WEEK 7.LAB: SAWING INTO THE DRAWER

During this week's lab, we decided to cut 2 inch wide slots from the center to the front of each drawer from the shelf we had just purchased. Doing so would allow our system to be easily accessible for cleaning or maintenance. As evident in the Creo model of our product (Figure 1), this design feature enables the valves to cross between two drawers without holding the drawers in one place.

Doing this proved somewhat difficult. At the suggestion of one of our class mentors, we attempted to make the cut into our drawer using a handsaw. This ended up being more of a hassle than it was worth. We decided, instead, to cut slowly through the plastic with a box opener. Cutting through our first drawer was a painstaking process. Next week, when we cut through the other drawer, we plan to try an alternative method.

Figure 1: A close-up shot of the creo model of our plant-watering system. It shows how the system's design allows its drawers to slide open and closed with ease.