Capstone Project

Our Goal

This year for our STEM Capstone Project, we have the opportunity to create a product using the engineering design cycle and collaborating with experts to mentor us along the way. We decided to focus in on mechanically engineering a product to combat a condition that has directly affected our loved ones. 

Since 2020, the time spent regularly working at a computer has increased exponentially, making conditions such as “computer elbow” become more common. This is usually due to overuse of the muscles in the forearm that aid in extending the arm or gripping an object. Microtears and inflammation can develop on the lateral epicondyle on the outside of the elbow. The WristRoller has reliable massage technology designed to relieve any tension the user may have. The two rotating wheels of massage balls apply soothing pressure all across the forearm. Adjusting the fit and tightness is easy and simple with the secure velcro straps. This enables the user to continue with their daily work activities without the distracting pain. The specific benefits to our idea include a more compact and visually appealing product than the existing models, a comfortable and wearable massager, and a device that provides a deep and satisfying relief of muscle tension.

Prototype

Here is a blueprint of our design. 

This is our team Padlet with the concepts and websites we used to aid us in the process of designing. 

This is our strongest 3D printed massage piece so far. 

This is our alternate design of the massage piece, where the arms are above the actual motor instead of below.

Progress #2 - Team's Prototyping, testing, tinkering ongoing progress evidence & summary #2

This is our most recent progress report with more images of our prototype and details of where we're at with our process. 

CLAB - Decision Matrix

Concepts

Massage Therapy - Proven to relax tension and reduce pain of muscles, tendons, and joints. Can also relieve anxiety and stress. Vibrations warm up muscles and direct blood flow to targeted areas. 

Muscles - Composed of muscle fibers and surrounded by connective tissue. Muscle fibers are damaged from overload and healed through hypertrophy (increase in size) and hyperplasia (increase in number).   

Motors - A Direct Current (DC) motor has a positive and negative lead, and it will rotate when connected to a battery. To control the speed of both our motors and coordinate when they spin, we also had to connect them to an Arduino board. This allowed us to program the motors to respond to our users' input. 

Mini Arduino - We had to account for the voltage of our batteries and make sure we didn't burn out our Arduino. Excessive current flow outside of 0-5 volts may destroy the pins, so correct wiring and resistance is needed in our model. 

3D Modeling/Printing - Our team learned how to navigate several 3D modeling programs, including tinkerCAD, Fusion360, and OnShape. We also  acquired the skills to 3D print several different designs in class. 

Reflection

Through this project, I have gained experience with the engineering design cycle and learned about the job of engineers, while also improving some of my own personal skills. For example, when completing the 3D modeling tutorials, I practiced my persistence as my designs were consistently erased after spending over an hour on each one. I continually started from the beginning and got the work done, and eventually figured out how I was saving it incorrectly. Now I feel a lot more comfortable with the program, and I can create save-able designs. Furthermore, this project has required me to think outside the box in drawing up each sketch and overcoming challenges that come up. Specifically, we needed to figure out a way to secure the motors in the sleeve and prevent the base of it from rotating, while still allowing the rotors to move. This also had to account for our 3D-printed attachments which cannot be crushed within the brace. My team and I came up with two different solutions: to sew the motor into the top sleeve with an additionally piece of cloth or to sew into the inside sleeve and design the massage piece to circle around the base of the motor. 

Some things I still have room to improve on are to change my tendency to procrastinate and to brainstorm more ideas before committing to anything. First, I can work on starting my individual sketching assignments earlier in the week so that I don't have so much to do on the last night. In addition, to brainstorm more I can communicate more with my team and provide any little idea that comes into my head to possibly inspire more interesting ideas between the four of us.