P18433: Nicaragua Bottle Upcycling Product Design and Manufacturing

Problem Definition

Table of Contents

1 Team Vision for Problem Definition Phase
2 Project Summary
3 Use Cases
4 Project Goals and Key Deliverables
5 Customer Requirements (Needs)
6 Engineering Requirements (Metrics & Specifications)
7 Constraints
8 Equipment House of Quality
9 Product House of Quality
10 Benchmarking
11 Design Review Materials
12 Plans for next phase

Team Vision for Problem Definition Phase

It was the goal of our team to better define the end goal of our customer through customer interviews. Our initial project readiness package expressed a desire for a manufacturing process to use recycled bottles to create a product for the people of El Sauce, Nicaragua. The initial customer interview was used to confirm these desires as well as fill in any gaps in our project understanding.

The team meet with the representatives from The Enlace Project and Four Walls for the initial customer interview. Both parties made a point to mention that the manufacturing process that is to be created will primarily used to create jobs for at least one family in El Sauce, in addition to creating a product for use in homes constructed by Four Walls.

Project Summary

The current recycling process used in El Sauce, Nicaragua has lead to the a need in the El Sauce community for a manufacturing process to recycle plastic bottles into a usable product for the local citizens. A link to the full project summary can be found here.

Use Cases

Use Case Scenario from the bottle collection to end product use

Use Case Scenario for manufacturing process

Project Goals and Key Deliverables

A working prototype of a plastic melting and molding machine.
A manufacturing process to turn shredded plastic chips into an end product.
Detailed documentation of the design process.
Test data for the melting and molding process.

Customer Requirements (Needs)

Screenshot of Customer Requirements

The working Customer Requirements can be found here.

Engineering Requirements (Metrics & Specifications)

Screenshot of Engineering Requirements

The working Engineering Requirements can be found here.

Constraints

$500 project budget
Total machine size under 10'x10'
Components or subassemblies under 50 pounds
Use of 120 volts AC grid power
Meets Nicaragua equivalent of OSHA standards
Manufactured in El Sauce, Nicaragua

Equipment House of Quality

House of Quality Screenshot

A working Equipment House of Quality file can be found here.

Product House of Quality

Product House of Quality Screenshot

A working Product House of Quality file can be found here.

Benchmarking

Benchmarking Screenshot

A working Benchmarking file can be found here.

Design Review Materials

A full link to the Design Review Presentation can be found here. Be sure to review all of the above information in preparation for the design review, especially the full House of Quality. More information is shown in the full links than the screenshots for all of the above categories, which will be discussed in the design review.

The design review will be presented on September 14, 2017 at 12:20PM.