Breville task

Life cycle analysis

Greenfly: design greener products

·         Look at the entire process to see where you can design improvements

·         Material choice is not the only consideration when it comes to sustainability

·         Logistics should also be considered when designing as it will add to the total embodied energy

This was a good look at the greenfly program and allows you to enter details fo your product to assess it’s sustainability.

Autodesk: whole system and Lifestyle thinking

·         Again, we look at the whole process to find new innovations.

·         When you look at the whole process you can reduce the impact of a product by making a slight change to the previous step. Like the washing machine and dryer example. The dryer will use less energy if the washing machine can wring out the clothes so they aren’t so wet.

·         This is a good way of solving problems or opening up creative thinking solutions to problems you probably didn’t see before

This was interesting because looking at the bigger picture allows you to make big changes if need be or just a slight adjustment to make it a better product/ process

 

Autodesk: Improving Product lifetime

·         This video looks at making products last longer by making them more durable and in turn results in less waste.

·         If products are not meant to last longer than they should be recyclable or bio-degradable.

·         Electronics don’t tend to last long so its important to design them for disassembly or make it so they are repairable or upgradable in order to reduce e-waste.

This video is a good insight on how to design depending on the lifespan you intend for a product.

 

Autodesk: lightweighting

·         Reduction of material can be achieved through innovation in materials, for example less material of a stronger one

·         They can also be reduced through clever design and manufacture

·         Using reused components, or recycled materials is another way of lightweighting.

Finding a new purpose for an old product is better than manufacturing a completely new product.

 

Autodesk: green Material selection

·         Important to know where and how the material you are using came from.

·         Important to choose the right material for the job. Bio-degradable may not always fit best if it means the product will become useless after a short period.

·         Always best to keep in mind the product and the process to improve its lifespan.

It was an interesting point that simply choosing a recyclable material is not always the better option. And that taking account the whole process should always be in the back of your mind to improve a design for sustainability

Autodesk: energy Efficient design

·         The energy a product uses also has its impact on the environment

·         Looking at the effiency you can design products better

·         Knowing how energy works and how much power you will need you can help users to use it more efficiently

In this video it teaches us to not only look at the final design as a group of materials put together, but we need to also look at how it will be used and how its energy efficiency can be improved by not only improving it on the product but helping the user to also be more efficient with how they use the product.

 

Week 3 reflection

Here my form is being presented. I've looked at different forms, playing with shapes that derive from massage tools so that the user will be attracted to it and will want to pick it up and massage the cream in. The final form needs to be more resolved. I think I still need to get more people to try the shapes out because the people I've asked to try it have similar hand size to me and are not elderly. Tom also pointed out that the form needs more focus on the part that interacts with the skin because it is flat and body parts are not flat. Maybe a slight concave and to follow more the shape of a persons forearm or back of the hand. The other point that Tom pointed out was that the user might be more heavy handed and will keep dosing the balls to rub the cream into the skin. So I need to look at how to prevent this somehow.

I asked the Cormack guy about the silicone balls and if it was manufacturable. He wasn't sure but there would be a way. I'll have to look into it. Some roller balls can be CNC'ed but I think for the silicone it can be molded since it doesn't need to be 100% spherical.

I need to ask Cormack how I would coat the ball in silicone or a better material that is hygienic and soft. And how to mold the housing for the roller balls.

Week 2 reflection

My progress from last week:
Researched both types of packaging. The toothpaste and the arthritis cream. I decided to go with the arthritis cream applicator. Tom said that there would be more innovation in arthritis cream applicators and also be more transferable to other types of cream also.

I also did some empathy tests on opening a tub of cream by wrapping my hands up so that my finger movements were restricted to duplicate how an arthritis sufferer's hands work. Doing this task I found that my pinch grip was very difficult. So I had to rely on the friction of my palm to open the lid.

I presented a concept where the shape of the container was egg shaped, kind of like a computer mouse and found that the shape was much more comfortable. The shape wasn't that interesting, and has been seen before, but the other shapes I've tried look good and are still comfortable bit from a manufacturing side they would be difficult and expensive to manufacture due to the increase number of molds to make it.

Week 1 reflection

Upon presenting my concepts to the group and my tutor I realized what the stronger ideas were of the lot and within those ideas, the problems which may arise from the smaller details.

With the toothpaste packaging idea, I wasted aware that because the product will predominantly be in kept in the bathroom, it might need some form of grip or suction on the bottom of the packaging to stop it from sliding.

The concept as a whole was well received but the form needs a lot of work as Tom suggested it looked very similar to the robot R2D2 from the Star Wars movies. Then my peer, Richard said that maybe there should be a shelf or something to rest the toothbrush on.

So my actions for this week is to research how to dispense the toothpaste, the mechanism I will need to house the pump, and i need to find a form that will use minimal plastic. The form will also need to incorporate a comfortable pump action that can be operated with a palm as opposed to a finger like the ones on the market today.

If I was to do the cream applicator, then I will have to solve the problem of how the cream will be dispensed. Tom said to look at other roll-ons like deodorants and see how they work. It he problem I see with the current ones are that they a single ball only and will still need to use your hands to rub it in. Which defeats the purpose of it being an applicator for strong creams.

So my action for this is to research a mechanism that will stop the flow of cream and allows the balls to continue massaging the cream into the skin. Or find a way to allow only a small dose to cover the ball. The form will need to be able to roll around on the back of the hand or knuckles comfortably as it is a bony part of the body.

Accessibility concepts

 Concept 1: The idea behind this concept is to make pouring and storing rice easier. Rice packets in the supermarkets today come mostly in plastic bags. It requires having to cut open the packet and to store it you need to pour it into another container. The rounded bottom on one side of the bottle helps to tip the bottle while keeping the bottle on the table. The cap it quite large and also doubles as a measuring cup.

Concept 2: The toothpaste pump will help make it easier to dispense the toothpaste by eliminating the squeezing action needed when using regular toothpaste in a tube. The pump uses only one downward action on the top whilst sitting on the bathroom vanity. 

 Concept 3: This new packaging is an innovation on the arthritis creams that come in tub or tube form. For people with limited dexterity might find these difficult to open. Here I have incorporated an applicator so that all the user has to do is remove the large cap and roll on the cream in the needed area, whether it be on the back of their hands, elbows, or knees. This also eliminates having greasy or oily hands.