DIY Design and Fabrication (24-672)

Project 3

Objective: Create a clay model of an ergonimic grip improvement on an existing product.
For this project, I built a grip for a garden shovel to provide a handhold for the lower hand.

Design Process

In the past, I used to grow my own vegetables in my garden. Over the course of a few years, I planted 20+ vegetables. To prepare the soil for planting, I spent a good deal of time digging holes in the ground. One thing I noticed is how difficult it was to keep my hands on the shovel during use. My hands were only able to leverage friction with the shovel shaft without a real handle to push against. To start off the design proces, I first started with some concept sketches. I envisioned some type of grip to push against with my thumb.

From this starting point, I drew some more complete sketches to finalize my idea. I envisioned a round thumbgrip for my hand to push against, as well as finger grips for my other fingers. I designed the finger grips to be able to be used with either hand.

Following these sketches, I created a marker render as my final concept piece.

Fabrication

Following my sketchwork, I moved on to the clay modeling. To simulate a shovel shaft without the need for using a real shovel, I used a piece of PVC pipe. This also provided me with a buck to shape my clay onto.

I started by creating the rough bell shape for thumbgrip. The cavity is designed to cradle the thumb and forefinger and provide a good surface to push against. The bell is designed to be thick enough to support the thumb grip so it is strong enough to withstand high forces. After I had a rough shape for the bell, I then added material on the buck for the finger grips.

After I had applied all the necessary material and had a rough shape, I focused on doing some basic smoothing and adding the indentations for the fingers. I then focused on finishing the surfaces using clay tools to create a smooth surface.

After I was satisfied with the smoothness and uniformity of the grip, I then did some detail work to better define the edges and contours. I then polished the surfaces using the sponge.

After this, my part was complete!