Just going to drop some images of the latest prototype. I will discuss this in more detail in the next episode of "Don't Ask When". The painted ones below were originally meant for Earl D. and Kyle L. but due to a minor wiring issue we're gonna keep these and send them out an improvement.
The eyewear you see below are latest iteration and serve as more of a fitment test. The black piece that looks like it holding the lenses is actually a frame cover. The next iteration will have this piece be brought in closer to he actual frame front (this will reduce visual mass). The temples are pretty much set design-wise, we are very pleased with how these came out. We are going to make them a little longer so they aren't as tight on the ears.
These samples represent content that was custom designed by the LAFORGE team in California (our previous prototypes were a combination of exiting eyewear, custom components, and some off-the-shelf stuff). The frames are laser cut stainless steel (production will probably be laser cut titanium). Everything that is painted black was 3D printed (production will initially be injection molded plastic and later down the road some parts will be made from acetate). With exception to the laser cut, 3D printed parts, and the PCB, this was handbuilt. The lenses were hand cast & hand cut, this was hand painted, hand wired, and the frames were hand formed (shaped). These took a bit longer to assemble than I would have liked and future version will feature some hand welds to simplify assembly.
LMK your thoughts. Thanks for the support thus far!
I feel like this view shows the glasses wrapped in Nerf foam armor. (To be clear, for my own personal tastes that's a good thing.) While they do appear slightly bulky compared to standard glasses, that bulk appears to be spread relatively evenly and I don't think it would be too noticeable.
One piece that I'm curious about is the hinge for the arms. My own pair of prescription glasses have a single screw placed high like these pictures show too, but of course the arms on my own pair are also only about as thick as the screw is. Has there been any flex-testing yet to see if the hinge is a weaker point than expected?