Napkin Dispenser

Women experience their monthly struggles of going through their period. However; regardless of all the studies researchers conduct to try and predict the exact date of the start of a woman’s period, some women still go through irregular periods. Unfortunately, the sudden occurrence of getting your period can happen in school, where female students do not have the time or money to rush to the mini grocery to buy a pad.

This device aims to ejects one napkin every time you pull the slider and to signal the janitors whenever the dispenser is empty.

You will need:

1. 1 sheet 3mm clear acrylic (400 x 600 mm)

2. 2mm opaque and 2mm translucent colored acrylic

3. epoxy glue (100 php)

4. glue remover (80 php)

5. napkins (73 php for 8 pieces)

Design your dispenser, slider, and door slider centered around the size of your pad

(Pad Dimensions I used: 12.89 mm (height) x 75 mm (width) x 75 mm (length))

TIPS:

1. make the height of your dispenser slider EXACTLY the height of one napkin brand you are using.

2. To ensure friction-fit, make the "male-part" 4mm thicker than the "female-part".

Attached below are the designs I have made.

TIPS:

1. Laser-cut on cheaper and easier to manage material such as illustration board first

2. Revise design if some dimensions did not work out initially.

3. Lasercut final parts

TIPS:

1. Work on a flat surface.

2. Use Tamiya cement or epoxy glue for gluing acrylic together.

3. Hold faces of the box at a 90 degree angle when waiting for the glue to dry.

3. You may use binder clips to hold some parts together (dispenser slider).

4. Analyze the parts before you start gluing them all together because some parts may not be able to fit into the desired spot because of another part blocking the way (ex. gluing the stopper on the dispenser slider before assembling said slider inside the dispenser box).

Put around 2 or 3 napkins in your box.

Push the slider away from you, then pull it back towards your direction.

(Ideally) a napkin comes out of the dispenser slider.

IN ACTUAL USE:

1. Mark a certain level on the box where you would consider it to be a scare number of napkins.

2. If it is low, the student/user will slide the door slider (located outside the stall door) to "LOW", so that the next time janitors pass by the bathroom, they can easily know the content of the dispensers in each stall without having to open the stall doors.

HOORAY! You've made a napkin dispenser.