Empathize – A problem I recently discovered in my family was how my sister and I both only enjoy having thinly sliced apples instead of standard slices. I knew that my sister and I needed to eat more fruits, and we had never really enjoyed eating apples. My sister specifically never liked how apples had such a strange texture sometimes and would never eat apples when they were thinly sliced. When we would have apples we always would cut them into the regular thick slices so it was easier but she would never eat and enjoy eating them like that and it would always be more dangerous and time-consuming to make thinner cuts. This is why I decided to create this slicer guide that would help to cut thinly sliced fruits or vegetables, quicker and easier.
Define – My limitations when creating this were the fact that the 3D print material is not food safe therefore I would not be able to actually use it in reality. This is why I decided to make a much smaller version than I would’ve actually wanted. Also, there is the problem that all apples are not the same size and therefore I would have to make them bigger than the size of a standard apple. The same problem for knives as well, if a larger knife were to be used to make the design the apple slices would become much thinner or fewer slices. However, if a thinner/smaller knife was used then the slices could end up bigger. I also believe that the design could confuse many people as it may seem that the plastic part is supposed to slice the apple and that there is no need for a knife.
To build my prototype I needed to have the rough dimensions of a standard apple as well as the rough dimensions of a standard knife. However, since I am not able to use this since it is food safe the specific dimensions were not as important. If I was able to use this for apples, I would purchase a few apples that I usually have at home and measure their circumference when sliced in half. I would also probably measure the knife that I use the most and have those as the dimensions for my final print.
What did I build and why?
I build a veggie/fruit slicer so anyone who enjoys or needs thinly sliced fruits or vegetables can be able to cut them safer and quicker with ease. I think this would also speed up time when slicing things like onions for a soup or salad, or cucumbers for dipping. Although I originally designed this for my sister, I think it is so universal in the culinary world since it is so simple and easy. It can also help people who maybe cannot hold a knife steady enough or are scared of accidentally cutting themselves.
What did you learn during the process? What were some of the challenges? What were some of the learning moments?
I learned that using the 3D printer and all the steps up to it can seem fairly simple however sometimes can be quite challenging. Before this project, I have never used a 3D printer on my own before and it was a really exciting and confusing assignment to do. A big challenge I had was trying to make sure this physically worked and it took a lot of trial and error before making sure the final design made sense and was accurate to my drawing. I learned how to splice and use tinkercad for the first time which was really fun, I had to look up some different tips and tricks and actually ended up making some other really cool designs on my own time. I learned that when the 3D printer adds supports it can become pretty frustrating to get them off without damaging the design itself. Personally, I made my design a bit too thin at some points which ended up breaking off when I took the supports off however it was still really fun to see how the 3D printer built up to making my design a reality.
If you could do it all again, what would change? What could be improved? Dream…
If I could do it all again, I think I would’ve tried and communicated better with Mrs. Henderson ahead of time to see if our plastic was food-safe. I would’ve also looked more carefully at the dome in the top piece of my project and thought about how low down it goes before I printed it. I would change the fact that I made the edges of the top piece so thin that they could so easily break off if there was a knife pushed against it. I could improve my dimensions, even though I made a much smaller version, I wish that I had made it more to the scale of what I would have actually wanted to make if it could be used. I still hope that I will be able to use my design for non-food-related slicing such as art and clay projects in the future.