Bottle Opener 4/4

A New Direction: The Final Design

After multiple failures with the jellyfish design, we decided to move in a different direction towards what became our final design.

In the end we chose a model in which force would be applied vertically rather than horizontally.  In this model the top edge of the opener would create a fulcrum point in the center of the bottle cap that would aid the bottom edge in prying the cap up. In this case, the bottle opener would be moved in an upward motion. 

When it came time to draw this model in Solid Works, a couple of design elements changed.  The top part of the opening mechanism became more rounded so that it would have more contact with the top of the bottle opener. The aesthetic appearance also changed. What started of as an attempt to create an ergonomic design for the handle took a whimsical turn resulting in the design seen below.

A bee! For all your “bee-verage” needs

With this our design was ready to print out. Not only did it work on the first try it was also much easier to use than our other design!

Presentations

With our final Design working and ready to go came the moment of truth. As the whole class looked on, we demonstrated our product. While it took a few tries, eventually the cap came off in a bubbling mess of soda and relief. I was very happy that the bottle opener worked in the end.

Analysis of Function

An explanation of the physics of our various models can be found throughout the process description.

For our final model  the body of the “bee” works as a lever to pry the cap off the bottle. When the “mouth” is placed around the cap it aids in removing it in two ways.

The top rounded part of the mouth applies force to the center of the cap creating a fulcrum point for witch it can bend. We felt that the center is the ideal place for this pint to be because it is the part of the cap least supported by the bottle. Meanwhile, the bottom edge of the mouth acts to push the edges of the bottle cap up and off of the bottle.

In the end, the torque we created on the bee from 1) exerting force ourselves (controllable) and 2) its distance away from the pivot point (fixed), was enough so that the fulcrum would move slowly and allow the bee's bottom mouth to pull the cap's ridges out.

The physics of our bottle opener also takes into account the cantilever equation (deflection = (FL^3)/(3EI) where F=force, L=length, E=Young's modulus, and I=area moment of inertia)  In the case of our project we were limited to focusing on altering beam length and shape to create a strong product. In this case I think that making the small round design of the opener served it well.

Reflection

Well, that's it for this project. Over the last couple classes I was able to learn a lot about using SolidWorks and the laser cutter.  There were a lot of trials and errors associated with making the bottle opener, but in the end I am satisfied with our design. If I were to continue to work on this project, however,  there are aspects of the bottle opener that can still be improved  such as the thickness of the bottom of the bee's bottom mouth.

Thanks for following our progress, and tune in for the next project!