Rubrik Server Faceplate
Rubrik Inc. | Internship | Summer 2019 | Four Weeks
Rubrik is a cloud data management company based in Palo Alto, CA. As of January 2019 after a Series E funding round Rubrik has reached a $3.3 billion total valuation. In the summer of 2019 I took on designing their second server bezel from the ground up and preparing it for manufacturing.
A server bezel is the front faceplate attached to servers in a data center. It functions as a significant branding element and in Rubrik Inc.’s case is the only physical product produced by the company.
Problems
With the upcoming release of Rubrik 5.1 Andes the bezel was in need of a fitting refresh that kept the company’s look current. With a rising level in technician complaints during use, it was time to take a look at leveling up.
Insights
After conducting ethnographic and technical research with multidisciplinary team including Head of Engineering, Sr. Operations Program Manager, and server technicians, these were the areas that could be addressed in the new faceplate.
Two Piece Design
Expensive acrylic, adds unnecessary manufacturing steps. Adhesive falls apart under prolonged heat exposure in use.
Magnet Connector
Necessary for current SuperMicro appliance, adds cost. Eliminated with new latch standard.
Brand Identity
Has to be clean, unified, and stands out. Communicate sophistication in simplicity.
Pad Printing
Expensive and requires separate tooling which increases upfront investment. This method also doesn’t allow for the current logo’s gradient.
Ideation
Optimization
Rubrik Inc. is focused on enterprise software so hardware manufacturing cost and time cut directly into profit margins.
Legacy Manufacturing Report
Parts and processes used for the legacy product.
Optimization
A separate panel and taped assembly are necessary with the old design and are prone to failure under heat stress.
Updated latch mechanism of newer servers.
Separate assembly for the faceplate and adhesives increase cost and points of failure.
By using a single plastic injection, we eliminate connective and weak tape for the plates as well as the tooling and time needed for the separate base piece.
Adherence to this simpler mechanism eliminates a huge amount of manufacturing.
Because technician use is rare, the current magnet connection to the PCB can be rolled back into a simple snap-fit. This eliminates the need for separate PCB manufacturing and assembly with custom magnets.
Designed For Manufacture
By switching to a single injection with snap fittings, the final manufacturing report is reduced to one piece with four separate processes applied.
Over 75% reduction in materials and processes over legacy unit.
Note: A major design consideration was how servers would look stacked in a typical 8U configuration. Continuous lines at regular intervals unifies the design. The design also had to be flexible in case of a future rebrand or logo redesign to limit the amount of retooling necessary for manufacturing.
