Gentleman Farmer, Engineer and Extreme Innovator / Brainstormer
A bench needs an end table. Coco has been hard at work on putting together the design for the matching end table. Here are the results.
The wings on either side are a place to put personal items, maybe a book or a flashlight. The top surface can hold a plate, drinks or cell phone.
Putting it all together makes for a comfortable evening by the fire.
“Right sizing” your product means designing products that fit the market and can be practically produced. Waiting to long to release a product to manufacturing and the market can be worse than releasing too early, because if you wait until its perfect then you’ll never get it out the door. Lets talk about the concept of having just enough features and benefits for your product to succeed. Solve a simple problem in a simple way and you’ll have a great product.
THEY’RE BACK!! Prototypes of the Kitchen Set (Cooking Utensils Rest, Eating Utensils Rest, and Dish Towel Holder) from my last blog are back from the water jet cutting facility.
The prototypes were made using 3/16″ Aluminum and 1/8″ ABS Plastic.
Here is a look at the Cooking Utensils Rest and Eating Utensils Rest in Aluminum and in Plastic:
This picture shows the thickness comparison of the two materials:
Let’s put them to use! In this configuration, campers can keep their utensils on the picnic table:
Another option is to hang them from a carabiner:
Front View of the Plastic Set, Hanging:
Rear View of the Plastic Set, Hanging:
My observations of the 3/8″ Aluminum Utensils Rests:
Pros: rugged look, feels like a quality product, durable
Cons: rather heavy, limited color options
Recommendations: I would like to see this material in a thinner version.
My observations of the 1/8″ Plastic Utensils Rests:
Pros: lightweight, cheaper production, multiple colors
Cons: thin features (on handle) could break
Recommendations: If this material was used, it would need to be textured on both sides to look and feel like a finished, quality product.
Now let’s take a look at the Dish Towel Holders:
As I wrote in my previous blog, I had designed three different versions of the Dish Towel Holder. We created prototypes of all three versions, and here they are, also in 3/16″ Aluminum and 1/8″ ABS Plastic.
Option A:
Option B:
Option C:
The Dish Towel Holders in Use:
Option A in Plastic and Aluminum:
Option B and C in Aluminum:
Option B and C in Plastic:
In my personal opinion, Option A is not as aesthetically pleasing as Options B and C. I have decided that Option B and Option C would make a great pair, since they are the same overall shape, but offer slightly different functions. Either of these options could extend well beyond the kitchen aspect of camping by hanging other items that would otherwise be taking up valuable surface space. The teeth on Option B could be used for any fabric item such as a beach towel or wet bathing suits. The hooks on Option C could be used for things such as a flashlight or keys.
Next steps:
I will be visiting the water jet cutting facility to explore some other options for materials and thickness of the materials. I have also decided to decrease the height of the Eating Utensils rest, since there is a lot of extra material in the gaps between the smaller silverware. The Cooking Utensils Rest will stay the same size.
If you have any opinions or questions, feel free to leave me a comment, and thanks for reading!
-Rachael