Toothpaste Dispenser (Final Project) 

Description: For our final project of the Design and Engineering Projects, we had the freedom to design whatever we wanted to fix a problem we had at home. I decided to make a 3D printed toothpaste dispenser that rotates using Fusion 360 and their tools. 

Brainstorm: At the very start of design and engineering, we were taught how to use Fusion 360 to 3D print, so I was well equipped with the knowledge to make a toothpaste dispenser. At the beginning I originally wanted to create some variation of an organizer, but I decided to challenge myself and create a solution to a different problem, my toothpaste. Toothpaste is a really small but annoying problem to deal with, often times when getting to the end of my roll, its very difficult to squeeze and I have to take a lot of effort in getting all the toothpaste out. What happens is the lack of control for how much toothpaste comes out and the effort needed to squeeze creates a problem.

Procedure: I then researched different types of toothpaste dispensers. I came across lots of different varieties, some easier to 3d print than others. I saw a hairpin type dispenser, where its essentially a triangle with a slit inside of it, big enough for the toothpaste to fit through. Again I wanted to challenge myself, so I decided to go for something harder. The other type of toothpaste dispenser I came across was a rotating one. It was basically a stand with a cylinder rotator inside which would push toothpaste out each time it rotated. I decide I was up for the challenge and made my first prototype. 

I used different faces to create the stand, which was like curvy rectangle with a cylindrical hole through it. At the first class, I didn't have my toothpaste, so I was eyeballing everything along the way. I created the basic shape and outline for the base and cylinder and printed my first prototype. For then, I learned that it wasn't a very good idea to guess my measurements. The next class I actually brought my toothpaste and measured it compared to the dispenser. It was close, but far from accurate. The base was too small, and couldn't hold the weight of the toothpaste and I also couldn't fit the width of the toothpaste into the cylinder, and the rotator was too small. 

This class was a lot more productive because I had the accurate measurements, I sized everything up according to the cylinder in which I was rotating the toothpaste in. The measurement of the cylinder depended on the width and length for the edge of the toothpaste, and those measurements ended up becoming the size of the radius. The stand for the toothpaste and the cylinder to go inside was based off of how big the cylinder was going to be, and I also learned that I had to increase the size of the two extruding sides because they fell off last time. My second prototype was almost accurate. The extruding sides didn't fall off, the base was able to hold the weight of my toothpaste, but the only downside was that the cylinder was still short of the length of the toothpaste. I had accurately measured the length of the toothpaste, but since I deleted an extra part that extended it to the correct length, the cylinder ended up coming short of the exact length. I also noticed that my toothpaste would get stuck half way through because there wasn't enough room for it to rotate more, so I had to find a solution to that.

Reflection - SOUL:

S (Strength of your Work) - I would say my biggest strength was my ability to never give up. Constant measuring of parts to fit are my weakness, and its very tedious, but I pushed through to get the product to be as I wanted.

O (Opportunities to improve your project) - I could have been more precise on measurements for my toothpaste dispenser and brought my toothpaste the first class we did it, then I could have had more time.

U (Understanding) - I have learned it takes a lot of prior thinking to create something so complex where two parts effect the performance of one another. It was a long process, but I did it.

L (Limitations you encountered in this project) - I think if I had even one or two more classes, I could have really perfected this, and if I had brought my toothpaste all the time. I say that we need more time in every one, but we often don't and we make use of our time.

WISCR: 

Well-Rounded Individuals- During this project, I noticed I never stopped learning. I demonstrated being well roundedness by using different skill I had to complete this in time. I used my time management skills to print a working prototype within 3 classes, and I used my curiosity to ask myself ways I could keep improving.

Self-motivated Individuals - I spent a lot of effort and time on this project. I wasn't given as much time as I would have liked for this project, but I used the most of my time, and tried to get my final product to the best it could be. I demonstrated being self motivated by even coming in during lunch to finish what I needed to do, even if it wasn't necessary.

This is the final model! The toothpaste was able to be rolled and squeezed.