The ESC102 course challenged teams of four with identifying an engineering design problem in the Greater Toronto Area. Within the eight RFP’s given to self from, our team chose to aid individuals with arthritis in basketry in the Greater Toronto Area. Our opportunity was as follows: “The opportunity focuses on assisting elderly individuals with osteoarthritis within the Toronto Guild of Spinners and Weavers to make cordage-making less strenuous.”
Our process began with a critical reassessment of our project scope, redirecting our focus towards addressing the needs of osteoarthritis patients within the Toronto Guild of Spinners and Weavers. Additionally, we focused on the cordage-making process within the realm of basketry. This involved refining our requirements to better align with the stakeholders' current concerns and preferences. From this reevaluation and utilizing diverging tools that broaden our design space, three potential solutions emerged: the Braiding Spinner, Therapy Gloves, and a Gearbox. These options underwent rigorous stakeholder validation, with one stakeholder value, authenticity, proving particularly influential. This value dictated that the solution should not be overly automated, leading us to discard one of the proposed solutions following stakeholder feedback. The subsequent phase of our process involved numerous iterations aimed at optimizing the gear system of our chosen solution—the GearHub Cordage Compiler. Calculations were employed extensively to refine the design.
The GearHub consists of an external case and an ergonomic handle, attached to a gear rack. There is a large wheel and three gears within this system, with the large gear attached to one side of the reed and the other side of the reed attached to the smallest gear. One turn of the handle results in the small gear twisting the reed multiple times and the other side of the reed plying over it once. This mechanism quickens the process of cordage making, while eliminating the extensive force on the thumb joints and fine-motor motion.
Beta Release Presentation: Presentation that was delivered to stakeholders and TAs highlighting the engineering design process, user feedback, and final design decision.
Ian and Shirley Award Design Submission: This document presents the full design submission for the Ian and Shirley Rowe Innovation and Teamwork award, detailing the conception, development, and validation of our design, all within the needs of stakeholders and engineering standards. Ultimately, this demonstrates the importance of strong commitment to responsible engineering, emphasizing accessibility, reliability, and the real-world impact of design decisions.
