Project Development
Anyways, today I will be sharing with you my entire journey and learning experience during this module, Chemical Product Design Development. Specifically, my prototyping journey.
1. Our team Chemical Device
My team's chemical device is a Tea Maker.
Tea brewing is highly dependent on the temperature and the brewing time. Many tea drinkers want to have their tea brewed at certain temperature and time to achieve the best taste. This brewing process can be a hassle. Therefore, the objective of our chemical device is to produce a tea maker that follows the command of the user's preference.
Our tea maker has a function where users can input their desired temperature of water and their desired steeping duration to obtain their desired type of tea.
To achieve this function, my team used a temperature sensor as well as a motor that has a pulley mechanism to lower the tea leaves into the water when the water reaches the user's desired temperature.
Here are the final sketches of chemical product:
Roles and Allocations:
Finalised Gantt chart (planned and actual) and the task allocation for each team member:
3. Design and Build Process
Part 1: Design and Building of Jug (Done by Me)
Design of Jug
Firstly, I measured the dimensions of our metal ball infuser and finalised how low we would want the metal ball infuser to be lowered. After that, I drew a sketch of our jug and our metal ball infuser, and came up with the dimension of the jug. The dimension of the jug is 10cm x 10cm x 15cm.
Next, after creating the cuboid shape of the jug, I realised that we should have a spout for our jug so that it will be easier for us to pour the tea. So, I made some minor changes to the fusion.
Lastly, after laser cutting the acrylic sheet for the jug, I planned to design and make a handle for the jug. I also realised that we should not glue the handle to the jug as it would not be strong enough to hold the weight of the water in the jug. So, I used bolts and nuts instead. For the handle, I used Fusion 360 to design it as well.
Building of Jug
Honestly I did not expect the constructing of our jug to be so tedious. To glue our acrylic jug together we are require to use acrylic glue. Before we use acrylic glue, we have to use scorch tape to create the structure if the jug, which was something I struggled with and it is very time consuming.
After glueing, we have to wait for awhile for the glue to be dried. The frustrating part was that our jug still had small holes even after glueing it which was why there water was leaking from the jug. I had to glue it for 3 times before the leakage stopped.
Here are some pictures of the sketch and the Jug:
Part 2: Design and Building of Lid (Done by Jun Kai & Jing Hui)
Jing Hui: Click here to view Jing Hui's blogJun Kai: Click here to view Jun Kai's blog
Part 3: Design and Building of Body (Done by Jun Kai, Jing Hui & Me)
Jing Hui: Click here to view Jing Hui's blog
Jun Kai: Click here to view Jun Kai's blog
Design of the Body
Initially for our body we planned to 3D print it. However, we quickly realised that it would be a very bad idea. This is because, firstly we will be used a lot of filament to print, secondly it will take a very very long time for it to print, and thirdly it would only make our entire tea maker to be heavier which is not ideal.
Designing it was fairly simple. All we were looking for was a body that connects and hold the lid and jug together, and also a place where we can hide all the arduino kit and wires.
Building of Body
To build the body we first had to finalise all the dimensions and then we used cardboard for our body. Firstly, we cut out each part of the body. Afterwards, we used the hot glue gun to glue everything in place.
Here are some picture of the Body:
Here are some picture of the Body:
Part 4: Arduino Programming (Done by Jing Hui)
Jing Hui: Click here to view Jing Hui's blog
Part 5: Integration of all parts and electronics (Done by Jun Kai, Jing Hui & Me)
Jing Hui: Click here to view Jing Hui's blog
Jun Kai: Click here to view Jun Kai's blog
To integrate everything together we had to ensure that all our dimensions are accurate. We struggled to attach the lid to the body, and in the end we decided to get tape to secure the lid to the body. Next, we encountered another problem which was that it was pretty difficult for our jug to fit into our body. To remove this problem, we lowered the base of the body to ensure that the jug has a perfect fit and it is able to slide in smoothly.
Part 5: Integration of all parts and electronics (Done by Jun Kai, Jing Hui & Me)
Jing Hui: Click here to view Jing Hui's blog
Jun Kai: Click here to view Jun Kai's blog
To integrate everything together we had to ensure that all our dimensions are accurate. We struggled to attach the lid to the body, and in the end we decided to get tape to secure the lid to the body. Next, we encountered another problem which was that it was pretty difficult for our jug to fit into our body. To remove this problem, we lowered the base of the body to ensure that the jug has a perfect fit and it is able to slide in smoothly.
For the wirings and Arduino board, we used scorch tapes to hold them in place and to neatly organise the wires so as to minimise any confusion when electrical maintainance is required.
Here are some pictures:
4. Problems and Solutions
Here are all our downloadable files:
6. Below is my Learning Reflection on the overall Project Development
Honestly, I think my team and I did not really have a very enjoyable time when doing this project. This is due to many reasons; short of manpower, poor time management and lack of communication. We struggled a lot trying to complete prototyping.
We did not plan our time wisely or follow the Gantt chart. Instead, we procrastinated and only started to rush things when the deadline is near. This caused a lot of conflict and disagreements which could easily be avoided if we planned things ahead.
We did not plan our time wisely or follow the Gantt chart. Instead, we procrastinated and only started to rush things when the deadline is near. This caused a lot of conflict and disagreements which could easily be avoided if we planned things ahead.
Although it was not a smooth sailing journey, I am still grateful that our product was a success and we were able to complete everything on time. Moreover, I also learned many things from this project and I was able to improve my skills in certain areas. For example, I learned and understood the reason behind some of the coding and why they are organised in a certain way. I also improved in my Fusion 360 and in laser cutting. I am definitely more confident in laser cutting now.
I am thankful for this learning experience as I now know what I need to improve on and how to work better with a team. This project helped in my preparation for Capstone project and internship.
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