Engineering Drawings
Prototype Photographs
Prototype Functionality & Solution
The team has created a functional prototype of a hanger for one-armed users. The hanger can be used both on and off the closet bar for a seamless and smooth hanging experience. The structure of the hangers accommodates square closet bars. This was done to prevent back-and-forth swinging so that user does not struggle when clothes are hung. The hanger is also slide-able in the lateral direction to allow for easy and quick access to the rest of the closet. The team believes this hanger will facilitate the process of hanging clothes in a more efficient and effective way than traditional hanging methods.
Team Reflection
For this phase of the project, the team created their first functional prototype. The team believes we learned a lot from this phase, especially the iterative process of design. First, we created drawings of the hanger we wanted to create, then we brainstormed the constraints of our product and the various mechanisms to facilitate the process. We wanted the hanger to be easy and intuitive to use for both one-armed and two-armed users. It must be usable both on and off the closet bar. Furthermore, the hanger must be easily attached and removed. It cannot swing back and forth, yet must be slide-able laterally to allow easy access to other parts of the closet. The team went to the workshop to begin working on the physical prototype. First, we created a simple hanger that we bent from a wire metal hanger. The “hook” of the hanger was bent into a square configuration to accommodate square closet bars. The team did this to prevent the hanger from swinging back and forth when hanging clothes. However, this does not fix the hanger to the bar which still allows for lateral sliding. We experienced issues with sliding as friction prevented a smooth transition. As a result, the team designed a wheel mechanism attached to the hook of the hanger (see above photos). This would allow lateral sliding without major conflicts with friction. While this initial prototype was functional, the team found that with use, the wire hanger had a tendency to bend. The team responded by choosing different materials for the hanger. Next, we experimented with making the hanger out of PVC pipe. The team found that while the structure of the PVC hanger was sturdy, clothes would slide off of the hanger due to the smooth surface and steep shoulder angle of the PVC pipe. PVC as a material may be good but PVC pipe segments require too much assembly and would not be ideal for mass production. Next, the team created another hanger cut out of wood. We were inspired by Dr. Lilly’s lecture on the Macbook Unibody as the wooden hanger required no assembly. The wooden hanger appeared to be the most successful; while the rough texture of the wood would not allow clothes to slide on very easily, they were less likely to slide off. In addition, the structure of the hanger prevented it from swinging back and forth. However, the team did run into an issue with sliding the hanger laterally. To resolve this issue, we attached a glass stone to the bottom of the hook to reduce the friction between the hanger and the closet bar. Moving forward, the team believes we can successfully create a final working prototype. Some concerns include the team’s optimum material choice, minimizing cost while maximizing reliability through construction and manufacture, as well as accommodating for cylindrical closet bars. Furthermore, we hope to incorporate modular functions to the finished hanger to accommodate for different types of clothing.