Design Project 3
-Sense of Independence
Project Summary
Design Project 3 of the 1P10 course gave my group the freedom to design any device to improve accessibility by automating a common task. Through brainstorming and research, we landed on the difficulty of cutting foods as people age, especially with conditions such as Arthritis. Leading us to make an automated knife-cutting mechanism, called the Handless Knife, which entailed a lot of trial and error, refinements, and teamwork to achieve a functioning prototype. My role as a subject matter expert, and as a modeller for the device in the team made a heavy contribution in achieving this goal. Overall allowing me to practice and expand on different skills I have harnessed throughout my years.
Hard Skills
Soft Skills
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Modelling
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Video Editing
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Researching
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Teamwork
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Critical thinking
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Time management
Background
The design projects are normally oriented toward a certain medical condition. However, this design project had no real restriction on what we could make. Giving us the freedom to choose to focus on kitchen appliances. Typically as we age kitchen utensils such as the knife become harder to use, limiting the ability to cook, especially for individuals with arthritis. The inability to cook could cause a more unhealthy lifestyle, and mental health issues for those who cook as a hobby. Therefore we decided to create a mechanism that would assist the user in cutting any food. I was a part of the modelling sub-team, so I primarily focused on modelling the mechanism.
Design Process
1. Initial brainstorming of the idea, I decided on making a gear train that would turn the handle up and down. This idea really did not think about the mechanical approach, and focused on design.
2. After thinking about the feasibility of the device, and how the knife would pivot. Our group focused on the four-bar linkage to achieve the knife movement we desired, instead of the gear design.
3. Began modelling parts and assembling them on auto cad. Where I modelled the knife, knife holder, and bar slider. This would allow the user to change knives. We made many iterations during this process to make sure the motor could move the model. While the coding team focused on making the rotary actuator rotate based on force read on the force-sensitive resistor
4. Printed the parts of the mechanism and created the housing for the mechanism. Made changes to the housing to get the correct movement of the knife.
5. Combined the sensor and lights with the mechanism. To make our official prototype.
Final Prototype
Admin Role
For the design project, I was the subject matter expert. Where I'm responsible for consolidating all sources used in the project in one document. Throughout the course, we used videos, software, and websites to design and back our mechanism. These resources were then cited in a final document. Furthermore, I regularly helped answer questions about our mechanism and offer incite on why we decided to move on with this design.
Reflection and Lessons Learned
I learned a lot from design project 3. Diving into the project, I was very optimistic about getting freedom and getting more room to use the modelling skills that I harnessed. This allowed me to generate many ideas of knife mechanisms, and also understand ideas by my group mates, leading to the mechanism we finalized on. Using auto cad I created a knife, knife holder, sliding bar, and locking bar on auto cad. During the modelling phase, I continuously changed dimensions to make sure the motor was strong enough for the parts. With the limited power the motor could supply, we sized down our parts to 75% and used board nails instead of printing screws for stronger support. Once the parts were printed the mechanism and tested the device was not functioning. The screws kept tilting leading to gears not meshing correctly. My group was under a lot of stress as our prototype was not working. I continued to find other ways to make sure the screw would not tilt the gear, with only a day left before the presentation. Then only 3 hours before the presentation I added hot glue to the hole and screw to strengthen the support of the wall. The mechanism finally began working as the gears meshed correctly. With the immense stress relieved, we filmed the video of the prototype. I used my editing and filming to make the video for our prototype, on the editing platform iMovie and Inshot. Finally, alongside the group, we presented our mechanism. Where I explained how I cadded parts, and how the lights correspond to the different speeds of the device.
I learned a lot of lessons on
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optimizing resources for the best prototype
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time management
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working under stress and adaptability
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communicating effectively
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