Day 2: Creating our design in Solidworks

So now we get into the complicated stuff. We're working with a program called Solidworks to design our bottle openers and then cut them out in plastic using a laser cutter. So far, this is what we have:

 This is the zero and a small part of the one. Obviously, we have a lot of work to do still. More to come later!

Day 1 Continued

As promised, here are pictures of our foam models:

Day 1: Bottle Openers

First day of class!

Our assignment was to design a bottle opener. We were given every creative liberty, all it has to do is work. Fabulous! My partner and I got to work.

 

This was the first thing that popped into my head. It's very poorly drawn (my art skills are admittedly sub-par) but I think it gets the idea across. Ideally, it would be more circular, and the opening in the top-right ring would be bigger for the bottle top. It's a nice idea for a cool key chain bottle opener, but unfortunately I don't think that the plastic we will be using to make these openers will be strong enough for this design to be effective.

These are quick sketches of other ideas that popped into my head: a swan, a shark, and a dinosaur. I am most fond of the shark, and I REALLY want to make it so I can use it. It's awesome.

My partner and I brainstormed "school spirit" bottle openers, and this is what we came up with. I think we are going with the 2014 design, because it will end up being a tad more robust than "BLUE."

We came up with this design after consulting other groups. I don't think anything particular inspired it, but it certainly has a goofy charm we can't resist. We've cut out a foam model already (pictures to follow).