F|F Research & Concept
This is a model of a COVID resistant door opener. The main purpose of this object is to use this item as an alternative way to open doors without having to physically touch the surface of a door knob or lock. The angled hook is designed to be able to push up or down on a door handles in public spaces while the circular section of the object is to place your fingers through to allow you to pull open any doors or entrances. The square shaped fragment on the opposite end on the hook is used to push against objects you don’t want to make contact with like elevator buttons or doorbells. There is also a small hole at the end of the object to hang off of a keychain or lanyard.
Personalizations/Improvements
One personalization I made was to widen the hole used for a key chain or a key ring so that this object could fit into many different sized key chain holders. Another change was to add in little divided spaces for fingers so that the grip is more comfortable and doesn’t slip from the person’s grasp. I also added in a smaller hook so that it can be used to turn/twist smaller locks on doors. Overall the my main improvements would be to add on elements that make the object more comfortable and versatile to use.
F|F Iterations
Credit to: mr_walker on Thingiverse
Before seeing the physical 3D print of the door opener my iterations at first was to make the handle longer so that more fingers would comfortably fit in the hole, to add in finger dividers in the handle for a more comfortable grip, to make a smaller hook where the button pusher would be for unlocking doors, and to make a larger hole for more keychains to be able to fit in it. After finally printing out the door opener I found that the thickness of the object made it impossible for any keychain to fit through as I tired to fit it on my own key hook and was unable to do so. I also found that the thickness of the object made it too big to really hang on a keychain as well so I definitely wanted to change that. I saw that the button pusher on the opposite side of the hook was very small and was too short to successfully do its job. After trying out the door opener as well I found that the grip wasn’t as comfortable due to how thick it was. From all of these elements I also was able to come to the conclusion that the adding in another hook to unlock doors was unnecessary as well.
My final iterations that I made on the door opener had changed compared to my first draft of iterations. I first made the object thinner (7mm rather than 15mm), I pulled out the button pusher on the opposite side of the hook so that it was a lot longer than the original object, I slimmed down the object so that it was longer and less squished to make a little more room for fingers to fit in the handle, I also added in finger dividers for a better grip. After trying out the object again I found that slimming the door opener down and making it thinner made the object more efficient as it was easier to maintain as well as was effortless to keep on a keychain comfortably. Elongating the button pusher also made the aim more precise and unchallenging to spot. I also found that adding making the handle longer and adding in finger dividers made the grip much more snug and smooth to use.
F|F Final Print and Reflection
This is my F|F final print of the door opener made originally by mr_walker on Thingiverse. The remixes I finalized on this object was making the thickness of the object much thinner, creating finger dividers for a better grip, and making the button pusher longer as well as sharper for a more precise aim.
Before & After:
Reflection:
The overall process to reach this final print took a couple of trial and error prints before reaching the final remix of the object. Each print brought me closer to the final product so the process in total took some time but was exponentially improving after every step. Although the object was a very solid, well made door opener there were still small improvements that could be made to make it most ideal.
After making my first couple of iterations I was able to draw conclusions from those remixes and ultimately find the final changes that needed to be done to this object. I originally made the object thinner than the original (from 15mm to 7mm) but then found that the object was slightly too thin so for my final remix I made the thickness 8mm instead. The 8mm was a comfortable middle ground between the other two sizes. After using the original door opener I then printed the first remix with finger dividers for a more comfortable grip. After comparing the original that didn’t have finger dividers with the new remix I personally found that I preferred the object with the finger grip as it was more convenient for me to use. The last iteration I decided to add was to make the button pusher more angular so that it could hit smaller more precise button easily. I found that with the original object it was harder to get a concise aim at smaller buttons. The final step I took was changing the print settings when printing my final door opener. I changed the infill density from 20% to 40% and changed the infill pattern to tri-hexagon because both of these elements create a stronger product especially due to the fact that the door opener is thin.
Overall I’m very happy with the final product and can’t wait to hang it on my keychain.