Electric Toothbrush Re-designFebruary

22, 2013

Mike DeLancey

Molly Streiff

Emily Evanchak

Kenan Sindi

Outline

• Customer Needs

• External Search

• Concept Generation

• Concept Selection

• Final Design

Project Management

Hierarchal Customer Needs List

From our initial problem statement, the team had

the goal of making the toothbrush as reusable as

possible. After taking the surveys of toothbrush

users, however, we found that the most important

thing they are looking for is cost and then aesthetic

appeal . The new goal of the design is to make the

electric toothbrush as cost friendly to the consumer

as possible. The reusability was also found to be

important in a consumer’s decision to purchase a

toothbrush.

Revised Problem Statement

External Search Activities• Patent Search

• Product Archaeology

• Benchmarking

Features Oral-B AdvancePower 400

Arm & Hammer Spinbrush Pro Clean

Philips Sonicare Xtreme E3000

Oral-B 3D White Action

Brushpoint Vital Health Sonic Power

Cost $12.99 $17.75 $29.97 $16.97 $11.99

Appealing Ergonomically designed with a non-slip grip

Comes in blue & red

Contoured ergonomic shape

Blue thin design

Metallic blue slim handle design

Reusability

Replaceable tops – 2 AA batteries

Replaceable tops – rechargeable batteries

Replaceable tops – 2 AA batteries

Replaceable tops – rechargeable batteries

Replaceable tops – 1 AA battery

Size (L x W x H)

(7 x 4 x 2in) (3.25 x 4.5 x 11.0in)

(10.2 x 1.0 x 1.25in)

(8.858 x 2.244 x 3.11in)

(9.45 x 4.33 x 2.28in)

Special Features

1- indicator bristles2- interdental tip bristles

1- Duel brushing2- Micro-cleaning bristles3- compact charging base

1- 2-mins timer2- adjustable head3- safe to use with braces/brackets4- patented sonic technology

1- rubberized bristles2- action cup brush head3- dual brushing

1- floss heads2- sulcus tips3- gum stimulator4- sonic power cleaning

Brush Head

Ninja Turtle Head. Kid Friendly/Turtle

Lovers/Karate Specialists.

Dual cleaning technology

Rotates one direction on the outside and the opposite on the inside.

Standard rotating head with tongue cleaners

Top section spins and bottom section shakes

Body Design

Square base, can stand upright

Has pointed end and slimmer body

Grip wrapped around toothbrush with side of brush

ribbed to perfectly fit hand

Tongue cleaner, grip wrapped around sides and back, body same width as neck

Bubbled body with grip wrapped around body with

tiny circles on it as extra grip

Power Generation

Chargeable base that plugs into wall with cord and store

toothbrush.

Chargeable base that plugs into wall

Energy Mechanism for Brush Head

Rotating GearsSpring loaded lever that flips down, rotating mechanism pushes lever up. Creates a back and forth rotating motion

Morphological Chart

Morphological Chart

Criteria for Concept Selection

  Comparison Criteria

Evaluated

Appealing SizeSpecial Features

Reusability Cost Total Weight

Appealing 1.00 7.00 5.00 3.00 0.20 16.20 0.27

Size 0.14 1.00 0.20 0.20 0.11 1.65 0.03

Special Features

0.20 5.00 1.00 0.33 0.14 6.68 0.12

Reusability 0.33 5.00 3.00 1.00 0.20 9.53 0.16

Cost 5.00 9.00 7.00 5.00 1.00 27.00 0.42

Table 4. AHP Table

Pugh Charts:Brush Head Design

Appealing Size Special features

Reusability

Cost Sum Rank

Relative Weight 0.27 0.03 0.12 0.16 0.42

Concepts:

Ninja Turtle +1 -1 +1 0 -1 0.06 6

Dual Cleaner +1 +1 +1 0 +1 0.84 1

Double Rotator +1 +1 -1 0 +1 0.72 2

Standard w/ Tongue Cleaner

+1 +1 +1 0 -1 0.42 4

Double Head - - - - - 0 5

Giraffe Head +1 -1 -1 0 +1 0.54 3

Appealing Size Special features

Reusability Cost Sum Rank

Relative Weight

0.27 0.03 0.12 0.16 0.42

Concepts:

Spring Loaded

- - - - - 0 2

Gears +1 -1 +1 +1 +1 0.94 1

Pugh Charts:Energy Mechanism for Brush Head

Appealing Size Special features Reusability Cost Sum Rank

Relative Weight 0.27 0.03 0.12 0.16 0.42

Concepts:

Pointed End +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 1 1

Grip Hand Fit +1 +1 +1 -1 -1 -0.16 6

Bubble Body +1 -1 +1 +1 -1 0.1 4

Square Base - - - - - 0 5

Standard w/ Tongue Cleaner

-1 +1 -1 +1 +1 0.22 2

Giraffe Body +1 +1 +1 +1 -1 0.16 3

Pugh Charts:Body Design

Appealing Size Special features

Reusability Cost Sum Rank

Relative Weight 0.27 0.03 0.12 0.16 0.42

Concepts:

Plug in Charger +1 +1 +1 -1 +1 0.68 3

Chargeable Base +1 -1 +1 +1 +1 0.94 1

Bottom Button Cap

-1 -1 -1 -1 +1 -0.16 6

Two AA Batteries

- - - - - 0 5

Single AA Battery

+1 +1 -1 -1 +1 0.44 4

Two AAA Batteries

+1 +1 -1 +1 +1 0.76 2

Pugh Charts:Power Generation

Sketch and Details of Final Design

CAD drawings of final design

How does it work?

• Chargeable Station

• Electrical Energy is transformed into Chemical and then Mechanical Energy

• Gears turn the brush head

Concluding remarksEach part of our re-design was specifically selected based on..

• Cost

• Aesthetics

• Reusability

• size

• special features

KEY DISCOVERY: Perfection is possible.