Machine Development

Objective

Design and develop hair dye dispensing technology for eSalon.com that delivers precise, custom color formulations while maintaining product integrity. Equipment needs to support both manufacturing and retail deployment scenarios.

Chemical compatibility, strong oxygen barriers, and ease of machine use were my primary guidelines to designing the first machines. After this was mastered, an integration into aesthetics was brought in with the help of ALM Project(studio), which concretely defined the retail experience.

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What I've done

1. Precision Dispensing System Engineering

2. Chemical Compatibility & Safety Systems

3. Initial Control Logic & Integration

4. Manufacturing & Retail Hardware Variants

5. Quality Control & Validation Systems

6. Machine Experience Design (with collaboration)

Creative Process

Research:Analyzed existing dispensing technologies, hair dye chemistry, and retail deployment constraints.

Conceptual Design & Prototyping:Created mechanical concepts for multi-channel dispensing, and prototypes for concept validation/ testing.

Engineering Development & CAD Design:Developed detailed CAD models of all components and assemblies, electrical schematics, and established manufacturing drawings and specifications.

Testing & Validation:Conducted extensive cycling tests simulating years of operational use. Refined designs based on performance data.

Manufacturing & Deployment: Established production processes and deployed systems in manufacturing facilities and kiosks in CVS storefronts.

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Results

First off, a special thanks to ALM Projects, which let me explore and see machinery in a new light. Also- to the brilliant programmers at eSalon, who took my initial programming and integrated to a beautiful experience.

These dispensers revolutionized eSalon's manufacturing capabilities, achieving a 10x improvement in accuracy.  They are the core competitive advantage of over others in the space, and have been recognized by many, including Allure's Best of Beauty.

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Conclusion

Instead of adapting to hardware that was unsuited for eSalon's marketing strategy and chemical compatibility, I realized early on that the equipment needed to be rebuilt. This took some investment into R&D to develop, but was the right call for the project.

Since then, I've had fun designing and retrofitting machines for a wide variety of other cosmetics applications.