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The future of kettles

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Ringi (it is "pour" in māori) is a concept for an electric kettle. It utilizes a system of batteries, sensors and heaters to provide perfectly heated water while pouring. The system allows for cold water to be accurately heated to a specified temperature in the time it takes to pour a cup. The model was made as a school project during my time in Iowa. Double click any photo for more info.

The process

Since this was part of a model making course one of the first things I did was some sketching.

The first sketches I made were simple form explorations

I then moved onto making form tests in CAD. I made different bodies, handles and spouts so I could later combine them and try all combinations.

From the first CAD models I made cardboard cutouts to get a better feel of the shape and combinations.

Finally I made a few renders of my favorite combinations

After deciding on a final design the work on the actual model started

Since I was going to use a CNC mill for the wooden piece I decided to model the entire kettle in CAD.

Here's the final CAD model:

Here's some photos when the wooden piece was milled

From the CAD models I made some technical drawings. Since these were 1:1 they could be used for manufacturing

From the CAD models I made some technical drawings. Since these were 1:1 they could be used for manufacturing

After priming and sanding it was time to spray paint the kettle

Here's were it went wrong. The spray paint started to eat way at the foam, even through the foam primer. I forgot to take a photo so here's my impression of how it looked.

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To complete the project in time I switched to 3D printing for the main part of the body. A quick change to the CAD file and an overnight print put me back on track. I finished it in the same way as the foam but instead of filler I used car body filler.

The final assembled kettle.

Here's how you'd set the temperature with the scroll wheel

This is a section view of all the components

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Here's an animation over how it all fits together

And this is just shows roughly the temperature gradient.

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