Design Process

1. Define a Problem: Paragraph statement of intent : We intend to design a water filter using cheap

and readily available materials. This water filter will be able to lower the turbidity of a water sample to a level below 5. That way the water will be safe for consumption. We will use different layers of materials to kill bacteria and remove particles from the water. The whole design of the water filter will also be easy to assemble and disassemble.

2. Brainstorm: Materials: gravel, pebbles, sand, charcoal, coffee filters, water bottles, plastic

bottle, cotton balls, cotton pads, charcoal aquarium filters, and towels Ideas: use charcoal to kill bacteria, use sand to provide an effective filter,

separate layers with coffee filters, line the inside of the bottle with a plastic bag to prevent the water from going around the different layers, use a water bottle to hold all the layers of the filter, and poke holes in the cap of the water bottle and keep it on the bottle to make sure the bottom coffee filter doesn’t break from all the weight it will end up holding.

Sketches:

3. Research and Generate Ideas: Summary of Research : We searched online for various kinds of water

filters, from high end products to makeshift DIY projects. Our goal was to develop a model to base our design on, the model being a collection of all of the best and most common features in the filters. Many had large pebble like rocks followed by finer grained sand to sift out any particles. Another common feature was activated charcoal. The charcoal sifts particles like the sand and absorbs toxins and bacteria. While this fact was exhibited by our design, the charcoal made the water cloudy and stained.

4. Identify Criteria and Specify Constraints: End user: The target consumer is someone looking to take water with a high turbidity to water with a turbidity below a 5, water filtered to drinking standards. The persons who will purchase an item like this are: the hiker, the disaster preparedness expert, the philanthropist, or the every day person. Goals: The final product needs to take dirty, naturally found water and filter it to the point of being drinking quality. The product needs to also be compact and easily transported as well as being affordably efficient, and easily produced. These factors need to be fully pursued or the product is not ready for sale. Constraints: 1.) All the items used in the filter can be acquired inexpensively if not free.2.) The final product should be inexpensive and compact for travel.3.) The water must be filtered to 5 NTU 4.) The product must work quickly.

5. Explore Possibilities: Ideas: We wanted the charcoal to be included in to the design and we

needed a way to separate the different layers. The charcoal could’ve been in the form of a filtration pad meant for a fish tank or powder from a capsule meant to be ingested to absorb toxins. The pad was already shaped and did not fit into our filter so we were left with the powder. We found that coffee filters and cotton pads filtered the best and separated layers, so we incorporated both. Water was getting past the coffee filters however, and we designed a lining with the filters glued edge to edge to make a seal.

6. Select an Approach: Decision matrix:

7. Develop a Design Proposal: We created sketches from early brainstorming. The sketches slowly evolved

as we learned more and tried new things. They became more detailed with every overcome challenge, going from options in bottle shape and deciding on a layered design, to specifying what each layer was made out of and understanding the importance of each layer.

8. Make a Model or Prototype: Our prototype:

9. Test and Evaluate the Design using Specifications: Testing:

10. Refine Design: We had to go back and add the info about the plastic bag since that was not

incorporated in the first design.

11. Create or Make Solution: Production: The product can be mass produced with an assembly line,

each part of the line can add the measured appropriate amount of that layer into the device.

Packaging : The water purifier will be packaged in a format like this:

12. Communicate Processes and Results:

Our project was to be put on display and up for the final test during a presentation. The presentation included pictures of our team going through the processes and us explaining our process as we went through the timeline of a slideshow. Meanwhile, our filter was being tested, ending up filtering in the best time, but with poorest filtration.