EL RAKEINATOR 6000

I am taking a Design and Engineering class this year. This unit was about the mathematics and science behind everyday simple tools and we applied these concepts to garden tools. We learned that a good design is an empathetic design, in other words a good design is a design anyone can use. So for our project we are to redesign a garden tool and make it more empathetic towards one of our largest groups in society, senior citizens. We were able to do this in pairs meaning there would be double the ideas. My project partner and I decided to work on the rake and redesign it to be more friendly towards older people, we worked in steps in order to get to our final product, El Rakeinator 6000.

Step 1: Getting to know our target audience

In order to make the rake more empathetic towards our target group (elderly people) we had to get further insight on the daily gardening lives of older people, meaning we had to step into their shoes. We did this by interviewing someone we knew personally (preferably an elderly person) and starting a conversation on their gardening stories and experiences, what they liked and what they didn't like. For this interview I interviewed my grandma who really loves gardening. From the interview I learned 3 important things


1.- heavy tools are often the worst enemy of elderly gardeners since they are very difficult to use.


2.- It is better to use tools made of strong resistant material that will last a long time


3.- Grips are very useful on garden tools

Step 2: Getting to know the rake

After getting a basic idea on what makes a tool better for elderly people it was time to continue our research and fully plan out how to redesign our rake. First we had to learn what the purpose of the rake was and to put it simply the rake is like an outside broom. It is used to collect leaves, sticks, hay etc. It can also be used to break up soil at a shallow level. Its tines serve like the bottom part of a broom except they are stronger and larger. Then with the handle you control it and with sweeping motions you should be able to collect and sweep the outside ground. The main parts as mentioned are the handle, tines, and head (head is including the tines and base). The rake works like a third class lever with the fulcrum at one end (the user's top hand) the force in between and the output/load on the other end (the ground). 

parts of a rake ,2021, wonkeedonkeetools 

 Once we got to know the purpose and parts of a rake better it was time to look at existing examples of a rake and identify what could be improved. While researching existing rakes I learned that ergonomic rakes exists and they have complicated handle shapes, most rakes have long tines in order to reach more leaves or go deeper into the soil, and most are either made from plastic or steel. With this information we decided to dive deeper and truly start thinking about how we could better the rake. 

Step 3: Redesigning the rake 

After much research we were ready with ideas to redesign the rake. We came up with three things that would make our rake better and more empathetic than the ones that already exist. Our rake will:


1.- have good grips

2.- be easily adjustable

3.- be easier to store away

We got to sketching right away and our final design looks like this:

El Rakeinator 6000,2021, AAG 

Once we had our design drawn out we had to come up with the specific measurements for our rake. Since our rake is able to expand or compact in order to adjust to the height of its user and make it easier to store we decided to make the max height of the handle 7 ft  and the minimum 3 ft. The head of the rake will measure 1 ft, the tines will measure 6 in each, and the width of the handle will be 3 inches. 

El Rakeinator 6000 measurements ,2021, AAG

As for the calculations I decided to find out the volume and surface area of the handle. For this I used the cylinder volume and surface area equation since the handle is just like a long cylinder.

Calculation ,2021, AAG

Once our calculations and measurements were all done it was time to come up with a story board to present our final product. I drew it out on paper and my partner wrote explanations at the bottom, here is our finished version:

El Rakeinator 6000 storyboard ,2021, AAG and MD

The process as a whole in designing this empathetic rake was very enjoyable and I learned a lot through the process. I learned designs should be for everyone, its good to bring up ideas even if they it doesn't seem like they might work, and the importance of going through trial and error. The thought of designing something keeping in mind that it might make life easier for senior citizens was amazing. Knowing a design like this might help my grandma who loves planting flowers because "It makes her [my grandma] happy seeing the flowers bloom" really puts a smile on my face. Thank you for reading!