D4E1 Sandwich Aid

We made this sandwich aid for Martijn. He is a man with Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy, which means that it is difficult for him to control his muscles. Due to his condition, he experiences difficulties while eating a sandwich. Before the sandwich aid he needed help from another person. Currently, he can independently eat a sandwich with the aid.

In a team of two occupational therapists and one designer, we focused on the ergonomics and that Martijn could easily use the device independently. The aid can be taken apart and all the parts are washable to make sure that it stays hygienic.

TEAM: Ellen Knockaert, Luna Pareyn, Yani Caudron

#designforeveryone #D4E1 #DIY_AT #opendesign #howest #occupationaltherapists #industrieelproductontwerpen #howestipo

Supplies:

- Saw

- Heat gun

- Bench screw

- Dremel

- Masking tape

- Thread tool, 10mm

- Grinding wheel

- Drill, 8,5mm and 10mm

Materials:

- 1 PVC Pipe adjuster, 70mm

- 1 handle with M10 treat

- 1 PVC pipe, 270mm

- 1 PVC bracket, 75mm

- 1 door handle

- 2 M6 Screws

Wedge the PVC pipe between the workbench and make sure it is secured.

Make a small cut with the saw approximately 20mm deep and 40mm from the end of the pipe.

230mm of the PVC pipe is reshaped so the bottom part of the device will be flat.

This is done by warming up the PVC pipe next to the cut with a heat gun. This step is done very carefully and slowly as the heat needs to be distributed equally so the PVC pipe doesn't melt.

230mm of the pipe is placed on the table. The remaining 40mm of the pipe, the part that doesn't need bending, is left on the outside of the table.

To make the bend in the device, a wooden plank is pressed equally in the heated 230mm of the PVC pipe. Be careful not to put too much pressure on the PVC pipe as it may break or produce stress cracking. Press it approximately 20mm deep.

Let it cool down.

To make the sliding system, a cut needs to be made on the 230mm part of the device. This is done by the following steps:

1. Placing the flat side of the device on the table with the flat side facing you

2. Choosing the side of the cut, keeping in mind wether the person is left- or right-handed.

3. Placing a masking tape of 10mm x 220mm on the left side (do to the fact that Martijn is left-handed) of the rounded part of the PVC pipe

A hole was drilled at the end point of the masking tape. Then cut alongside the masking tape on both sides with a grinding wheel.

Afterwards you file the inside with a dremel tool, to make the cut straight and the edges smooth.

The cutouts are made to create resting pauses for the handle that keeps the sandwich in place and to pull the sandwich towards the mouth.

This is done by filing four cutouts at an approximate distance of 40mm. Make them round at the end and make sure a M8 bolt fits in the cutouts.

Cut off 1/4 of the pipe adjuster down with a saw so it fits inside of the sandwich device.

Drill a hole of 8mm on the left side in the middle of the pipe adjuster. Then tap an M10 thread in the the hole so that the handle can be screwed on.

Screw on the handel on the pipe adjuster.

The sandwich hand holder is made by following these steps:

1. Screw on a door handle on a PVC bracket

2. Attach the PVC bracket to the round part of the PVC pipe

3. Join the two parts of the bracket tightly to the PVC pipe with two screws

Slide the pipe adjuster with the handle in the sliding system of the sandwich aid.
Then the sandwich is placed inside the sandwich aid. And then the person can easily slide the sandwich towards his mouth with the pipe adjuster.

And enjoy your meal!