Outcome

I usually don't drink coffee on the go and for the caffeine, but I do love the smell and taste. When I drink coffee, I like to sit and enjoy it while either reading, listening to a podcast, or watching a movie or TV show. I got the idea for my project by brainstorming how I could improve my personal coffee drinking experience. 

I first sketched a few ideas and tried to put my ideas onto paper. This way, it would be easier for me to get feedback from my peers and the TAs.

After sketching and deciding on a project idea, I went to Solidworks to start designing the product in more detail. I tried to stay away from having to bend acrylic because of how hard and messy that process can be. I first designed the coaster using quarter inch thickness acrylic. After actually seeing how thick the material was in real life, I decided eighth inch acrylic would suit the product much better. 

I made some small tweaks throughout my Solidworks session to improve the product and make it more practical. I then made two dimensional drawings, converted the files to DXF and got to printing on the laser cutters. 

This is one of my sketches when I was brainstorming ideas. I had the vision, but not every detail was portrayed in these drawings.

An isometric view of the Solidworks parts all in one assembly. I was able to think about dimensions and how things fit together and make changes where necessary. 

I first cut the DXFs onto a piece of scrap wood to make sure everything looked alright and fit properly. Good thing I did, because I ended up changing the size of the center hole to be a bit bigger so the cup would sit down further in the apparatus. 

After putting all of the pieces together, I came up with this. A place for your spoon, a case with a sliding lid for packets of sugar, and four holes for small cups of creamer. The spoon actually keeps the cup holder in place. However, if the spoon is removed, you can spin the cup holder and bring the creamer holders to the front for easier access. 

Here you can see that the sugar holder can be removed when spinning the cup holder.