The Boeing Company has been a leading designer and manufacturer of overhead storage bins since the beginning of commercial flight. Originally introduced to store hats and sundries, overhead storage has transformed into an integral part of the flight experience. Despite the importance of this component to modern day flight, overhead bins have remained relatively similar to each other across the industry. The Boeing Company, being an industry leader in innovation, came to us looking to provide some new and unique solutions for their center storage bins on their upcoming Boeing 777X. Several opportunities for improvement existed with these particular bins. To identify these opportunities we did extensive research and employed various surveys. Knowing that weight is always a consideration for airlines, we found there would be high value in any way that the design could be made simpler while maintaining or improving the functionality. Storage space is another opportunity that we identified as having high value for Boeing’s customers. There were two primary designs that were developed to try and achieve the necessary objectives: a modular individualized bin system for luggage, and a smaller bin for personal inflight items used in conjunction with the standard overhead bins.
 

This project was my capstone design project for my bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at Iowa State University.