External Pencil Holder

Throughout middle school and high school, I found it inconvenient to have to open my backpack and pencil holder just to take out a pencil to write a quick note down. I always wished there was some place on the backpack that I could simply slide my pencil in and out of without having to open anything up. To accomplish this, I created a pencil holder that mounts onto the side of a backpack, and that a pencil can easily slide in and out of.

In order to make this part you will need a 3d printer, a way of making the metal clips, thin strings, and glue.

To research for this idea, I first looked at the current pencil holder designs, and found 2 main types, zipper and clip together plastic boxes. I also researched how big the pencil holder would need to be, and found 15 cm to be a good size. Lastly, I researched how zippers worked to find a way of mounting the holder to it.

My basic idea was to create a pencil holder that I could mount on the side of a backpack. I considered using adhesive or straps to mount it, but came to the conclusion that adhesive would eventually come off, and straps would not have anywhere to connect to. Eventually, I had the idea of using small strings that would get stuck in between the interlocking plastic of the zipper, but would not interfere with the closing of the zipper. To hold the pencil, I would create a funnel on top to easily slide the pencil in, and 2 metal clips to hold the pencil in place.

To mount the holder, the strings will be placed in between the zipper pins when opened, then as the zipper closes, the strings will be clamped firmly in place. In order to not interfere and get stuck in the slider, the string will be pulled to the side, and go underneath.

In order to create this part, I used Fusion 360. To start, I made a base plate that I could add the pencil holders and the strings for mounting to the zipper. The pencil holder consists of 3 parts, the top funnel, 2 clips, and a center alignment ring. In order to create these parts, I used the loft, extrude, revolve, and fillet tools. To make the strings, I used the sweep tool to create the 3 twisted cylinders, and the pattern tool to copy this many times. I then added custom materials, and took a render.

In order to take the final renders, I used free 3d models for the backpack and pencil. I then imported all the parts into blender, and textured/positioned all the parts. Once the parts were in position and the materials were all correct, I set up lighting, and took a final render.

I believe that this part could be very useful, and would make getting a pencil much more convenient. However, I am not entirely sure that the strings would not get caught in the zipper. Although it should theoretically work, there may be real world problems that will cause the zipper to get stuck. I would also consider adding a case around the pencil holder so that the pencil will not fall off, if this happens to be a problem.