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Archives for November 2021

remade assignment 10

Explain the work you did this week and what you expect as the final outcome.

we tested multiple iterations of prototypes regarding finding the solution to the “wobbling” problem.  

we tested the idea of making a “plastic plywood” by pressing everything to half the thickness and then gluing two sets of CNC’ed pieces to form the intended thickness. the idea behind this was because our plywood prototype is much less flexible and didn’t have much of the wobble problem, so we thought it might increase the stability of the plastic.

after testing we found several problems with this method: 1. the glue was not in great condition so some of the pieces broke off shortly after gluing even though we applied clamp forces. 2. producing more pieces with CNC just mean there were more places that can go wrong.  as we see in the first image, the tip broke in the process. 3. it was more difficult to align the pieces properly because of the irregularities on the surfaces. the thicker boards we pressed were much flatter on the surface. this might also contribute to the un-stableness of the glue. 

anyway, in the end, we ditched this idea. 

Max also had an idea of cutting many small slits along the tip, to increase the friction. the community had no problem with this idea, but we thought it’s not easy to make it look good so we abandoned it too.

 


What are the next steps you will take to finish it properly?

we are planning to try other methods to address the wobbling problem such as pushing the limit of the press and to try gluing even more layers together or pressing wood and plastic together to form a more stable board to be cut on CNC. 


What will you do if this doesn’t work? What’s your plan B?

this actually should not be a plan b but we can always just increase the width of the pieces to hopefully make them stronger.

update Nov 26: the weight problem is no longer relevant since we came to know that they are quite happy with the weight and would be okay if we put a bit more weight on it. so we went ahead with the idea of widening the piece and not worrying about adding weight too much.


What are going to be your contributions to the team in the next days until the final presentations?

I will be in charge of setting up and cut on the CNC machine and also make the final designs of the piece.

remade assigment 9

Journal

If you didn’t get the chance to test your prototype with your community partner, record a video where they test it.

— summary of the feedback from this class:

  1. the overall design of the wood prototype is good, looks very aesthetically pleasing 
  2. the handle design could be improved in that the loop is too large and hard to control how the clamp opens. 
  3. the length is a little bit too short that they will have to still bend in order to pick things up effectively
  4. the plastic boards look very sturdy and should be good for the final product
  5. concern that it might be heavier than the wood prototypes so need to look into how can we minimize necessary weight
  6.  

— questions and insights of further developments:

  1. What do the volunteers usually pick up in their working sessions? how is the shape making the process easier or worse?

          Mainly plastic bottles, loose leaves, and cigarette butts, the tip needs to be able to close up tightly in order to pick up smaller objects.

      2. what did they think of the handle? was it comfortable? what suggestions do they have?

          the felt the handle was quite comfortable, but later we found out once the plastic is cut out, the edge is way more harsh than the wood

      3. the average height of the volunteers, how do we decide the right length?

          one member that came to our class said that she was about the same hight as the cleaning ladies, but we still need to let them take the  decision

 

 

 — I will quote the section in my “further developments” section in our presentation that day.

  • Community meeting: get suggestions on ideas and discuss other proposals
  • Observe/experience trash collection first-hand: acquire UX insights, e.g. finding the most suitable length for volunteer trash collectors
  • User testing and improving UX: Handle wrapping, length, handle shape (gun-shaped v.s. Scissors-shape — which confers more mechanical advantage?)
  • Aesthetics: Test more color combinations
  • Post-processing: Sanding? Spray-painting? Hydrogen peroxide to treat discoloration?


— two questions:
What did you learn about working with the community from today’s discussion (not including the design part)?

the biggest thing I learned was how was I sometimes digging so deep into the technical issues in making the product and I would forget to update our community with our process. Most of the time I don’t feel comfortable sharing something that is in the working process but now I realized that it was very important for them to get to know what we are up to so that they can provide timely aid, but equally important, is an amazing way of building mutual trust and respect with us and the community, by showing some of our struggles and thoughts on the project.  

How are you going to apply the lessons to future collaborations?

we will send pictures in the group chat whenever we implemented an idea effectively and try to pay more visits to the community, we realized that the community is usually quite available — there will always be people around that we can talk to — so we decided to skip the rather complicated “arranging time slots” and to visit them on rather shorter notice (making sure that they will be able to meet at first, of course)

remade assignment 8: updated pinterest mood boards

For a project that is so down to the ground, unfortunately, Pinterest couldn’t provide us with too much inspiration with the design. However, we did find lots of variations of the garbage clamps online. here are some examples. 

Trash Pickers Stainless Steel Garbage Clip Tongs Portable Pick Up Tool Scissor Shaped Vt-18.023 - Buy Trash Pickers,Stainless Steel Garbage Clip,Portable Pick Up Tool Product on Alibaba.com

This one is the closest to what the community was using, the problem of this one is that it is made of steel and therefore very heavy, and the tips don’t work particularly well for what they do. So this provides an example of what we shouldn’t go for. we should probably get a closer look at how exactly the tips don’t work and find ways to improve.

Liudan Garbage tongs Garbage Clip Picker Sanitation Clean Portable Garbage Picker Household Pickup Garbage Pliers Handle Garbage picker : Amazon.co.uk: Business, Industry & Science

We had this image in our material testing presentation. The inspiration here is to see if there is a way to make the product work better with the human body, there was a saying of “bend the tool not your wrist”, so we can think about if and how we want to possibly bend the clamp for easier user experience.

Outdoor Barbecue Carbon Tongs Aluminum Garbage Tongs Camping Tool Durable Charcoal Tongs Safety BBQ Food Tool Two Size Liberal|Outdoor Stoves| - AliExpressChina Mini Outdoor Barbecue Tool Stainless Steel Pickup Tool Folding Tongs Scissor Shape Tong Garbage Clip Charcoal Clip Food Clip Esg13764 - China Mini Tong and Tong price

These two are examples of how the clamping force can be massively increased using the mechanical advantage — if we find it necessary. but at the same time, it is also harder to manufacture and might affect the overall integrity of the product.

2Pcs Barbecue Tongs Kitchen Pliers Barbecue Tools Hand Forged Tongs Garbage Tongs - buy 2Pcs Barbecue Tongs Kitchen Pliers Barbecue Tools Hand Forged Tongs Garbage Tongs in Tashkent and Uzbekistan: prices, reviews |

the one we ended up using as a reference for our first wood prototype.