Twistease
The device developed for this project was a joint effort from myself and the other half of my team, Adam Stock. Between us we were able to design 'Twistease', a system which requires minimal installation and maintenance and makes operating radiator valves easy. We developed an attchment for valves which could be secured to any thermostatic valve, each of these attachments would act as an addition to the valve which would only be removed for maintenance purposes. Then the operater would have a shaft and handle component that could be moved to each radiator and it would be used to rotate the valves. The handle and shaft are connected by a universal joint so that the shaft can be rotated in tight spaces and the shaft fits into various valves so that the thermostatic valves can be rotated correspondingly. This project was awarded 60%.
Bottle opener
I decided to design a product along similar criteria to the previous design exercise, make a product that helps less able people around the house. This is why I chose to design a bottle opener that loosens stiff screw caps, I know that there are many people who struggle to open screw cap bottles and this is problem that will only increase as wine makers switch from corks to screwcaps. Also all of the products available for this purpose require the operator to grip the bottle which in many environments may be difficult as up to 3Nm of force may be required. My bottle opener makes it easier to generate the required torque and fitts on most standard PET and glass bottles that are found in supermarkets. It is very simple to operate too, the lower jaws clamp around the bottleneck and the upper clamps grip the cap, then by twisting the two set of handles in opposite directions the cap is undone. This rotation is made possible by the way that the two sets of clapms are connected at the top end of the device. This project was awarded 75%.
