The client for this project is diagnosed with type-1 diabetes. As a result of this, he experiences a loss of sensitivity in his fingers due to nerve damage, and as a result, is unable to read braille. He has also completely lost his eyesight, a rare occurrence in those diagnosed with diabetes where it damages the blood vessels in the retina. This made it much more difficult for him to complete everyday tasks such as pouring liquids into cups, as he commonly overfills them due to his difficulty judging when the cup is full.
The device our team developed to tackle this issue he faces is called the “Liquid Overflow Sensor”, which indicates when the cup with a liquid being poured in is about to overflow through the use of an electronic buzzer. With this buzzer, he would not have to rely on vision or touch senses, but instead listen for the sound to indicate when to stop pouring. The device would be able to help him fill a variety of things such as mugs, bowls, cups, and even his dog’s water bowl. The device consists of a 3D-printed clip that clamps onto the sidewall of a cup, and a floater made up of a cork stopper and a wooden dowel that floats up with the liquid level. As the liquid reaches the top of the cup, copper contacts on the clip and dowel come into contact and activate the buzzer to sound. This buzzer is housed outside of the clip, in a separate water-tight 3D-printed box that consists of the buzzer and battery, connected to the copper contacts through a wire. Other than helping develop and fabricate the device and its prototypes, I was the project coordinator for my team, where I was responsible for logging and keeping track of all work done in the project and planning out the project timeline.
Physical Prototype of the Liquid Overflow Sensor - Taken By: Brant Shi
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13d73CkLWANjK84PsRM8YgWjZqaHh40u9/view?usp=sharing
Video Demonstration of the Liquid Overflow Sensor - Recorded By: Brant Shi
<aside> ☑️ Teamwork and Collaboration
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<aside> ☑️ Time Management
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<aside> ☑️ Communication
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<aside> ☑️ Public Speaking
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<aside> ☑️ Autodesk Inventor 2023
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<aside> ☑️ 3D-Printing and Slicing in PrusaSlicer 2.5.0
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<aside> ☑️ Soldering
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Both the electronics housing and the clip were designed in CAD using Autodesk Inventor. I was responsible for creating the initial prototype for the liquid overflow sensor, the box that houses the electronics, and the electronics itself.
Final Prototype and Electronics Housing CAD in Autodesk Inventor
Initial Prototype in Autodesk Inventor
Other than the items that were purchased, the electronics housing and the clip were 3D-printed and sliced using PrusaSlicer.
Initial Prototype being Printed - Taken By: Brant Shi
This was the first engineering design project where we were given nearly complete freedom on what we could make. Though my group could have made a much more impressive complex project, we decided to go for a simpler more manageable device as there was less freedom in terms of the project timeline. Learning to plan ahead for even the smallest things from Project 3, my group and I decided that it was not enough time to produce a large fancy design, test a variety of prototypes, and complete it in time with a fully functional final prototype. Though I believe we were capable of making something much more creative, if we did there would have been a much greater chance of us not finishing the project. Creating this Liquid Overflow Sensor allowed us to develop a fully functional final prototype, and also fabricate a number of prototypes during the design process. Seeing as a few groups were a little bit too ambitious and didn’t finish in time, it made me appreciate the importance of project planning and organization, and adhering to a more strict project schedule. Though I didn’t learn much from the technical aspects of this project, I learned a lot about engineering design pitches. I spent so long trying to condense the content I needed to present that I didn’t end up practicing enough. As a result during the presentation, I skipped over a few things listed in the slide and was questioned later by the judges about why I didn’t mention them. This is a good lesson for me to thoroughly prepare for things such as presentations, pitches, and job interviews, as not enough preparation can be a lost opportunity. Fortunately for this design pitch, I was able to present the missing information afterwards when the judges asked about it.