Time to Invent Something!

For the past few weeks we have been working in groups with the 2nd year design students to design an object that facilitates every day life.

CONCEPT GENERATION

After discussing several ideas we narrowed it down to 3 that we wanted to delve into a bit further.

1. Hair Ties

• Hair ties leave a kink in your hair.
• Explore different shapes and materials, as well as different types of hair
• Could combine this issue with that of staticky hair
• Spiral hair ties are meant to be a solution to this, however they do not support heavier hair and get tangled in curly/frizzy hair

2. Utensil Holder

• A universal device that fits onto all types of utensils that prevents it from slipping into bowl/pot/cup
• Maybe it had a clip that can pivot, spoon changed from inside pot/bowl to \
• Maybe the clip and allow spoon to stir, can easily glide around rim

3. Bottle Cap

• Universal bottle cap, eliminates the need for plastic ones, all bottles come sealed instead, bottle cap can pierce seal and then use until finished drink. Toss out bottle
• Cap twists and expands to accommodate all sizes of bottles
• Needs to be a keychain or something easily portable
• Dishwasher safe or easy to take apart and clean
• Some sort of indication for edibles/non edibles
• What range of issues, for different sizes?
• Materials: food safe vs solvents

Our group decided to focus on bottle caps. Just like straws, they are a waste issue due to the fact that they are not recyclable.

DESIGN INSPIRATION

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

Possible material: Silicone

Silicone properties and characteristics: low thermal conductivity, low chemical reactivity, low toxicity; thermal stability (constancy of properties over a wide temperature range of −100 to 250 °C); the ability to repel water and form watertight seals

• minimize places for seals to not work/leak
• more holes create more problems/inability to seal
• watertight will be difficult
• problem with bottle caps is that they fall through conveyor belts and therefore not recyclable; so what’s to stop these from having the same fate?-why stick to ‘cap’ or ‘lid’ or your possible name options? (since our strongest idea is an interior ring/expanding/contracting, why not look into reverse/inside out/etc names?)

CONCEPT SKETCHES

DESIGN PROTOTYPING

We were very much inspired by the way a camera shutter works. We needed to find a way to reverse that mechanism, into something the expanded from the centre. A large part of the design inspiration also derives from this ceiling fan:

As you twist, the diameter of the lid expands. The idea is that it will expand to fit inside any size vessel, creating a seal at the edge. The fan or blades of the lid will ideally be made from silicone because it is flexible but still holds shape.

DIGITAL MODELING

When creating the digital model, the form changed shaped to facilitate certain features. More folds were added to the silicone section of the lid so that its planes could be thinner. A cap and centre axle were created for the bottom half of the lid so that every thing is completely enclosed. I also made a latch that slides into the notches on the top ring in order to lock the lid in whatever size it's in. I also wanted to make to have as few pieces as possible, that could easily come apart an be washed.

 The blades on the bottom will break any seal.

The design is now ready to enter the initial fabrication and testing phase. All parts will be 3D printed, with the exception of the silicone sheet which will be cut by hand.

At this point when reviewing our concept, I wonder if there is a way we could slightly alter the design so that instead of expanding from the inside, it uses the exact same mechanism to close around the outside of a vessel. This will be of consideration during the next phase of the project.

In the meantime, below are mockups for the logo and initial brand design concepts.

BRAND DESIGN