Inclusivity at Home

Major Project

Welcome to my final year project blog! Here you will see the complete design process, from early ideation through to the testing and implementation of three design concepts as I work towards the goal of producing an assistive device to aid in the opening of jars and bottles for people suffering with severe rheumatoid arthritis. The original aim of this project was to produce a working prototype of a single design concept whilst evaluating the implications of bringing such a device through to the production stage, however due to various complications that arose from the COVID pandemic affecting access to all 3D printing/fabrication facilities, it was deemed appropriate to instead evaluate the extent to which 3 distinct design concepts could meet the needs of the end user and the implications of bringing each design to fruition.

Project Aims

Establish physical limitations/needs of the end user and analyse inadequacies in assistive devices currently available.
Produce design concepts.
Create initial working models.
Calculate working forces.
Simulate working forces using finite element analysis (Solidworks).
Interpret results and optimise designs accordingly.
Repeat aims 5 and 6 until needs of the end user are met.