Update 10/13

Yesterday I had a very long discussion with Mr. A surrounding my alternative solutions. After much deliberation it appears that I need to redo my actual drawings, this time focusing on the electrical aspect of the drawings. This will require me looking into how to best intrude upon the pre-existing electrical system, as well as how to have the piston create vibrations.  I was clearly not thrilled to hear this, but I feel that I will benefit from having the more detailed drawings, and they will translate into a more detailed plan.

Week of 10/12

This is a shortened week due to the holiday, so not as much can be expected to get done. I will be primarily working on tying up loose ends on my blog, and beginning the material phase for my model. Before I can pick the materials for my design, I must first take a closer look at materials I have chosen in my rationale report. Once I create a list of materials, I will begin gathering models.

Update 10/8

I have uploaded the pictures that I worked on all week. They can be viewed under the alternate solution label on the side of my blog. The majority of my week was spent completing these drawings, the completion of which signal my being caught up with the class. The next task will be to obtain materials for the model and then actually complete the model. Thank you.

Update 10/5

Yesterday I did the basic drawings for my alternate solutions. That is the only step I have left to do, and I will be caught up. Finally! It has required much more work than I anticipated but I am very impressed with how well I responded to the pressure. I look forward to moving forward with this project and can not wait to see what becomes of our little idea.

Week of 10/4

This week I will be focusing on gathering my materials, as noted in my calendar. However my main goal will be to polish off all of my information. I need to tighten up all of my old posts, go into more detail, edit some information and that is what I will be doing this week. As you may notice, this is under the label "GOW" which stands for "Goals of the Week." By writing out my goals at the beginning of the week, I feel I will have a more concentrated effort to complete them. Look for more GOW's!

Update 10/1

I have done a lot of work this week that I am very proud of. My partner and I have started behind our other peers, but we have been able to catch up quite nicely. I have finished my alternative solutions this week, as well as writing an extremely detailed rationale report that explains the final design and why I chose it. I have also been able to log twice this week, which is nice. The only thing I still have to do is to create the initial designs for the alternative solutions. The sketches I currently have are much too mundane to submit as official drawings. I need to make them more detailed, and I will be working on that next week a great deal. I am very proud of all the work that I've done and look forward to next week.

Rationale Report

The first idea I have for the design of our attachment is a system that actually integrates with the ice cream machine. It would create an additional six tubes in the machine that are filled with chocolate and rainbow sprinkles, respectively. This idea would undoubtedly be extremely efficient. The sprinkles would be infused into the ice cream while it was still in the refrigerated part of the machine, so there would be no loss of sprinkles. The tubes of the soft serve machine would be expanded to accommodate the sprinkles. This is a precaution that would prevent clogging in the machine. The nine tubes that run throughout the machine would meet at three larger tubes. These three tubes would then exit the soft serve machine. This is the basic body of the machine, but there would be many intricate pieces.

            The idea would require the creation of a new type of soft serve machine. Due to how a standard serve machine is created today, there would be no room for the introduction of six new pipes. The call for creating a new soft serve machine is obviously a daunting task to say the least, but it would guarantee the success of our device. So to determine whether or not this particular design is viable, we would need to evaluate the potential of a pure attachment. If it appears the attachment will work, then there really is no need to create an entirely new machine. We could just incorporate the old machine into our new system.

            The new machine would run on electricity. The electrical system, as well as how the electricity runs through the machine would be the same as soft serve machines are today. The electricity would power the moving of the pistons in the machine which would cause the compression of the back wall. The compressing of the back wall would create motion in the freezer component of the machine that would lead to the ice cream entering a large tube. The large tube would then meet a three way split. Depending on the type of ice cream the customer ordered, the ice cream would go through one of the tubes. It would then come out of the machine as it does today.

            The levers that would be on the outside of the machine would be different. The lever would be split in half, with the ability of each half of the lever to be pushed down. The options would be chocolate or rainbow. If the customer desired one of these options, the operator would simply push down the corresponding button. If no sprinkles were desired, they would just pull the lever down, resulting in pure ice cream. The pushing of the button would resulting the closing of two of the tubes that are within the machine. If no button was pushed, two would remain closed.

            The idea is obviously very complex. There are many benefits of creating a completely new machine, but the costs are seemingly insurmountable. We simply do not have the required resources to create a machine, nor do we have the knowledge. To put this idea into place, we would need to purchase an old machine, remove all of the components and recreate them to fit our purposes. As nice as that would be, it is not possible at this point and time. Nor would be trying to sell a new machine to ice cream facilities.

                                               
                                                      
                                                      
                                                         Imagery for Solution One

            The second viable solution would serve as an attachment to a soft serve ice cream machine. The device would be a portable supplement that could be added to a preexisting system, thus eliminating the need to create a new machine. The adaptability of this new design is what makes it so appealing. It would be compatible with the majority of soft serve ice cream machines that are available today. The design would need to have several openings, serving as an entrance and exit for the sprinkles in the machine. However, the opening on the top of the device would need to a size that matched the spigot of a soft serve machine. This would most likely force the top to be some sort of elastic device, such as latex or rubber.

            The attachment would basically be a shell, created in two pieces that would fit together. It would be a cylindrical device, with a slightly larger diameter in the middle, and tapering off to the ends. This would be done in order to maximize area in the device, to create the most efficient storage unit for the sprinkles. The device will encompass 360 degrees, creating complete coverage around the stream of ice cream that is entering the device, ensuring passable coating. The device would have a curved bottom that encouraged the sprinkles to leave the device and enter into the stream of ice cream. The curved bottom would give the sprinkles momentum as they left the device, would hopefully create penetration.

            The device would contain several moving parts that would respond when the attachment was put on the machine. They would not be electrically charged, but instead would be moved by the preexisting system. The first would be the release of the trap door bottom. This would be triggered by the attaching of the device to serve the ice cream. The top of the device would have an object sticking out, then when attached would push the bottom down, resulting in an opening at the end of the attachment. This opening would allow the ice cream to travel throughout.

            The next movable aspect of the device would be the doors that keep the sprinkles contained. When the lever is pulled down to serve the ice cream, it allows the doors to be pulled down and lets the sprinkles out of their container. This ensures that the sprinkles and the ice cream will meet at the same time in the attachment, preventing a waste of sprinkles or a lack of sprinkles on ice cream. When the lever is released, the button is also released and the doors cover up the slits created for the sprinkles once more. This system prevents the use of any outside technology or energy from being needed and will save a lot of effort and time for our group. It is efficient, ingenious, and sleek, which meets all of the standards our group has set forth.

            Finally is the electrical system that our group will be using for the attachment. It is a battery powered device that will cause vibrations in the chambers of the sprinkle container. These vibrations will trigger the sprinkles to fall into the lower level, and eventually slide out of the attachment and into the ice cream. There will be a switch used that will turn the device on and off. There will need to be compensations made to the top of the device to ensure the vibrations do not cause a collision between the stream and the attachment.

                                                          Imagery for Solution 2

Criteria	Design 1	Design 2	Explanation
Ease of Use	+	+	How easy would it be to attach
Aesthetical Appeal	+	+	Is it pleasing to the eye
Manufacturability	-	+	Could it be mass produced
Low Weight	-	+	Is it easy to move
Energy Efficiency	+	S	Is the power source viable
Safety	-	+	Will anyone get hurt
∑+	3	5	Total Pros
∑-	3	0	Total Cons
∑S	0	1	Total Neutrals
Net Score	0	5	Pros-Cons
Rank	2	1	Compared to Other
Continuation?	No	Yes	Keep Working?