Design Brief
A comprehensive design project to redesign an existing product with a pneumatic principle, focusing on incremental innovation in a specific market segment. Develop an user-centred innovative design, significantly altering the product form for a particular target market.
Process: Research, Problem, Concepts, User Testing, Solution, Manufacturing
THE PROBLEM
Food waste and spoilage are issues in the majority of households. From buying too much food, cooking too much, or not storing it correctly; food waste in Canada has caused 6.9 million tonnes of equivalent CO2 emissions. Canadians are throwing out foods that could have been avoidable and eaten. According to the National Zero Waste Council, in 2022, 63% of food Canadians waste could have been eaten. This means that the average Canadian household throws away 140 kilograms of food per year - costing more than $1,300 per year.
VACUUM SEALING AS A SOLUTION
Vacuum packaging is the best way to protect and store food. Vacuum-packed products can make foods last 3 to 5 times longer, preserve freshness, prevent bacteria growth, protect food from freezer burns, and saves money and storage space.
The most important factor is that it extends the “best-before date” of a given product. The shelf life can increase longer depending on if it is stored in the refrigerator, freezer, or pantry. Frozen foods can last an average of 2-3 years vs. 6-12 months. Refrigerated foods will last for 1-2 weeks rather than 1-3 days. All-in-all, due to the elimination of oxygen in food packaging, vacuum-sealed foods can eliminate the avoidable food waste.
This project aims to target incremental innovations that will improve a pneumatic product. Existing vacuum sealers use a pneumatic principle because it moves air from one location to another by compressing it. It is a reverse action that allows for the suction of air instead of outward air pressure. The objective is to design an incremental innovative vacuum sealer that still includes all of its food preservation benefits. This vacuum sealer aims to be more economical, compact, powerful, improves usability, and is environmentally friendly. It will be multi-functional and be the first vacuum sealer and blower combination. The air blower will act as a dryer for various uses in the kitchen.
USER TESTING SETUP
The user testing phase was set up to easily instruct the participants on what components of the project needed to be tested. Instructions and the same narrative were scripted for each participant so that there was little to no bias when note-taking results and comments were suggested.
The first test was the favourability of the valve "location" on the vacuum sealer bags. Which one was better? A center valve? or a corner valve?
The second test was using cardboard prototypes to test the compatibility of each nozzle and which hand placement was most comfortable with each valve type. These options compared a straight-tip nozzle, a side-body nozzle, and a nozzle with a curved handle.
The third test was composed of multiple small tests using foam prototypes. There were four foam prototype options: A square-rectangular prism with a tip-embedded nozzle, a tapered cylindrical with a side-embedded nozzle, a compact side-held body with an extruded nozzle, and a cylindrical handle with a tapered tip-extruded nozzle.
The smaller tests included testing each prototypes:
| Ergonomics, aesthetics, and shape
| Compatibility with the vacuum sealer bags (functionality)
| Embedded? or Extruded Nozzle?
| Part 1: Ranking from favourite to least favourite
| Part 2: Possible Button Placements
USER TESTING RESULTS
At this point of the design, it was decided that the foam prototype with the tapered-tip extruded nozzle was the general form to move forward with. And that the corner valve was more cost-effective and allow for a better flow of air. But, after relooking at the models, continuously sketching, and getting more feedback from various users, we were confused with the capability of the new design nozzle that feeds an edge corner valve. The nozzle has a slit at the top of the device that would feed the corner of the plastic bag to allow for the suction of air. But how was this feasible? How could the slit allow a gap to suck the air out of the bag? How was the corner valve supposed to seal? Would it still be a reusable bag? All these questions occurred when this question was asked: What is the real benefit of this new design vs. the pressurized nozzle that sits on a one-way sticker valve? From this point, I decided to do one more model that was 3D printed to see how user-friendly and feasible it was to feed the corner valve into the nozzle slit.
DESIGN RE-EVALUATION
The 3D-printed model was a success. But the lingering question was: Is this innovative nozzle making a great difference and benefitting anything? After consultation with a few more users and trying to find solutions on how to manufacture the nozzle and the corner valve, the manufacturing process was way too delicate and costly. From there, it was concluded that unfortunately, we had to let go of the innovative nozzle. We believe this prototype allowed for a realization to move forward. This design was not feasible and after long contemplation, re-evaluation was done to focus more heavily on the main innovation: the first all-in-one, vacuum sealer, and blower.
LOOKS LIKE MODEL
This is the final physical model. It was all 3D printed. Most of the parts were made out of PLA filament. The exceptions were the liquid collection which used a clear PLA and the nozzle which used TPU to mimic a rubber material. Once, all the parts were printed the compatibility between fittings was tested. Everything looked right, so the parts went onto sanding, filling the gaps with putty and sanding once more to get a clean smooth surface. The parts were then primed. Matte black and silver were airbrushed onto the model where necessary. Inside the model, there is modeling clay along the walls to make it weighted to represent the weight of the internal components. Lastly, all the parts were glued together to keep everything secured. A nylon rope was added to represent the hose and can be retracted from the bottom of the dock to make it “works-like”.
