High Priority Objectives
Improve the time-to-heat for the barrel and plastic
Improve on the time taken to unmold and remold
Improve sensors and measurements of temperature and pressure
Improve on user experience, in terms of the heating interface and the pull down injection
Develop a 'digital twin' -- a digital model of the physical machine
Not to limit ourselves to small, incremental changes; explore 10x improvements that could be easy wins, too!
Second Priority Objectives
Develop method of taking into account plastic composition
Work with design team and scouts to identify plastic sources in San Diego
Design features in collaboration with the iPhone app
Other Constraints and Issues
Solutions recommended must be open-source-able and replicable in different countries and with different manufacturing capaibilties
Focus on products with longer plastic lifecycles
WOW Design Solution
An automatic injection molding machine that requires no physical effort to inject, has instantaneous heating, uses quick release molds, and can be built cheaply with limited machining needed
Risk Reduction Strategy
Theoretical analysis (FEA, 3D CAD, etc.) first, followed by remote physical implementation with Ryan in Sweden and Mark in the Bay
Intermediate Milestones
Research industrial injection molding process to see where the industrial process could be adapted to a smaller scale product