Challenge 1 – Week 3

Week 3: Sketching Modeling

Unnecessary Inventions and Whimsical Devices

 

For this week’s challenge we were tasked with creating a basic 3D physical model based on the sketches which we developed in the prior week. 

 

Concept:

To guide the first steps of my building process I began by selecting a final product design from my original sketches. For this, I decided to go with my plate drying idea above the others, and dove deeper into brainstorming. One of the first issues I identified was that the original design concept was too large, so scaling it down would be necessary. With that in mind, I redesigned and refined my prior plate hanger sketch, ultimately settling between two ideas. One functioned by utilizing clips that would hold the plates and spin, similarly to a sock hanger, meanwhile the other could be set on a counter and manually spun. In the end, the manual device appealed to me more, and I commenced with development. Nevertheless, while exploring ideas it seemed to me that having the user spin the device while washing dishes may be too inconvenient and another method to have the tool spin would be more beneficial. At first, I pondered on inserting a motor at the bottom section that would allow for automatic motion, however meanwhile collecting cardboard pieces, another idea emerged. By connecting the panel scraps of  cardboard from other pieces of the project, I could build kicking boards that could be used as kicking boards to manually have the device spin. Not only would this leave the user’s hands free for other tasks, but it would also be a fun way to get some exercise! With these ideas in mind, I sketched a new model that reflected the new design updates and began the first steps of my building process. 

 

Building Process:

1) Materials:

1. 1. Cardboard tube 
   2. Scissors 
   3. Tape 
   4. Cardboard
   5. Paper
   6. Exacto knife
   7. Cutting mat
   8. Ruler
   9. Pen

2) Building prototype:

 

Results and Conclusion:

Overall, I feel pretty satisfied with the results of this first prototype. Despite coming a long way from my initial plan and solutions to non- problem problems, the idea has evolved into an interesting device. Still, if i had to do anything different however, I would like reorganize the dimensions and shape of the plate drying sections. At the moment, the device cannot accommodate a large number of plates and tools, so a more effective system is needed. Additionally, the spinning motion could be smoother, and the kicking panels could be larger, hopefully allowing for more effortless movements and simpler user interaction. All in all, although I am happy with this first draft, as we proceed to improve our basic designs into more refined works, I plan on making improvements to the weaker elements of the device’s design.