Week 10 Update: Completion, Presentation, and Future Work

This week, the project was completed. Though a few of the features we planned to include at the initiation of the project have since been omitted, the final product operates similarly to how we had initially intended it to. The video below showcases the final product.

 

 Video 1. The firing sequence from start to finished (no audio)

Once it was determined that the final device be left as it were, work began on assembling the materials required to deliver a comprehensive presentation of our work. Below is a brief assembly animation of the entire device that will be included in our presentation.

Video 2. Comprehensive assembly animation

The cost of the project was $80.74. However, a significant portion of the budget was used to customize parts (such as the air gun) and some of the expenses covered costs that are external to the design itself (such as shipping and tools like the air pump). It’s estimated that if mass produced in a factory, the cost of the design could be as low as $30. But prior to mass manufacturing this product, a number of changes and enhancements that are beyond the scope of this product can be foreseen. Firstly, the design can be made smaller so as to make it more compact and handy. The PVC tank can be replaced with other smaller, standardized, more pressurized canisters that can easily be replaced. Additionally, an aiming mechanism (such as telescopic sighting) can be added to the design to increase its accuracy. The materials used in the design (such as the polyethylene bag) may also be reconsidered and replaced to optimize the effectiveness of the design. Finally, the mechanisms of the design can be rethought with respect to other applications. For those who wish to capture insects without injuring them, a padded, soft adhesive tip can be design. The materials of the product could also be redesigned to turn the product into a novelty toy. A larger, automated, mechanical version of the design could also be potentially used in factory lines to remove certain products that are defective or that will be examined for control testing. For this application, the shooting mechanism can be replaced with an automated impulse force generator as was considered by a prior project.