Cardboard Prototype

Cardboard Prototype in Action!

-Insights-

Immediately, I noticed there were a few things that I would need to include in the next design, primarily some form of a counterweight system that would adjust as the weight of the teabag changed. I underestimated how much a dry teabag would weigh and the bird immediately sank when given the bag, a problem only exacerbated when the bag was wet. I had to quickly design a counterweight system (a makeshift box filled with eraser pieces) that allows the bird to sit up while holding a fully-saturated teabag.

In addition, I noticed that sometimes the viscosity of the tea makes it difficult for the bag to saturate quickly. This could be the way the teabag itself is designed (maybe it has some sort of wax coating preventing tea from getting out during packaging), but it was definitely something that surprised me during testing. This viscosity also made the process of bag saturation extremely slow. The bird did adjust its angle as predicted and sink over time, but it took forever. 

Also I've begun exploring different uses of acrylic. McMaster-Carr has been key in this exploration and I look forward to seeing what kinds of acrylic I can use to build a working design!