Week 6 – The Birth Of The TapCap

Hey everyone! Welcome back to my blog this week. This week, the first physical prototype of the TapCap was born!

With the help of my advisor Mr. Magno, who printed the device, I was able to test out the water-stopping abilities of my concept. The water flow was successfully stopped with the TapCap sitting at the spout, and it felt nice to know that the design I’ve been ideating actually functions as intended! As with any prototype, however, there were a few errors with the current model:

1. The size of the opening on the TapCap was incorrect. While the faucet’s hole measures 0.81 inches, the prototype only has a hole of 0.65 inches in diameter. This meant that the TapCap cannot screw in properly. Strangely enough, when I revisited the CAD file to check my dimensions – the CAD was accurate! I now need to go back and revise the CAD model and the printer to ensure that the next prototype has the correct sizing.

2. The threading of the prototype was too small. Even if the TapCap had had a sufficient diameter, it would not screw in properly as the threads are not large enough to latch on to the threads inside the faucet.

I hope to fix these issues and implement the automated portion of the water-stopping in the following week! Come back here next Monday to see how it goes!