Tabletop Planter/Fountain Design


 

A Design Problem and Solution Proposed By:

The Kishwaukee College 

Drafting and Design Technology Students

In The Spring 2000 DRA-253 Class of: 

Instructor Mark Schwendau





Letter of Transmittal

3-1-00


To Design Manager: Mark Schwendau

FM Design Team: Bill Schermerhorn, Tom Eckstein and Jake Kupp

RE:  Tabletop Planter/Fountain Design


    We, the aforementioned design team, transmit the following design 
    solution to you for a tabletop planter/fountain design.  The solution 
    includes the following in this package:

a)	The report with this page contained herein.
b)	A working prototype model.
c)	A technical illustration drawing showing assembly.
d)	A detailed bill of materials including vendors.
e)	Manufacturing assembly instructions included as part of this report.

     Please advise us of any omissions or errors you may encounter in 
     this report for revision in a second draft.























Table of Contents



 i.        Title Page

ii.        Letter of Transmittal




  I. Preface - Instructor Provided

 II. Design Problem - Instructor Provided

III. Design Process - Student Provided

 IV. Design Solution - Student Provided

  V. Bibliography - Student Provided

 VI. Appendix - Student Provided

     A.  Formal Bill of Materials with Parts Specification
     B.  Exploded Isometric Assembly Drawing

VII. Index - Student Provided
 
























I.  Preface

     The following design project is for advanced design students.  Read 
the following data and have a team design meeting to formulate a possible 
solution.

Marketing Research:

     Marketing has determined that there are three popular mood enhancing 
devices now sold in mail-order catalogs that they believe could be combined 
into a new product.

      * Candle Stands for Large Diameter Candles that Enhance Room Light
      * Potted Plants in Plant Stands
      * Indoor Water Falls that Make Sounds of Running Water

     The marketing department has determined that a market may exist if 
these three items were combined into a single product to retail around $60-100.  
At this time, they are thinking a tabletop model and floor standing model might 
sell well but they have some concerns of a tipping hazard and fire liability 
with a floor standing model so a tabletop model is desired first.

II.  Design Problem

Problem:

     Produce a set of design drawings made for the aforementioned product as 
well as a design report that will include all the usual elements of such a 
report as well as a cost analysis for a quantity of 1, 10 and 100.  Labor is 
to be figured in at $8.00 an hour for assembly.  
               
     Prototyping is to have labor calculated at $25 an hour for this first unit.   
The costs of this labor and materials are to be logged into a research and 
development (R & D) account number for this product.  If possible, a working 
prototype model is desired, though it is understood that time may be too short 
before the end of the fiscal year arrives for this to be accomplished.

Materials:

      Marketing sees this product being constructed out of a combination of metal 
and plastic with an inexpensive (UL approved) pump from a hobby or pet store.  It 
is their thought all materials going into this new product be from local available 
suppliers like hardware stores, hobby stores, home improvement warehouses 
and pet supply stores.  The product will include 1 plant and 2 candles in 
the sale.

                                                 
Target Markets:

     Men between the ages of 18-28 and women between the ages of 18-68.

Test Market:

     Kishwaukee College Horticulture Club's "Friday Flower Sale".

Design Concerns:

     The marketing team wants to develop a table top model, first.  This unit will 
be able to hold a combination of plants, candles and have a running (falling) 
water between the levels that will make a "trickling sound" with zero tolerance 
for splash or over-spray.  A refillable water reservoir of some capacity needs to 
be designed into the unit's base.  The envelope of space that this unit is to 
occupy is 18"x18"x18" and it should not have a wet weight greater than 20 pounds. 

     The pump is to be concealed in a center column, or base, of the unit.  A power 
switch is a desirable feature somewhere near the rear of the unit and a flow control
valve will be a necessity.  The 110-volt pump is to contain a three-prong grounded 
electric plug and be UL approved.

Design Research:

     Research needs to be done to determine if there is anything on the market like 
this yet.  Assuming there is not, examples of the three products we are seeking to 
merge into one need to be examined and investigated for materials and 
manufacturing as well as retail cost per unit.  Themes of these products 
should be noted.

Product Themes:

     Suggested themes for the product that marketing have come up with are as 
follows:

*  Desert Southwest -  (begin flow from a sandy spring) stucco and sand
*  Tropical Rain forest -  (begin flow from a dark rocky water fall) natural earth
*  Hobby Gardener  -  (begin flow from a miniature sprinkling can) Americana  

Design Plan:

     A plan needs to be formalized and communicated to the marketing team before 
work begins in earnest.  This plan should include a time-line.


Engineering Requirements:

    *  Design Sketches (first) and Presentation Drawings (final)
    *  Set of Working Drawings
    *  Bill of Materials
    *  Assembly and Fabrication Drawings / Instructions  
    *  Design Report (with cost projections)
    *  Model  (with prototyping cost)

 Product Requirements:

     The product will be shipped knocked down (KD unit) and require some 
assembly after purchase.  It is anticipated that the entire product will consist 
of not more than 12 parts.  Decorations such as gravel are not included in this 
final count.  The only tools required for assembly (if any) should be a screw 
driver to be supplied.

III.  Design Process:

     We designed and built a number of tabletop fountains, which incorporated 
running water, candles and plants.  The hope of our team was to make a 
marketable item which could be sold to any person wishing to accent 
their home. 

     We experimented with a variety of designs, a materials, and production 
methods.  Our design team opted to design and model around the theme of 
Americana and focus on the hobby gardener.  We considered a number of 
fountains currently available on the market and decided what we did not like 
about all of them (besides their price) was the fact they all looked like 
they were trying to be something they were not, miniature mountains, for 
the most part.  Hence, we decided we would focus our design on a gardeners 
clay pots and their related pot bases.  Real clay pots were difficult to 
locate in our area and we determined they would be difficult to machine, 
either by drilling or cutting, so we opted to look at their plastic 
counterparts.   

     Our first design shot water up into the air and had it fall directly 
back down into the fountain base.  Although this made for a pleasing sight 
and a relaxing sound from the water drops hitting the pool of water, the 
design was not practical because the splash of the water was too 
unpredictable and too wide spread.  The large splashes of water would not 
only cause the water to exit the fountain, but it would also put out the 
candles at a frustrating rate.  Our next, and final, design was a 
derivative of the first so it will be explained in detail and readers 
of this report can draw parallels back to this first design attempt that 
was considered and educational experience, but a design failure.  
 
     Our second design seemed to meet our expectations and matched the 
design criteria more perfectly. In our second design, it was decided to 
hide a pump inside a pot.  The required plant, could rest on a pot base 
that would fit inside the top of this pot.  This would facilitate easy 
removal for access to the pump and care of the plant.  Water would flow 
horizontally out of near the top of this pot into a waterfall consisting 
of an array of pot bases.  
     
     For the waterfall arraignment, three,  four inch pot bases would be 
attached in a spiral configuration using a machine screw, a washer, and 
a hex head nut.  One hole was drilled in each pot base at a mold mark
found in the base.  A fourth  four inch base would be attached with the 
same machine screw facing the opposite direction of the other three 
to act as a secure base.  

    Three other pot bases would be used on the other side of the fountain 
to hold two candles.  One candle would rest in another four inch pot 
base and the second candle would be held in a six inch pot base sitting 
on top of  another six inch pot base, face down.  This second one will 
rest on the bottom of the fourteen inch pot base and hold the first one 
up even with the edge of the fourteen inch pot base.  The fourteen inch 
pot base would compose the base of the entire fountain and reservoir.

     To keep the fountain aesthetically pleasing, we hid the pump as well 
as the electric cord that runs from it.  Four, one inch diameter holes 
were drilled in the lower portion of the flower pot containing the pump.  
Three of the holes would be for return of water to the pump and the 
fourth for the power cord to pass through the bottom of the pot.  The 
supply hose from the pump would run through a fifth, half inch diameter 
hole to be drilled in the six inch pot base inside the pot (plant holder).  
A sixth half inch hole would be drilled below the lip of the flower pot 
and just above the spiral of bases on the outside such that the water 
would fall into the array of bases.

     The spiral array of the four inch bases would be positioned next 
to the flower pot beneath the supply hole where the water  would flow.  
The flow of water from one base to the next could create the sound of 
falling  water as desired.  We discovered that some setup time is 
required to obtain the proper flow of water from the pot through 
the array of pot bases (waterfall).    

IV.  Design Solution

     In general, the design team felt like it satisfied the requirements 
of the design problem on their second attempt of preparing a design 
solution.  There was some concern expressed by some design team members 
as to end users being able to be able to readily replicate the findings 
of the design team.  A second prototype was made for purposes of 
field-testing with the public.   
     
     Discussions centered around the fact that if someone wanted to move 
the fountain, the team felt they would have to come up with a way to 
stabilize the waterfall as well as the candles.  The team decided 
weighted bases would be one way to accomplish this.  Experimentation 
was done with bases filled with lead and sealed together with matching 
inverted bases by waterproof epoxy.  In this instance the team decided 
"less is more" and opted not to add additional parts to the fountain.

    The team considers this design as  cost efficient because most of 
the parts can be bought in bulk from suppliers yet are readily available 
from local retail agents such as hardware, hobby/craft or home improvement 
stores.  Little machining and fabrication is required in this design 
solution.   Thus the cost of production is very low.  The prototype 
came in at around $30 for parts and the design on this project was $2,000.  
The team recommends the consumer provide their own plant after purchasing 
this product (real or artificial).  

    The design team decided to offer their solution as a knocked down 
product at an even lower cost by having the consumers assemble the 
product themselves.  This also will reduce costs by condensing the 
shipping size of the product.  The team proposes the product would 
come shipped broken down to sub-components that could be easily 
reassembled.  The consumer field test of the second prototype went 
very well towards meeting this goal. 

     After testing different water pumps, the team decided on a pump that 
pumps eighty-five gallons per hour.  This pump is more than sufficient 
the design’s need but it is also less expensive than others evaluated.  
This pump has an adjustable water flow so the consumer can have it run 
as high, or as low, as they desired.  Safety concerns caused the team 
to recommend that this device be used with a GFI type electrical outlet 
which is readily available for less than $15.  An three prong ground, 
UL approved, pump is also highly recommended.
 
     Finally, the team recommends detailed assembly and operation 
instructions be included with the product.  A legal disclaimer should 
be included with the product advising consumers of the limitations of 
their right and corporate liability in the event that something would 
go wrong.  The design team suggests a warranty of six months on this 
product.  Such a warranty would cover defective parts and workmanship 
and nothing more.  Such a warranty would become null and void in the 
event the consumer abused the product by running the pump dry.

     We researched the possibility of marketing this at either a plant 
show or a craft show.  If the product seemed to be a success, our team 
would look to offer the item through nurseries or stores that had a 
home and garden department.  Another idea was to offer the idea on the 
Internet and forgo any opportunity to gain personal fortune for our 
design team and offer it for fre for our drafting department to gain 
world-wide fame.  

     To post the results of this project was the team's final 
recommendation and the team decided to dedicate their efforts in 
memory of Thomas M. Eckstein who died suddenly during the design 
process of this project.


V.  Bibliography

Cristafir, Doug, "Water Heart: Fountains for the Soul", 

[Internet web site], Cristafir Arts, Spoakane, WA

VI.  Appendix

A.  Bill of Materials Specifications: