In my first action project for my class called “Design and engineering” we learned about different types of ways to figure out how to solve solutions for gardening tools in order to help the elderly. What made this action project different was that I had to work with a partner (
MN). In this class we learned about simple machines and physics concepts which helped us with this action project.
While being the designers of this tool there were a lot of variables we had to think about. For example, while designing our watering can we had to think about empathy and how others will feel about the product. Since we based this design on the elderly, we had to think about to solve average problems that we thought would benefit for them. Some of the research that helped us figure out common problems was using the tool ourselves and seeing what problems we could find first hand.
During our research we went to home depot to see a watering can in action. We noticed certain aspects of the cans there that were useful like an angled handle to make it easier to pour, and others that were not so useful like super long spouts. While we were talking with one of the staff about our ideas and tools he said "Sometimes the product made of cheaper material works better for a specific task". This made us think about the material we wanted to use and we went with plastic in order to make the product less heavy while also not having to worry about money cost.
In the image below you will see a sketch of our Handy Can design. This sketch explains the different upgrades we made to the average watering can and what we decided to keep. Look for some of these specific qualities from our watering can.
- Switchable Spouts- In order to switch from watering a narrow area to a wide area.
- Box Shape- Has a wider bottom surface to spread the weight of the water inside.
- Hand Grips- In order to reduce the stress on your hand and wrist while holding it.
- Angled Handle- Helps the user get a better angle to pour with less work.
- Tripod- Meant for the watering can to sit on while pouring to prevent holding a heavy can.
- Measurements for water- Small clear strips in the watering can to let the user measure the water.
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| MN (2017) The Handy Can Design |
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The dimensions of the watering can's base are 8 in by 12 in by 6 in. In order to find the volume we had to multiply the length, width and height to the can. We got 8*12*6= 576 in³ which is equal to 319.1688 us fl oz. In order to find the surface area I had to add the area of each side. The equation we got was 2(8*12+8*6+6*12)=432.
Below is a story board of how this product would be used. This story board shows what happens to the watering can from when it starts in the garden shed and ends with a fully grown plant. Below that is a sketch of the forces used when using the Handy Can. The force we chose to talk about is the user's hand when they angle the spout towards the ground and pours water on it.
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| MN (2017) The Handy Can Design |
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| MN (2017) The Handy Can Storyboard 2 |
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The biggest struggle I had while making this project was getting the scanned photos of my product on to the blog. Since the pictures on my blog were the wrong type of file I needed to put the file on another website and screenshotted the pictures. I was eventually able to work it out by learning how to edit the pictures in order to make them look nice on the blog. The biggest thing I took out of this action project was empathy because it applies to most things in life.
Works Cited
Home Depot Employee. Personal Interview. 20 Sept 2017
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