Deliver phase
In this phase I focus on creating a final design artefact and deliver a presentation to my class on my final concept as well as the process that I undertook to arrive to it. I then finish this project with a discussion the final prototype and a reflection on whole design process.
Manufacturing process
The final prototype is an evolution of the first prototype that I made. It consists of 6 parts that I crafted.
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The simplest part of the prototype that I made was the section of balloon used as the membrane in the twist mechanism. The main improvement that was made to this part over the initial prototype was the care with which the balloon was cut, if the balloon was not cut continuously then defects would be introduced into the edge of the tube. These defects would often cause the membrane to rip as it was being stretched onto the device. By using higher quality scissors and having a friend stretch the balloon out I was able to cut the balloon in one continuous cut, that didn’t go over any creases in the balloon resulting in a defect free edge to the membrane.
In this final prototype there were three 3D printed parts. These parts make up the ratchet mechanism and the lip of the enclosure. They were designed in Autodesk inventor. I was initially worried about ensuring a good enough print quality on the teeth of the ratchet mechanism. I initially compensated for this by designing the whole prototype larger than it needed to be. While this resulted in great definition on the teeth, the resulting aperture was far to large for the balloons that I had to be stretched over. After this I decided to print the parts with a much smaller aperture and hope that the teeth would; have enough definition work effectively. Although the final prints required significant clean-up the ratchet mechanism was ultimately successful and easily held the aperture closed.
For the cup section I wanted the aperture to be held at a slight angle to the surface upon which it was sitting. To create this angle, I designed the shape of the enclosure in Autodesk Inventor. Because I wanted the enclosure to be transparent, I chose to vacuum form the part. I began by using a CNC machine to cut the positive part out of green foam. I then coated the form in WD40 as an improvised mold release and then I vacuum formed it from 1mm PETG.
The final part of the prototype was the base and the stand and the brush handle support. This part was laser cut from 4.5mm transparent acrylic and then bent up into shape using a heat gun
To assemble the prototype, I began by stretching the balloon membrane through the lip piece and between the two rims of the ratchet system. Following this I used 90 second epoxy to glue the lip of the ratchet mechanism to the transparent enclosure, epoxy was used because this join was required to be air and watertight and superglue does not possess the required gap filling qualities. The final step in the assembly of the prototype was to superglue the base to the enclosure.
feedback and improvements
The main improvements that I would make to my concept next would be to remove the handle stand. From feed back that I received on my initial prototype I believed this was necessary to ensure that the paintbrush wouldn’t fall over and touch the sides of the enclosure. With the addition of the ratchet mechanism the two rings between which the flexible membrane is stretched are moved further apart from one another, this causes the membrane to form more of a tunnel than a ring, this gives more support to the ferrule meaning that the paintbrush falls over less in comparison to the prototype. Other feedback that I received about the final prototype was that it was difficult to use one handed, I hope to address this by adding more weight to the base of the product. This in conjunction with the removal of the stand means that the user can move their hand all the way around the product without being restricted by the handle support and with the added weight they would be able to apply more force to the membrane without the object moving.
Reflection
This is the first time that I have used the double diamond design process. I found it to be a useful structure for the design process. During the discovery phase I initially found it difficult to find direction for whole project. Although I suppose it is the point of the discovery phase I found the lack of direction to be quite frustrating. After I began to interview more people, I started to gain a sense of direction and the initial frustration went away. I found it incredibly helpful to have a formalised research phase at the beginning of the process. It allowed me to effectively collate my thoughts
the define phase was the shortest of the four phases and the most rapidly iterative. Over the course of this phase I developed a wide range of how might we statements. Creating a well-defined How might we statement was the most difficult part of the whole design process as you are required to strike a balance between being broad enough to still allow for ideation while effectively constraining the problem. In hindsight I think my how might we statement was slightly too tight as it was difficult for me to produce the required number of concepts in the develop phase
while producing the required number of ideas was difficult for me, I came up with an idea that effectively addressed my how Might we statement early on. This was the point that I began to incorporate internal feedback into the design process in this phase my first prototypes were developed. These were early prototypes that addressed specific concerns about concepts, allowing me to arrive at my best concept quickly.
The deliver phase was by far the most enjoyable phase. I really enjoyed crafting the final artefact. During this phase I was very much pressed for time by my engineering courses so I was unable to put as much time and effort into my presentation as I would have liked. I am however very satisfied with my final artefact and except for specific ergonomic concerns about one handed use my feedback indicated that my final artefact effectively addresses my How Might We problem statement.