Market Ready 3D printable Sunglasses (Wayfarer Style)

🔍 Design Challenges and Innovation
Upon surveying existing open-source 3D eyewear models, I observed a consistent design oversight: the hinges were modeled at a flat 90-degree angle. In practice, eyewear hinges must be subtly angled to ensure the front of the frame contours to the human face appropriately. The accurate modeling of this feature—combined with the precise fitment between hinge and frame—proved to be a significant technical challenge, particularly given my limited prior experience with Fusion 360.
Through extensive experimentation, iterative prototyping, and customer feedback, I developed a hinge structure that preserves comfort, functionality, and aesthetic integrity. This was achieved by incorporating precise angular geometry and ensuring mechanical strength suitable for regular wear.

🧪 Lens Fabrication and Fitting Process
Initially, I procured CR39 lenses and used a CP4A lens cutting machine and grinder to achieve accurate fitting. However, this process revealed inefficiencies in terms of both speed and precision. I subsequently transitioned to using thin acrylic lenses, which could be shaped via a 10W laser cutter. This method reduced fabrication complexity while maintaining high-quality results. The lenses were then finished through grinding and manually fitted into the frames.

🧰 Resources and Customization Options
The final release includes the following components:

• A frame bending blend file, allowing adjustments along the X and Z axes to achieve optimal face-fit geometry
• A bending platform designed to precisely bend the temples at a 15.5° angle, ensuring ergonomic grip and comfort
• The original Fusion 360 design file, enabling users to modify the model or adapt it to a fully parametric workflow, allowing easy input of a user’s pupillary distance (PD) to generate customized frames
  The design supports fabrication using common 3D printing technologies, including FDM printers (PLA or PETG) and SLA resin printers. With a modest setup investment of approximately $200—provided one already owns a 3D printer—small-scale entrepreneurs can begin offering customizable eyewear locally.

🌍 Broader Impact
This initiative is more than a product; it represents a sustainable, decentralized approach to product design in a resource-limited setting. By developing a viable solution to import restrictions, this project empowers makers, small businesses, and communities to meet essential needs independently.
The frames are currently in active production and are experiencing strong commercial performance. I am sharing this design not only as a product but as a platform for innovation, open to adaptation and enhancement by the broader design and maker community.

Link to the Sunglasses:
https://lunettes.com.bd/product/vector-black/