What have we learned from the design process and fabrication?
The design was well fitted to the syringe and all the components worked as we had anticipated. The relatively low accuracy of the Type A printers meant that the tolerances had to be accounted for in the CAD files, such as increasing inner diameters since holes usually print with a smaller diameter than designed. During final assembly, we should have implemented a better alignment technique when attaching the digital calipers to the body as it was slightly out of alignment.
What refinements would we make for a new iteration?
If we were to make a new iteration of the design, as mentioned above, the syringe and the body would be more accurately aligned. We also wished to create the body using the Carbon 3D printer, however this was not possible due to a recent software update causing prints to become warped, and so we had to settle for the type-A 3D printers.
What challenges would there be with scaling to the market size?
When scaling up to our envisaged market size, we feel our biggest issue will be accuracy and tolerances of the syringe itself. The volume measured in a syringe has a large dependence on its internal diameter, meaning that slight variations along the length of the syringe may negate the benefits of the caliper’s accuracy. Syringes also vary differently from each other, and so the attachment cannot guarantee the same accuracy for each syringe. For the measurements of our design to be accurate, the assembly of the part will have to be very precise which is going to be difficult and expensive for a large market size. The materials and processes we have chosen for our design should fit the requirements based on our design criteria and analysis.