P2 - Solving an Everyday Problem with Arduino
Group Members: Tyler Cooper, Neil Chulpongsatorn, Jordan Lee
For this project we were to create a physical prototype with Arduino to solve an everyday problem. We were to have at least one output and input device, and all wires/boards must be hidden (anything that does not need to be exposed is covered). The product should should also be aesthetically pleasing and engaging.
10 Design Sketches
My Initial Ideas
(Hover over sketches for more info)
My personal favourites are the tea steeper, pill dispenser, and LED "no more distractions" visual indicator.
Deciding the Main Idea
How we Decided on the Brush Cleaner
As a team we talked about our initial ideas, and I mentioned that I liked Neil's paintbrush cleaner, and added that I could personally use that for cleaning my own makeup brushes because I always forget to.
After presenting to the class our favourite ideas, we mostly got feedback on Jordan's direction sensor, Neil's paintbrush cleaner, Tyler's LED alarm, and my tea steeper. Although as a team we all liked each others' ideas, Jordan's is too complex and outside the scope of the project, while Tyler thought his idea was too simple.
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We decided on the brush cleaner because:
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As someone who loves to paint, Neil could use the automatic brush cleaner because he doesn't like spending a lot of time cleaning brushes, and it's physically tiring, especially after spending a good amount of time using your hands for painting.
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2. For me, I use a lot of makeup brushes and sometimes I forget to clean them. It's unsanitary, but sometimes I just don't have time to clean brushes. With the automatic brush cleaner, I could just leave the brushes there after doing makeup and let them clean.
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3. Our team as a whole thought the idea was interesting, usable, and can be a portable, "fire-and-forget" device.
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10 Refined Sketches
Group favourite ideas that helped with the final design
(Hover over sketches for more info)
We used Neil's idea of using a stand to stabilize the Arduino, Tyler's idea of having the motor wheel spin the brushes in the water, Jordan's idea of having the cup have something that cleans the brushes more, and my idea of using plastic with a criss-cross hole as a brush holder.
The Stand
The picture on the right is one of our initial ideas for a stand. It's actually my headset holder.
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Problems with this:
It's too short/small to fit in our motor, brushes, and the cleaning cup
It has USB ports which we thought was good for connectivity at first, but then realized there's the risk of spilling water and breaking the stand
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We ended up customizing our own stand by cutting and nailing together pieces of wood.
The Brush Holder
After trying different textures (cardboard, sponge), we came to the conclusion that plastic is the most stable to hold brushes while not damaging them.
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We cut up a Ziploc Tupperware lid into a circle that is the same circumference as our cup. Because of the sharp edges of the plastic, we also wrapped soft foamy liner along the circle for safety.
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We glued the plastic brush holder to a piece of cylindrical cardboard which will attach to the motor.
The Cup
We wanted the cup to be an aid for cleaning brushes just as much as our motor.
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We used a metal cup that comes with a separator cup which helps with separating the pigments from the brushes, as well as making sure that all the pigment does not mix back with the clean water.
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Because the cup is metal, it's heavy enough that it won't move while the device is cleaning the brushes inside it.
The Box
It hides everything
The box is important because we are required to have all cables and boards to be hidden.
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We cut up cardboard to make a small box with small holes so that the motor wheel pokes through, as well as the button for the user to interact with. The back of the box has a small hole for the USB cable.
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We painted the box in the theme of white and blue to match the colours of the plastic brush holder and the foam protector.
The Final Look
We like to call it "The Cyclone"