cover from the inner shell.||Medium, you must unsnap four snaps at the proper timing or it will reseat itself.|
|3||Remove the lens.||Easy, with the outer cover removed, there is nothing holding the lens in place.|
|4||Slide out outer viewfinder lens.||Easy, with the outer cover removed, this is also not secured.|
|5||Remove the viewfinder casing.||Easy, it slides off.|
|6||Slide out the inner viewfinder lens.||Medium, even with the covering removed there is an obstruction.|
|7||Slide off the counter wheel.||Easy, this is not restrained.|
|8||Slide off the advance lock.||Easy, this is also not restrained now.|
|9||Slide off the shutter trigger.||Medium, as you remove this the torsional spring will be removed as well.|
|10||Push out the film advance wheel.||Medium, this is restrained by the rear casing.|
|11||Pry the rear housing open.||Hard, this has a factory adhesive and is not supposed to be opened in this manner.|
|12||Slide out the spindle.||Easy, with the back open, this is not restrained.|
|13||Pop the lens holder off.||Medium, this require a light pressure and confidence to not break it.|
|14||Slide the shutter and shutter spring off.||Medium, this is tough to get at, once you find the angle it comes quite easily.|
- The marking on the plastic casing indicates that the product is made of Polystyrene. This is plausible since PS is naturally colorless by nature and can be used in molds of fine detail. However, we found sustainabilty report from Fuji saying that Polyethylene was a material that they used. This too is possible since this is commonly used and is very similar to PS. This is why we listed Thermoplastics for all of our plastic parts.
|Part Number||Part Name||Quantity||Function of Part||Part Material||Manufacturing Process||Image of Part|
|1||Outer Cover||1||Protection||Thermoplastic||Injection Molding|
|3||Lens||1||Focus the Image||Thermoplastic||Investment Casting|
|4||Lens Holder||1||Hold and Protect the Lens||Thermoplastic||Injection Molding|
|5||Shutter||1||Controls Exposure||Thermoplastic||Injection Molding|
|6||Shutter Spring||1||Close the Shutter After Exposure||Music Wire||Extruded and then Machined|
|7||Outer Viewfinder Lens||1||Along with the inner lens, provides the user a view of what they are capturing||Thermoplastic||Investment Casting|
|8||Inner Viewfinder Lens||1||Along with the outer lens, provides the user a view of what they are capturing||Thermoplastic||Investment Casting|
|9||Viewfinder Caseing||1||Support Viewfinder and Magnify Counter Wheel||Thermoplastic||Injection Molding|
|10||Counter Wheel||1||Supply Remaining Picture Count||Thermoplastic||Injection Molding|
|11||Spindle||1||Connects Counter Wheel to Film Advance System||Thermoplastic||Injection Molding|
|12||Film Advance Wheel||1||Allow the User to Advance the Film||Thermoplastic||Injection Molding|
|13||Torsional Spring||1||Provides a potential energy source||Music Wire||Wire Drawing then Machining|
|14||Shutter Trigger||1||Snap the shutter open when the button is pressed||Thermoplastic||Injection Molding|
|15||Advance Lock||1||Prevent the film from moving once it has been advanced||Thermoplastic||Injection Molding|
|16||Film Canister||1||Protect the Exposed (Used) Film||Aluminum||Extruded then Ultrasonically welded|
- CAD file for selected parts
The assembly took one person approximatly 40 minutes.
- Note: No tools aside from human hands were used during this assembly.
Assembly Procedure Table
|Step Number||Process||Level of Difficulty|
|1||Slide the shutter onto its pegs.||Easy.|
|2||Reattatch the shutter spring.||Medium, the spring must be stretched and aligned.|
|3||Attach the lens holder.||Easy, just line up and push.|
|4||Place the spindle back in.||Easy, just slide into hole.|
|5||Place the shutter trigger back in.||Medium, it has to be adjusted to fit the tension spring back in.|
|6||Reinsert the tension spring.||Hard, this is the hardest part of either the disassembly or assembly.|
|7||Slide the advance lock back into position.||Medium, this requires some alignment of the torsion spring.|
|8||Reinsert the inner and outer viewfinder lenses.||Easy, they just slide in.|
|9||Place the counter wheel back on its peg.||Easy, just set it on.|
|10||Reattach the viewfinder housing.||Medium, you have to properly align the components then slip it on.|
|11||Place the film advance wheel back into position and snap the rear casing back into position.||Easy, just line everything up and snap.|
|12||Place the lens back into position and snap the outer cover back in place.||Easy, snap snap and the camera is reassembled.|
|12a||Reinsert the film canister.||Easy, just push into place and close.|
- The only major modification to the disassembly steps was to wait until the end to resecure the back casing. This provided additional working room while performing the other steps.
- After completely dissassembling the Fugi Quick Snap Camera and evaluating each piece we now have a clearer view as to how this camera works. First, the consumer has to advance the wheel so that the film will be in its proper place. When you spin the wheel, the gear design embedded in the bottom part aligns with the gear pattern in the film cartridge. Spinning the wheel advances the film into the cartridge. Not only does this gear
- The product works first by the user looking through the focus lens and centering the object that they wish to take the picture of. Pressing the button releases the spring loaded shutter allowing the film to be exposed to the image for a short period of time. After the user has taken the picture, to prepare the next piece of the film they need to turn the winder which in turn, winds gears that move through the holes along the top of the film. This places the next piece of film ready for exposure. While turning the film advance wheel the gear it connects to turns another gear which will then turn the counter to keep track of the amount of exposures that are left.
- Analysis could be used to design and test the product in many fields such as stress, material, force, and ergonomic. Stress is a very important component to test for this product since it will be carried to many different places by the user. It will be handle frequently as well as put in backpacks, purses, and suitcases during travel. The housing must be able to support the film inside and protect the pictures taken by the user. The material is must also be tested for its ability to with stand alot of handling and rubbing from other objects. The material must be able to with stand a varity of temperatures given it will be taken mostly on trips which involve climate changes. The force analysis will test the cameras abiliie to withstand froces being placed on various places of the frame.
- They are reverse of one another. We still used the same set of tools. We were not able to put the product back together because the back of the camera was broken off since, when the film is developed it is released from a small hole in the bottom, therefore the store never needs to open it up to take out the film. The back of the camera was snapped off during the disassembly process so the group would be able to view the inside parts.
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