The watering bell is my most recent mechanical engineering project. I worked in a group to brainstorm, design, produce, market, and sell 30+ watering bells. This project took numerous iterations and prototypes, beginning from modeling and 3D printing all the way to the casting stage. I took head on the marketing and design for each bell, and produced many variations for different buyers, including plain bells and some themes as cows.
The marketing for our bells included written instruction hards with hand drawn diagrams to illustrate the intended use. I additionally designed and put together the laser cut signage and table display and decorations. We succeeded in manufacturing and selling over 25 bells for this design sale and fair.
We also completed a Small Scale Production Cost Model breakdown analysis in which we broke down the cost of manufacturing for each bell, and deduced the profit we would make for each item made and sold.
WHAT
Product design, concept, and sale
FOR
MEAM 4110: How to Make Things
The Process:
Step 1: Modeling
Created a 3D model of our bell and basin in Rhino and SolidWorks.
Step 2: 3D Printing
3D printed this model
Step 3: Product Testing
Tested the efficacy of this model and ensured it worked as a watering bell and basin.
Step 4: Mold Making
Once we knew this model had the desired shape and size and functioned properly, we created a silicon mold of it. We also made silicon molds of our basins, making 2 different shapes because different people preferred different shapes.
Step 5: Manufacturing
Once the mold was set, we attempted our first iteration of making a bell. We calculated the amount of SmoothCast300 resin we would need to sufficiently coat the outside of this silicon mold to create the hollow shape for our watering bell. We then placed the mold in the roto-molder, which would run for 30 minutes, rotating the resin around the outside of the mold to create a hollow shell shape. This took a few different iterations of molds for the bell and settings on the molder to achieve our desired final product. We used SmoothCast305 for the basins, which took longer to cure and was more sturdy.
Step 6: Stylizing
Once we had step 5 down, we began to integrate silicon and resin dyes in order to add color and patterns to our bells.
Step 7: Post-Production
From the mold, the top of these bells needed to be sanded, so we sanded the tops and drilled the holes required for the bell to function. We then beveled the top hole to create a better thumb feel when using. We additionally sanded and polished the bottoms of the basins.
Step 8: Cow Making
For the bells we wanted. to make into cows, I painted on the pattern and then used "Smooth-On XTC-3D High-Performance Coating" to make them glossy.
Step 9: Marketing and Branding
Finally, once we had all of our products, we created the branding, packaging, and display. I first designed the logo and then created instruction cards with diagrams on how to use the bell. Following, I printed stickers with our logo and printed the instruction cards.
Step 10: Display
Lastly, I created the display. I first created a laser-cut file for our display sign, which I then hand-painted and assembled. Next, I created a file for a barn which I then cut out of MDF scraps and assembled to display the cows.
Step 11: Small-Scale Production Cost Model
After the sale, we completed a "Small-Scale Production Project Cost Model" in which we broke down the cost of materials (catalog components and custom components) and time of labor per unit, to deduce a total cost of materials per unit and profit per unit. This was then used to calculate the Profit per hour of labor.
Our results:
Total cost for 1 unit: $4.50
Profit Per Unit: $25.50
Total cost per manufacturing run: $150.10
Total profit for manufacturing run: $892.50
Profit per hour of labor: $56.10