Objectives

Our project objectives shifted throughout this course: we began the project thinking about how we could change the shape of the nozzle, the way plastic is inserted into or removed from the pen, and other elements in relation to the extrusion of the plastic. However, as we looked deeper into the pen, we saw that these elements had very little margin for error. Trying to change these aspects could potentially damage other parts of the pen, especially the intricate circuitry, as seen above. Other models of 3D pens use metal tips for the pen that are easily removable, or do not integrate the separate parts of the pen as much a Tipeye did. Therefore, we shifted our objectives to looking at the surrounding elements of the pen, and more specifically, how we could allow for a smoother, more comfortable user experience without making the pen too heavy or clunky.