A gardening trowel is a hand tool used for breaking soils, digging holes for planting seeds and removing weeding, and moving plants, or smoothing the ground.
But I have done researches about the hand position in using a gardening trowel, it appears that if a person is to consistently doing the same motion with the trowel, it gives the user a muscle plain due to the overuse energy of the wrist, because the way to use a gardening trowel is to lean hand position down to point the gardening trowel towards the ground, and use the energy from the wrist to dig into the soil, then it requires energy from the wrist to lift the hand up to get the soil, the amount of energy depends on the hardness of the soil. Therefore if a person is to dig in a hard soil, it can cause serious damage to the wrist.
So, to overcome the problem, we simply need to apply some basic physics motion rule, using the first class lever, placing a pivot point (Fulcrum) at the middle, then apply the load on one side, and the effort (force) on the other.
Therefore, the new design of the trowel has an effort arm of 175mm, and resistance arm of 118mm. So according to the general formula, the trowel can reduce 36% of energy used when digging.
The material used is eco-friendly, it uses recycled plastics Polypropylene (PP), it has a recycling number 5. These kind of plastics are usually used for food containers and dish washers, it had the property of hardness, which is suitable for a trowel.
This is the new design for a garden trowel.
I like the feeling when grabbing the product.Also, the reducing energy part attracts me a lot cuz you've think over the shape and reach the energy reduction part.
ReplyDeleteWhat you might improve is the ability to paint, there are several tiny flaws on your design.
This is a pretty clever designed. Took me awhile to figure out why you design the shovel in that particular way, but I see it now, you made it into a shape of a leaf! At first I was going to comment on the roughness of the shovel, but I guess shovels don't need to look perfect as they dig holes in the dirt. I really like the design of the handle, it's been thought with ergonomic principles. However the colour of the shovel overall, I don't know, doesn't appeal to me, maybe because its the same colour as foliage so it can be confusing in same cases? And for a target market in the 20s, maybe a lighter green like a lime green would be really nice and funky!
ReplyDeleteI really like the way you show how environmentally friendly your product is by making all the posters green and have backgrounds with green colours. As I've seen some of your sketch models and tried holding onto the handles, I think the product's handle is really comfortable.
ReplyDeleteI think the thing that your product can improve on might be the part where you scoop? I think it might be too flat right now.
it is good as your product is so functional , then we can save our energy while working .
ReplyDeleteI like the head in its shape of a leave, so it gives me a feeling of environmental connection. However i reckon you work abit more for the lines and form, so it would be more appealed to you target market.
Also, i reckon the handle to be done in around shape so it is comfy as when we have to hold and work for long hours .
Cheer
This is a very ergonomic design. It is very functional, it makes the job much easier. I really like how you use the shape of leaf as the head of the trowel.
ReplyDeleteThe shape of the trowel head and handle seems like two separate objects. It would be good if the trowel's head more blend in with the handle. It would give a more smooth shape and lines. Also it might give more support to the handle. Overall, this is a very functional design.