PAQvaqDESIGN REPORT

PAQvaqDESIGN REPORT

PART I: DESIGN PROCESS

STAGE 1: PRE-PROJECT PLANNING

STAGE 2: DEFINING CUSTOMER NEEDS

STAGE 3: SETTING SPECIFICATIONS

STAGE 4: CONCEPT GENERATION

STAGE 5: CONCEPT SELECTION

STAGE 6: CONCEPT TESTING

STAGE 7: PRODUCT LAYOUT

STAGE 8: DESIGN PROCESS

STAGE 9: PROTOTYPING

PART II: ENGINEERING DRAWINGS

STAGE 1: PRE-PROJECT PLANNING

Opportunities and Project Selection

The first step of the project was to decide what product to create and what audience to target.

MEETING #1 (Feb. 26, 2015): Brainstorming

Before our first meeting we separately came up with different ideas and came together to decide which one to choose, our list of ideas is:

Idea Pros Cons

Mechanical Arm Wrestling Training Device

Original, not currently in market

Very limited demand

Changes to Existing Gym Equipment

Demand for more comfortable equipment

Very limited changes to actually be made

Assisted Squat Machine for Elderly and Obese Users

Helps build muscles needed to get out of chairs and gain/maintain independence for users that may otherwise not be able to do squat exercises

Product already exists in most forms, not very much to innovate

Compressible Bags for Light Camping

High demand for lightweight and compact equipment for light backcountry camping, (places only accessible by bike/foot/kayak)

Two-Wheeled Drive Bikes Highly complexWeighted shoes to replace ankle weights to reduce stress on ankles

Not convinced it would actually reduce stress on ankles and would make running flat footed

Skydiving Equipment Up and coming market High risk

By the end of our meeting we decided we would choose Compressible Light Camping (CLC) Bags for our product as it is a product that is in demand and can be improved, has no major reasons against it and is an area we already have some experience in.

Mission Statement

Product Description:A human-powered, compressible bag for storing items in a smaller space for camping trips

Primary Market: Serious Light Campers (Backcountry campers who travel by kayak/bike)

Secondary Market:Casual Campers and Cyclists

Assumptions:Human Powered and Lightweight

STAGE 2: DEFINING CUSTOMER NEEDS

Researching Customer Needs

SURVEY & RESEARCH PERIOD (Feb. 27 – March 4, 2015)

Between Meeting #1 and Meeting #2, we created survey questions and asked them at various locations. Our survey sheet asked for qualitative values from customers so we could understand their needs to convert them into quantitative values.

Survey Questionnaire:

1. What items do you bring the most of when you go camping?

2. How long of trips do you typically take?

3. How much equipment do you bring with you on your trips?

4. What would you need a vacuum bag to do the most for you on trips?

Survey responses from the Westboro region of Ottawa at camping equipment stores:

Staff at Trail Head Outfitters, Ottawa

1. For compressible bags, only down material goes into compressible bags.2. From experience with helping customers he says it varies too much to say. 3. The most common size they sell is the 20L volume one. 

4. He mentioned that a compatibility between these bags and air mattresses may be useful.

Staff at MEC, Ottawa

1. Any solid, non-compressible items (camp stove, etc.) do not go in compressible bags. Compressible bags usefulness is limited to down and simulated down materials (sleeping bag and warm clothes).

2. Typically, the length of trips only changes how much food you take, not the warm clothes or sleeping bag which would be compressed.

3. A variety of sizes is important, as their uses vary. For superlight camping (when all you bring are your own two feet), compressible bags are not even used, you just use the empty space around your irregular shaped objects in a regular pack. So when these bags are used (for general light camping, canoe/kayak/bike/car) even as an individual, he will use a lot of different sizes, depending on the trip but he likes to have a variety available so he can plan to bring the lightest weight possible.

4. It needs to be waterproof and lightweight for sure. But most important is durable, he has broken compressible bags that claim to be (and are) lighter than the rest, but was not strong enough to compress as much as he wanted and since you have nothing else to hold your stuff in when you are back on a trail, he is glad it happened when he was packing before the trip started. He also mentioned that air mattresses and compressible bags that used the same mechanism to compress would be useful as air mattresses typically will not compress all the way properly. He made sure to mention that no one wants to bring any additional components/mechanisms to compress things.

Research of Existing Products:

Outdoor Research Ultralight Compression Sack

Very lightweight Waterproof Durable

Uses ropes to compress the bag Air permeable membrane to release the air Circular shaped to be compatible with backpacks

Sea to Summit Compression

Sack

20 L volume Lightweight (94 g) Silicon Coated (Waterproof) Uses ropes to compress the bag Air permeable membrane to release the air Circular shaped to be compatible with backpacks

Defining Customer Needs

MEETING #2 (March 5, 2015)

The next step was to translate the needs of the customer into more direct terms for design.

Customer Statement Interpreted Need

Typical Uses Bring on light camping trips to pack sleeping bag and other down materials

The bag can hold compressible down and synthetic down materials

There must be a variety of sizes, as the size needed for different trips varies

The bag can be produced in many sizes

Likes with current designIt needs to be waterproof

The bag protects the contents from water

It needs to be lightweightThe bag is not heavier than other CLC bags

Dislikes with current design Some bags trade off durability for lightweightness, I have ripped some

The bag does not rip when being compressed

Suggested Improvements It would be useful to deflate air mattresses as well

The bag can deflate an air mattress

I don’t want to bring any extra things

The bag is not heavier than other CLC bags

Other needs based of off competitor’s products: The bag is compatible with current backpacks The bag is machine washable

Other needs based of off our production capabilities: The bag is low cost The bag is simple to manufacture

Converting Needs to Metrics

List of Needs

No. Need Importance

1 The bag can hold compressible down and synthetic down materials 5

2 The bag can be produced in many sizes 3

3 The bag protects the contents from water 5

4 The bag does not rip when being compressed 5

5 The bag can deflate an air mattress 3

6 The bag is not heavier than other CLC bags 4

7 The bag is compatible with current backpacks 5

8 The bag is machine washable 1

9 The bag is low cost 2

10 The bag is simple to manufacture 4

List of Metrics

No. Need Nos. Metric Importance Units

1 1,2 Compression ratio 4 L

2 3 Waterproof rating 5 IP

3 4 Fabric yarn thickness 5 Denier

4 5 Method to attach air mattress 3

5 6 Mass 4 g

6 7 Shape 5

7 8Number of non machine washable part

attached directly to bag1

8 9 Cost 2 CAD$

9 10 Hours to construct/assemble 4 Hrs.

Need-Metrics Matrix

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Com

pres

sion

Rat

io

Wat

erpr

oof R

atin

g

Fab

ric Y

arn

Thi

ckne

ss

Met

hod

to a

ttach

air

mat

tres

s

Mas

s

Sha

pe

# of

non

mac

hine

was

habl

e pa

rt

atta

ched

dire

ctly

to b

ag

Cos

t

Hou

rs to

con

stru

ct/a

ssem

ble

1 can hold compressible down materials 2 can be produced in many sizes

3 protects the contents from water 4 does not rip when being compressed 5 can deflate an air mattress 6 is not heavier than other CLC bags 7 is compatible with current backpacks 8 is machine washable 9 is low cost 10 is simple to manufacture

STAGE 3: SETTING SPECIFICATIONS

Specifications

No. Metric Restriction Units Reason

1 Compression ratio at least 20:5 L To match competition

2 Waterproof rating greater than 7 IP

Product is to be used in kayaks, and must resist water when submerged

(an IP rating of 7)

3 Fabric yarn thickness 40 Denier30D is known to rip in competitors’ products.

4 Method to attach air mattress 1 Customer Demand

5 Mass less than 110 gTo ensure we weigh no

more than the competition products

6 Shape circular Compatibility

7Number of non machine washable

part attached directly to bag0

To ensure machine washability

8 Cost less than 25 CAD$ To match competition

9 Hours to construct/assemble less than 1 Hrs.

STAGE 4: CONCEPT GENERATION

MEETING #3 (March 12, 2015)

Black Box Model

Input VAQ-

PAQ

OutputEnergy (Human Powered) Energy (Stored)Material (Compressible Material) Material (Compressed Material)

Subproblem Solutions

To Generating Input Energy

Linear Hand Pump Breathing Rope to force air out of bag Pull Cord Pump

To Storing Energy as Compressed Bag

Vacuum Seal Rope/Straps Elastics

INDIVIDUAL DESIGN PERIOD (March 13-19, 2015)Design Sketches

STAGE 5: CONCEPT SELECTION

Selection Matrix

ConceptsSelection Criteria A1

Vane Pump

A2

Diaphragm Pump

BPush/Pull

Top

CRigid Piston

PumpDurability - - 0 +

Less to Bring - - + 0

Vacuum Pressure - 0 0 +

Waterproof 0 0 0 0

Machine Wash* 0 0 - 0

Cost - - + 0

Ease of Use + + - 0

Ease of Manufacturing - - + 0

Sum +’s 1 1 3 2

Sum 0’s 2 3 3 6

Sum –‘s 5 4 2 0

Net Score -4 -3 +1 +2

Rank 4 3 2 1

Continue? No No

Yes and

Combine

Yes and

Combine

*Applies to the fabric/bag itself, not expecting pumps to be machine washable

Concepts A1 and A2 have very negative scores and run the potential of more harm to consumer needs than benefit, and are therefore eliminated from the design.

The benefits of designs B and C are for different customer needs, this means that a combination of the two may have the most benefits of any possible design idea so far. This led to the creation and sketch of design BC.

Revised Selection Matrix

Bag/Pump Systems ConceptB

Push/Pull TopC

Rigid PistonBC

Slinky Piston Selection Criteria Weight

Relative Rank by Percentage

Relative Rank by Percentage

Relative Rank by Percentage

Durability 15% 10 15 12

Less to Bring 20% 18 10 14

Vacuum

Pressure23% 12 23 21

Waterproof 5% 4 4 4

Machine Wash 3% 0 3 3

Cost 6% 6 2 4

Ease of Use 18% 13 18 16

Ease of

Manufacture10% 9 5 7

Total Score

72 80 81

Rank 3 2 1

Continue? No No Develop

The Slinky Piston Pump has the benefits of being lightweight and easy to manufacture like the Push/Pull Top design, and has the benefits of being easy to use, manufacture and create a vacuum like the Rigid Piston Pump.

The Slinky Piston Pump design is dependent on one way valves as well, so a matrix was constructed to compare these as well.One-Way Valves Concept

Ball Valve Butterfly Valve Flap ValveSelection Criteria Weight

Relative Rank by Percentage

Relative Rank by Percentage

Relative Rank by Percentage

Durability 20% 10 20 18

Cost 30% 30 16 20

Lightweight 10% 2 8 8

Ease of

Manufacture40% 19 40 12

Total Score 58 84 58

Rank 2 1 2

Continue? No Develop No

STAGE 6: CONCEPT TESTING

Concept Testing GoalThe goal of our concept testing was to determine if development should continue with the chosen concept (whether it actually targets our audience), and what improvements can be made.

Concept Testing Survey & ResultsA survey was designed and posted on a Facebook group for a period of 2 days to gather information from engineering students who participate in camping. Qualifying questions are used to make sure we are surveying the correct target audience, while concept specific questions find responses about the product itself.

Qualifying Questions Concept Specific Questions

Survey was conducted using SurveyMonkey.com.

Other questions asked in the survey were:

If you answered no to question 4, why not?

Feedback: It depends on the size of the pump, but for portaging is not really necessary to have any new fancy equipment. The classics work fine.

How might we change this product to be more appealing?

Feedback: Needs to be compatible with air mattresses.

Feedback: Offer it in more colours.

The feedback shows that some consumers, especially in the camping market are still skeptical about bringing an additional pump but will accept it if it small, lightweight and compatible with air mattresses, which is the target goal. It also shows that a variance in colour and size is beneficial, so we will ensure that this is possible in the final design.

Quantity of products to sell (in Ontario)

Q=N∗A∗P

N=1265978 Campers in Ontario (OMNR, 2010)

A=0.5

P=Cdefinitely∗Fdefinitely+Cprobably∗F probably (From SurveyMonkey survey)

P=0.4∗0.69+0.2∗0.07=0.29

Therefore,

Q=1265978∗0.5∗0.29=183500

The market for our compressible bags in Ontario is to approximately 183 500 campers.

STAGE 7: PRODUCT LAYOUT

PERT Chart

This PERT chart demonstrates our one-week timeline plan to complete the project after selecting the concept to completion. The critical path is shown with bolded arrows.

Clustered Product Schematic

ValvePumpBag

Seal Bag

Remove air from bag

Connect pump and bag

Keep pump in linear shape

Allow air into pump but not back into bag

One way air entry

Allow materials to enter bag

Geometric Layout

Fundamental and Incidental Interactions

There are no visible incidental interactions between the bag and the other components, but it may be possible to pump too vigorously and add stress to the one way valves.

Possible stress from exaggerated pumping

Valve PumpBag

STAGE 8: DESIGN PROCESS

Manufacturing

During the design process, ease of manufacturing was given a level of priority, which was reflected with heavy importance weights in our concept selection matrices, and followed through into the concept design by making sure our design was easy to assemble using non-specialized machines.

The manufacturing process is designed to be simple and can be assembled by hand without the need for large scale equipment.

The bag can be made from large sheets of 40D siliconized nylon cut into shape using an automatic fabric cutter. The sheets can then be placed on a CNC sewing machine where they will form cylindrical shapes.

The pump itself is composed of two molded pieces of rubber which also form one way valves on either end to create a pump. It is lined with a nylon tube (made of same fabric as the bag) for a wall and is supported on the inside by a stretchable polyethylene coil. These parts glue and snap into place so they are easy to assemble.

Economics

Only three materials are used, nylon fabric, molded rubber and string. All of these components are low cost. This was factored into the design of the product by keeping the design simple and having cost as a major factor in our design matrices.

Ergonomics

Our product is designed to make moving easier by taking up less space, and the pump is made to be within comfortable arm moving distance. Because it does not attach to the body, it can be used by anyone without modification.

STAGE 9: PROTOTYPING

Prototyping Process

Divided into two stages, Prototype #1 and Prototype #2.

Prototype #1 allowed us to build a physical representation of our design, and highlighting key aspects that, although worked on paper, did not work, or could be improved greatly in the physical world.

Prototype #2 added what we knew would have to change in order to make the product work most efficiently. Any other issues are recorded and can be changed in the design before the product is sent for manufacturing.

Prototyping Pictures

Prototype #1

Lining the inside of the slinky with duct tape

Wrapping an external layer ofduct tape

We now have a compact, air tight pump, with a top and bottom with butterfly valves constructed from duct tape

Prototype #2

The butterfly valves were replaced with a new design, created by placing duct tape across the top of a bottle, and clamping a stretched balloon over the top, with alternating holes. Air can pass through when pushing against the balloon, but when air flow is the opposite direction the balloon is pulled against the duct tape

The outside of the pump was made as just a cylinder and the slinky was put inside

Top and bottom cardboard circles were added with “bottle cap” valves attached to complete the pump

Prototyping Validation Data

Prototype #1

Validated

Slinky is effective support structure

Revision

Needs Revision RevisionCurrent Butterfly Valves do not form seal Switched to a “Bottle cap” one-way valve

systemIntertwining the slinky and the air bag of the pump makes it hard to create a good seal

Make and air tight bag, with a slinky inside for support, but not attached to it

Prototype #2

Validated

Slinky is effective support structure “Bottle cap” valves offer light one way valve system 6 inch pump offers enough vacuum to deflate 10 L bag

Improvements for Final Design

Needs Improvement ImprovementPump needs to be pumped in both directions (inefficient for user)

Add elastics to inside of pump to pull it closed

Revise valves to make them more efficient Using materials more suited for a seal

References

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (2010), Park Statistics 2010. Retrieved from http://www.ontarioparks.com/pdf/statistics/2010_park_statistics.pdf

Outdoor Research (2015), Ultralight Compression Sack. Retrieved from http://www.outdoorresearch.com/en/ultralight-compr-sack-5l.html

Sea to Summit (2015), Ultra-Sil Compression Sack. Retrieved from http://www.seatosummit.com/product/?item=Ultra-Sil%26reg%3B+Compression+Sack&o1=0&o2=0&o3=158-36