Drink cooler
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Executive Summary
Identification of Stakeholders
End User
This is the person who will ultimately use the product. They will own and operate the product at social occasions. They want to be proud of their purchase, and enjoy the experience of using the product. The things they will look for in the product:
- Enhances ability to host events
- Short duty cycle
- Ease of operation
- Ease of setup
- Ease of cleanup
- Can operate unattended
- Liked by guests
- Cheap
- Ease of storage
- Works on arrival
- Safe
- Little or no maintenance
- Appearance fits setting
- Attractive exterior
User’s Associations
The family, friends, co-workers, clients, and other guests whom the user is entertaining. They don’t want the product to interfere with their enjoyment of the event and they want cold beverages at all times. The things they will look for in the product:
- Does not take up space
- Low noise level
- Frees host to entertain
- Short duty cycle
- Hard to accidentally break
- Can be operated while intoxicated
Retailer
The retailer stocks and sells the product, most likely online. They want a product which customers will buy and enjoy using. The things they will look for in the product:
- Return on investment
- Easy to stock
- Inexpensive to ship
- Easy to market online
- Product experience is consistent
Marketing
The marketing staff of the company which produces the product. They have to get a retailer to stock their product. They also promote the product to increase awareness among potential customers. They are interested in maximizing profits for their company and increasing market share. The things they will look for in the product:
- Fits with brand image
- Improves brand image
- Low barriers to market entry
- Easily identifiable market
- Advantages over competitors’ products
- Easy to identify positive features
- Low potential for misuse
- Low potential for litigation
Shipping
The transportation contractors who move product from manufacturing plant to retailer’s warehouse, and from retailer to end user. They want a product which is easy to pack in large quantities, and presents no hazards to the person transporting the product. The things they will look for in the product:
- High packing factor
- Robust packaging
- Low weight-to-volume
- Low potential for damage during transit
- Low environmental needs during transit
- Not hazardous to driver
- Easy to load and unload
Product Usage
Description of Use
The product is used for cooling carbonated beverages quickly. It works for a single can or 12 ounce glass bottle, and can cool a beverage down to 33 degrees Fahrenheit in 2 to 6 minutes, depending on the beverage and container. The product is about the size of a small toaster and runs off of an AC power supply. It has a similar dry weight to a toaster as well. Before operation, the product’s reservoir is filled with ice and water, creating a slurry near 33 degrees Fahrenheit. The user then places the warm beverage on the rotating bar inside the main chamber of the product. After ensuring the beverage is firmly seated on the rotating bar, the user closes the lid until he or she hears the latch click. The user then sets the dial. The dial has three time settings and an “off” setting. The three times are: 2minutes, 4 minutes, and 6 minutes. Once the time has been set, the product’s motor starts and the chilling process begins automatically. The product automatically turns off if the lid is opened during operation, and after the timer is expired.
Results of User Studies
Bill of Materials
Design for Manufacturing and Assembly
The competitor's drink cooler was analyzed to determine strengths and weaknesses with their design pertaining to ease of manufacturing and assembly. Overall, competitor product seemed to be well-designed in these two areas. However, there were a few areas that leave room for improvement.
Manufacturing
The biggest success of the competitor drink cooler was the design of the motor. One motor was designed that played a multifunctional role as it powered both the water pump and also the drink rotator. This was critical to the design as it allowed the entire product to be both compact and cheap. We had anticipated having two separate motor for each of those roles. All parts in the design beyond those that would be specific to this product were standardized. The only custom parts were found to be the external housing, rotator bar, motor housing, and water plumbing. Among these the motor housing and rotator bar were designed such that they could also be used across other drink cooler models produced by this same company, increasing scale of production while reducing required equipment. The standardized components used in the design were the screws, springs, motor, pulley, circuit board, and O-rings. This took advantage of the scale of production. In addition, it was designed such that only one drill size was needed and all the holes could be drilled from as few positions as possible.
The only two areas weaknesses were the mechanical control system and the low construction tolerances. The control system featured several parts that had to be fitted together in a precise way. Still, the control system was very sluggish and left room for improvement. A toggle system might be a potential way to improve the design. The tolerances of the entire system were very small. This was necessary because the system needs to be water tight. This is a weakness, but will also be hard to improve on.
Assembly
The design was made in a way to ease assembly. A majority of the pieces fit into the external housing in order from bottom to top. In addition, most of the parts are press fit. These parts were designed to be round with guides. This allows for easy insertion that will snap into the correct position. These press fits also reduced the requirement for screws, which are tedious and would complicate the assembly. In addition, the water plumbing was joined with a flexible rubber connector. This improved the tolerances of the tubing. Finally, the custom parts were injection molded using two materials. One of for the external housing and one for the interior parts.
The only weakness identified was with the choice of fasteners in some cases. There is one connection created using hot glue that joins the water tubing to the inside wall of the external housing. This was likely done to reduce vibrations. However, this one connection requires the use of a completely new tool. Finding a way to eliminate the hot glue connection with either a screw or a press fit would reduce the number of tools required. This would also save time in assembly. The other weakness was that some of the screws were hard to reach. Their insertion points were at the very bottom external housing. Reaching to these locations to screw them in is inefficient. A potential solution is to either replace them with press fits or relocate the screws such that they are in a more accessible position.