Design and development of a screw cap opening device

• Main Author: Tan, Caleb Zhi Liang
• Other Authors: Hoon Kay Hiang
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/74499
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This project aims to design a screw cap opening device that is capable of opening bottle/jar caps between a range of 2.8cm to 5.0cm and bottle/jar of height 22cm and 32cm requiring minimal strength as well as eliminating the use of a support hand. Firstly, research has been done by many independent groups over the years on the capabilities of individuals from different age groups to open screw caps of commonly found sizes in supermarkets. Results from studying the researches concludes can that insufficient wrist strength and a weak support hand will lead to major difficulties in opening screw caps. Hence to tackle this issue, screw cap opening devices are required. There are several types of cap opening devices in the current market. This report covers the three more commonly used ones. All three devices do minimize the force required to unscrew a cap, however they all do not eliminate the need for a support hand. Therefore, there is a need to design and develop a screw cap opening devise that minimizes the force as well as eliminating the use of a support hand. After careful evaluation of the 3 concept designs, a design was chosen. Further evaluation of the chosen design was conducted to improve the quality of the device. Following that, a detailed design was drawn to visualize the designed device. Calculations were then done to ensure the device is structurally feasible and operational while satisfying the objectives. Finally, materials were then selected appropriately and a conclusion was made.