3D Modeling Prototype — HCDE 451

I designed and created a 3D printed prototype for a morning and night medication tracker. I decided to create this medication tracker as I take medication twice daily, once in the morning and once at night, but I often forget whether or not I’ve taken my last dose. Based on my medication bottle, the assignment requirements, and my needs, the following were the goals for my design:

• Must use the primitive operations of extrusion, revolution, and boolean in the design of the object.
• Must fit my medication bottle.
• Must indicate when the next dose is.

Ideation

As I had little experience with 3D printing prior to this assignment, my ideation process began by getting familiar with the primitive operations and watching videos on the 3D design program I was using. After understanding each of them, I started drawing sketches. Taking note from my laser cutting assignment, I spent significantly less time sketching and quickly decided on a design that could get my concept across sufficiently. This was especially important as, while I had researched how to use the 3D design software, I was unsure how long creating this design would take and wanted to make sure I had time in case I ran into challenges. I also knew that 3D printing often takes a long period of time.

Sketches for the device

Device

The medication tracker is two short open-top cylinders, one with sun and the other with moon decorative elements.

Prototypes

I started by designing the nighttime medication tracker. I first designed the cylinder core using revolution, then I used extrusion when adding the moon decorative element. I test printed this design to see the size and shape and to get familiar with the printer before the final test. My first print failed and became “scrambled eggs”, but after reloading the 3D printer I was able to get the object to print correctly.

A Failed Print — “Scrambled Eggs”

Test print that was too large

I designed the morning tracker in a very similar way to the nighttime tracker. I used boolean to create the sun shape. I then placed both designs on the same file for slicing. I scaled the objects down as I noticed the size on my original print was much larger than expected.

Final Prototype created at the right size

Final device (bottom) next to first print (top)

Notable Design Decisions

• Device Size — I attempted to make the device the same size as my medication bottle so that it would fit snuggly and be resistant to toppling over.
• Sun and Moon Shape — I used the sun and moon shape as it was an easy way to indicate which part of the device was which, fitting with the times that I take my medication.

Difficulties

Most of my difficulties came when using the 3D modeling program and printer. While I was ultimately able to figure it out, it was a challenge working with 3D printing tools for the first time.

• Struggling to Understand Onshape — I had to do a lot of research on the internet in order to understand the Onshape modeling program. I spent a long time figuring out how to start a sketch and the boolean feature was tough to work with.
• Printing Difficulties — I experienced multiple print failures when printing the device, caused by insufficient glue and 3D printing material that got caught. In addition to complete failures, some of my prints came out with strange patterns and ripples, making the bottoms unstable.
• Figuring out Sizing — I had to do quite a few prints in order to get the sizing to an acceptable level, and ultimately the device was still a bit too large. I found it difficult to grasp how large the device would be while working with the program, and even after measuring and thinking it will be the correct size, it would come out larger than expected.

Testing

I conducted desirability testing on the medication tracker with potential users. As this was an object I designed for my own everyday use, I was interested in knowing what other users thought about the product and other issues they had around medication recall.

Methods

I conducted testing using the following steps:

1. I told the user that I would be asking them about their experiences taking medication and about a prototype for a medication tracker. I also told them that that I was interested in their feedback, making sure they knew that there were no right or wrong answers. Further, I emphasized that it was okay to not answer some questions as medication and medical conditions can be sensitive topics.
2. I first asked the user about their experiences taking medication, asking them questions like: How often do you take medication? How many medications do you take? Do you ever forget to take your medication? Which doses do you forget most often? How do you currently remember to take your medication?
3. I then introduced my prototype and asked the user about their opinion on it, with questions like: Are the shapes on the device clear? Do the device shapes match the timing for your medications? Would this device fit your medication bottles? Do you think this may help you remember which dose you last took?

Analysis

I received feedback on the product from critique and got some valuable contextual information on the experiences of other people taking medication.

User Experiences with Medication

• Trouble with Recalling Last Dose — People experienced similar issues with medication recall, both with medication they take once a day and multiple times a day. This resulted in them missing doses. They also mentioned that forgetting can cause them a lot of anxiety.
• Different Medication Bottle Sizes — People who took a few different types of medications often had different-sized bottles for each.
• People Take Multiple Types of Medication — Some people took many types of medication at once, at many different times of the day.
• People Remember to Take their Medication Late — People noted that they would remember to take their medication much later than they were supposed to take it (e.g., they would remember to take their morning medication at 3 pm).

Device

• Accounting for Different Bottle Sizes — The medication bottles I have are rather small, and there are a lot of different sizes for pill bottles that wouldn’t fit in my device.
• Device Unstable when a Pill Bottle is not in it — There were concerns about how the device would shift around a table if it weren’t weighed down by the pill bottle. People suggested having the two parts of the device connected together.
• How to Use the Device is Unclear at First — People assumed that the individual pills would be placed into the device instead of the entire pill bottle.
• Need to Use Multiple Devices for Multiple Medications — Users thought they may get overwhelmed by needing to use many of these devices for different types of medication.

Redevelopment

I would refine various aspects of the design of my device and change the process I used to make it if I were to redevelop this artifact.

Design

NOTE: The Video Prototyping Article I wrote contains more analysis on further design development

• Add Traction — As the device currently spins, I would add dots or fabric to the underside of the device to stabilize it.
• Refine Size — I would refine the size to fit my medication bottle more snuggly.
• Change Colors of Indicators — To further differentiate between the two devices, I would consider having the device pieces be two different colors. This would likely be a yellow or orange for the sun and a blue or purple for the moon.
• Increase Weight — The devices are light, so filling them with a higher percent fill when printing may make them less likely to fly off the bedside table on accident.
• Change Size for Multiple Bottles — I would consider changing the size to be much bigger so that it could fit multiple medication bottles instead of just one. I would likely only do this if I was prescribed a lot more medication.

Process

• Seek Live Help with 3D Printing Programs — What quickly helped me figure out a few features on Onshape was asking my peers about it. They were able to quickly show me exactly what I needed to do to create a sketch and use the extrude, revolve, and boolean features. With future programs I struggle to understand, it would make a lot of sense to ask people for help instead of spending a lot of time searching on the internet.
• Take Measurements Before Starting — Knowing the exact size of the thing you want to build, especially if it relies on another object, is very important. I think part of the reason I struggled with making the device fit the pill bottle is that I designed it first before taking measurements, so scaling it down became a challenge. Onshape and Dremel’s UIs did not make this easier, as it was hard to tell what the size of the inner circle was instead of the whole device.