Scrivi
Primary Generalized Dystonia Writing Aid -- 1P03 Final Project
Project Overview
As the main project of the ENGINEER 1P03 course, I worked with a team of 3 other engineering students to develop a product meant to ease the daily life of a client with primary generalized dystonia. Since the client was pursuing law school & had difficulty writing, we set out to create a versatile writing aid. Named after the Italian word for "write", Scrivi is an oversized writing device meant to eliminate hand cramps and provide a secure writing experience free from tremors and shakes. It includes slots for 4 retractable writing implements that can be chosen by the user, and is uses 3D-printed ABS & high-strength magnets for an intuitive and durable experience. After multiple prototype iterations and the use of many engineering design tools including feature trees, morph charts, and decision matrices, we pitched our final prototype to a group of professors and TAs.
Main Features
- 4 sliding levers with large handles that magnetically lock into the "active" and "closed" positions for ease-of-use
- Extremely similar operation to a traditional 4-colour pen
- Removable cap gives access to levers coated in Velcro to attach any implement of choice
- High-density foam grip for comfort, covered in high-friction fabric tape for grip
- High-density ABS body for durability -- tested using SolidWorks finite element analysis methods
- Minimalist & understated design suitable for use in a professional setting
Skills Acquired
Product Design
Sept 2019 — Dec 2019
- Prototyping
- CAD using Solidworks & 3D Printing
- Understanding requirements & generating design problem statements
- Morph Charts
- Feature Trees
- Decision Matrices
- Report Writing
- Product Pitches & Presentation
From left to right -- Writing implement lever; full product with pen implement activated; closeup of magnet latching in the deactivated state.
Initial Product Sketch
