Hand Warmer Challenge
Description and Content
In the second semester, we were given the task of creating a hand warmer to be sold for San Marin sports spectators during cold seasons. In order to complete this, we had to design the product for size, look, and material. We brainstormed using different thicknesses of plastic and sizes.
We chose to use thick Ziploc plastic bags for our final product and used a heat sealer to form the bag into the perfect size for our hand warmer. To hold the salt which would start the reaction, we included a water balloon inside the plastic bag that with the salt and excess air so that it could be easily popped and the salt could be released into the outer container.
We chose to use Lithium Chloride for the salt which would react with water and produce heat for the hand warmer. It was an expensive option, but very effective in exerting heat. It was able to increase temperature inside the product by 8 degrees Celsius per gram of LiCl. The extensive data collected is outlined in the presentation below, along with the cost of the item and calculations regarding heat produced.
Reflection
Our project was a success, but there were many improvements which could be made if we were to create another prototype.
Something we did well in this project was splitting up the work in both our presentation and the construction of the final product. We were able to each work on the slideshow that we created as well as present an equal amount of slides during presentation for the judges. We were also able to design and construct the hand warmer like an assembly line for maximum efficiency, where one person would measure the amount of salt, one would seal the bag, and another could add water to the product.
We could improve the feasibility of selling the product, especially because we overshot how expensive we could market the product for. If the nad warmers were less expensive, it would be more likely that they would sell, although the profit would not be as large initially. Another thing that could be fixed would be to insulate the product and the heat released by using felt or another fabric to cover the hand warmers and contain the heat for a longer amount of time. Each of these things could make our final project better, and we will work to improve them in future projects.
In the second semester, we were given the task of creating a hand warmer to be sold for San Marin sports spectators during cold seasons. In order to complete this, we had to design the product for size, look, and material. We brainstormed using different thicknesses of plastic and sizes.
We chose to use thick Ziploc plastic bags for our final product and used a heat sealer to form the bag into the perfect size for our hand warmer. To hold the salt which would start the reaction, we included a water balloon inside the plastic bag that with the salt and excess air so that it could be easily popped and the salt could be released into the outer container.
We chose to use Lithium Chloride for the salt which would react with water and produce heat for the hand warmer. It was an expensive option, but very effective in exerting heat. It was able to increase temperature inside the product by 8 degrees Celsius per gram of LiCl. The extensive data collected is outlined in the presentation below, along with the cost of the item and calculations regarding heat produced.
Reflection
Our project was a success, but there were many improvements which could be made if we were to create another prototype.
Something we did well in this project was splitting up the work in both our presentation and the construction of the final product. We were able to each work on the slideshow that we created as well as present an equal amount of slides during presentation for the judges. We were also able to design and construct the hand warmer like an assembly line for maximum efficiency, where one person would measure the amount of salt, one would seal the bag, and another could add water to the product.
We could improve the feasibility of selling the product, especially because we overshot how expensive we could market the product for. If the nad warmers were less expensive, it would be more likely that they would sell, although the profit would not be as large initially. Another thing that could be fixed would be to insulate the product and the heat released by using felt or another fabric to cover the hand warmers and contain the heat for a longer amount of time. Each of these things could make our final project better, and we will work to improve them in future projects.
Evidence