Team Project I
Coin Wrappers
Design, Implementation, and Individual Specification
Proficient engineering designers must be able to interact well with clients and cater to their specific physical and medical needs when creating interactive assistive devices. In this project, we worked closely with a company that provides employment for those with disabilities to improve the quality, speed, and efficiency of our client's work.
Objective & Process
The goal of this project was to design, implement, and test an assistive device for our client to improve his quality of work. The process involved SolidWorks modeling of a clamp and stand to hold the coin wrappers in place, prototyping of our device, and in person testing of the device at our client's place of employment. We worked closely in collaboration with our client's case manager and the client himself to provide a device that is both beneficial to the company's total production output and satisfactory for our client's needs.
Design
This project began with several possible ideas which all came to fruition with our color-coded rod, hinge, and clamp design. We created a color-coded metal rod with varying diameters to support the nesting of the different coin wrappers. We also created a hinge to aid with the difficulty our client would often experience nesting those two specifically. The rod sits on a plastic base that has its own clamp to prevent the device from falling to the floor or moving during use. We chose to build our device out of durable and easily maintainable material in order to comply with HRC's sanitation standards as well as protect the device from commmon drops.
Implementation
Due to our close work with our client, we were able to meet with him and his case worker a few times to see his interaction with the device and how our product increased or decreased his efficiency and quality. This capability to see him on the job also allowed us to create an adequate baseline of production and create attainable goals for his new production with our assistive device.
Personal and Individual Specification
With this project and our capability to work with our client throughout its duration, my team and I were able to create a device tailored exactly to the needs of our client. We were able to recognize the exact difficulties are client was having with the assembly of the coin wrappers and create accordingly instead of designing for a multitude of people with varying degrees of difficulty. With that said, a plus side of our device is several other clients at HRC also have the same difficulties as our client and they may be benefited from this work as well.
Reflection
Designed and implemented an assistive device specific to a client's needs
Evaluated and assessed the capability of the Coin Wrapper Tower to meet predetermined needs
Implemented the device with our client through several on-site tests and made improvements as needed
Employed our knowledge of Solidworks, design, and familiarity with machine shop equipment