Blog 4: Project Development
- Xavier Lim
- Feb 26, 2025
- 16 min read
HEEEEYY BUDDIES!!!
WELCOME BACK!!!
After 19 weeks, we have FINALLY reached our final blog entry of this semester, YAYYYYY!!!🥳🥳
After weeks of careful planning, coding, drawing, cutting and A LOT of sanding, my group and I have finally completed our chemical device.
To celebrate this, I will be sharing with you more about how my group and I carried out our plans and how we broke down every step of our plans to accomplish each task and create our chemical device.
P.S. Some of the following pictures you see are directly from PowerPoint as I realised the required content is similar to what we had to present.
What did we make?
Before we begin,
For a short introduction, I would like to share that my group and I have decided to create a product based on TEA BREWING!!!
So... why tea?
Well, for starters, you can't buy happiness but you can buy tea! PLUS WHO DOESN'T LOVE TEA!?!
What makes your perfect cup of tea?
Well, from our research, a perfect cup of tea can be determined by many things such as...
Tea leaf quality
Temperature
Brewing time
During our research, we also found a few problems with regular tea brewers and they are...
Consistency in flavour due to different steeping time
Lack of automation which makes tea brewing less convenient
Personalisation of tea intensity as most brewed tea is left untouched for long periods. This may lead to overpowering flavours from the tea leaves which may not suit everyone.
To solve these issues, our research pointed us to one ULTIMATE solution
AUTOMATION!!!
How does it work?
Step 1: Open the top lid and load the tea leaves into the mesh ball.
Step 2: Close the lid and decide on brewing time for the preferred tea intensity (Longer means stronger flavour).
Step 3: Press the START button to begin tea brewing.
Step 4: Once brewing is done, a short melody will play.
Step 5: After the melody, the tea will automatically dispense into the user's cup.
And just like that, your perfect cup-o-tea is ready!!
Consistent flavours are achieved with every cup of the same tea having the same brewing time, there is no need to pour the tea out, maximizing convenience. Furthermore, it allows users to adjust brewing time to fit their personal tea intensity preferences.
What does it look like?
What do we call it?
Since our team made the tea brewer, it must have a unique name. Hence, we called it
BREWER REX!!!
Let's meet my team!
Firstly, just like any project team, we must have a team name...
And since our project is about tea...
My group and I came up with the amazing idea of calling ourselves theeeeee...
TEA-REXES!
RAWWWWRRRRRR!!!!
So, who are our REXES...
Roles | Names |
CEO | Ahravinthan |
COO | Xavier (Me) |
COO | Hao Dong |
CFO | Chloe Kee |
CSO | Qi En |
Yes, we have 2 COOs cause planning is super important for big projects.
Having decided on our roles, we also had to determine how to split our workload, as shown in the table below...
Names | Action |
Ahravinthan | Construction, Designing, Purchasing materials |
Xavier | Arduino coding, Purchasing materials, Wiring |
Hao Dong | 3D printing, Purchasing materials, Construction |
Chloe Kee | Construction, Designing, Purchasing materials |
Qi En | Wiring, Design, Construction |
After determining the workload above, it was time to craft our finalised GANTT chart, as shown below, so that we had a schedule to follow during the whole designing and building process.
Having finished our Teamwork allocation and planning, it was finally time to finalize our Bill Of Materials (BOM), as shown below, for determining the required materials for construction...
After completing all the steps above, there was only one last thing we had to do before construction which was to purchase our materials listed in the finalised Bill Of Materials.
How did we do it?
Now that we got the planning phase out of the way, it was finally time for the...
CONSTRUCTION PHASE!
As easy as it was to come up with ideas and blueprints for our designs, construction may have been the most stressful period for everyone in the group. This was because we had roughly less than 3 weeks left starting from 3/2/2025 before submissions and our presentation which was held on 19/2/2025. This meant we only had 2 REMAINING DAYS on the 3rd week to make any last-minute changes and tests.
At that point, everyone was already crashing out and mentally losing it from having to juggle between studying, completing our assignments from other modules and completing our CPDD project (Construction & Presentation slides).
Despite the stress, my group and I were still able to complete our product design well within time. This was all thanks to our team's careful planning in the earlier phase which may have taken us a little more time than we wanted. Fortunately, it was all worth it in the end since we managed to pull it off through the stress and tight schedules.
YEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!! LEEETS GOOOOOO!!!!!!
So how did we do it?
Honestly, it wasn't easy as everyone had to be very clear on their assigned work and had to also be on the same page so that we could all link up and have everything completed just like how we planned and produced the tea brewer that we had designed and imagined.
Week 1:
In the first week, we had 2 main things that we needed to complete,
Take measurements, make the cuts, sand down the cuts, and 3D print parts.
In the pictures above, at this phase, everyone was LOCKED IN!!
Firstly, we took the required measurements such as container width, length and height to measure the size of each part so that our tea brewer could fit all our components.
Next, began drawing the measurements on our shell material (Plywood). After the drawings, we began cutting out every part of the drawings on the plywood. At first, we took a little more time than required because we were contemplating whether we should use a handsaw or penknife to make the required cuts on plywood with only 3mm thickness. Since it was plywood, the obvious choice would've been a handsaw. However, we realised that using a penknife to make cuts on such as large piece of plywood with such a small thickness made more sense and was much easier compared to a handsaw where too much force will cause fractures to start forming throughout the plywood which would've destroyed our shell material.
After cutting, we went on to the many LONG, UNCOMFORTABLE and TEDIOUS parts of the construction which was none other than SANDING. For the first week, this was probably the activity where we put the most blood sweat and tears into our project as the sanded fine wood particles kept flying around the air making it very hard to breathe and unfortunately, larger pieces led to more sanding time.
(HELP 😭 I have no idea how many times I sneezed 🤧 when helping out)
Next, we began 3D printing our parts like gears, hinges and door handles. However, before printing our gear, we had to calculate the required gear ratio for our gear to be able to carry the wet tea leaves after steeping in hot water. In the end, we obtained a gear ratio of 3/4 with the driven gear having 15 teeth while the driver gear having 20 teeth.
The printed parts created in Fusion360 can be seen in the pictures below:
Arduino coding for the internal system of the tea brewer.
In the picture above, I was wracking my brains trying to craft our tea brewer system with the knowledge of what we had learnt during lessons and on Brightspace.
As you can see from the pictures above, at this stage, the wires were already this messy and whenever there was a problem, I would start freaking out because it was like searching for a needle in a haystack where one change may lead to even more problems. However, I didn't give up and continued to make the required changes so that our product's system worked flawlessly. Luckily, I had the help of my classmates from other groups, our other COO, Hao Dong who helped with crafting the code for our tea brewer's melody, and my friend who does coding and Arduino as a hobby, I was able to complete the code faster than expected.
To make things easier, I made a flowchart shown below and used simulations such as WOKWI.com to test the feasibility of our code and wiring. Furthermore, I used online resources provided on brightspace, ChatGPT, and YouTube to help with wiring, code crafting and troubleshooting.
From the set of pictures above, the bottom right is a picture of a transistor which our coding system uses to give the 2 submersible pumps instructions on when to turn ON while supplying it with power and providing it with a ground. Essentially, its 3 legs allow it to connect to the pins on the Arduino board where information on pump operating time is directed, and the other 2 legs allow to pump to receive power and have a ground for it to operate.
For more information on how to use the transistor and pump, you can refer to this link: https://youtu.be/To3DKP99-1U
After the coding was done, we were about 50% done with our product designing and building. However, to speed things up and reduce our workload for the 2nd week, we began cleaning up the wires to make them neater and more presentable.
In the picture above, my group and I decided to detach the buttons from the Arduino board using wires to make things neater so that we do not overcrowd the Arduino board. By doing this, it allowed us to attach the buttons and the LCD on a separate panel (Control panel) instead like the picture below. We also decided to cut down on the number of wires and components used such as using 3 buttons instead of 4 since we weren't able to code the stop button into our Arduino.
This way, we managed to cut down on the amount of wiring we needed and it helped us to make the board look neater as the breadboard was not overcrowded with wires and buttons.
Week 2:
FINALLY, we have reached week 2. Fortunately, we managed to at least 50% of our product. Now it was time to put everything together.
From the picture above, our first job was to assemble all the pieces of plywood we had cut in week 1. At this point, we decided to use hot glue as an adhesive as it was stronger and easier to use compared to regular crafting glue as crafting glue was less viscous (More liquid-based) and took longer time to dry and harden compared to hot glue.
After that, we began integrating everything into the compartments of the tea brewer such as putting the hot water container, brewing chamber, Arduino kit, and breadboard in place. While some of us were making measurements on the gear placements and servo placements, the rest of us were making adjustments to the wirings and tubing of the pump.
From the picture above, we can see that electrical tape and masking tape were used. The electrical tape was used to bundle wires together so that the wiring was neater and more manageable. Furthermore, we also managed to cut down the number of breadboards required from 2 to 1 as we could now fit all the wires on on breadboard while ensuring that there was enough space for our hands to reach and change the wire positioning.
In addition to wire management, we decided to build a separate compartment to hold our Arduino kit and breadboard in the tea brewer instead of leaving it to lie around in the tea brewer. This was so that our wiring would be accessible to us for any future changes. It also minimises contact of the wires to the containers where the wet components of the tea brewer are located. To craft the separate compartment, we used equipment such as an electric handsaw to cut out smaller and finer pieces of wood.
After everything was done, we attached the back and top cover using our printed hinges and attached handles to the surface of the covers to make them easier to open. On top of that, we decided to lay the bundled wires on top of the shaft holding the driven gear so that we reduce any contact between the wires and the brewing chamber. (For safety purposes, we wouldn't want to drink tea with wires in it)
Since everything was put together, we can finally move on to our final phase...
PRODUCT TESTING!
During this test, we had 3 objectives,
Check if all components like buttons, servo and pumps work as they should.
Make any changes to the wiring or pump operating time.
Check for any loose parts that require securing in place such as gear shaft, compartment platforms, handles and hinges.
Without further ado, let's look at how the tests went.
In the video above,
We tested the functionality of the buttons by increasing and decreasing the brewing time of the tea brewer.
After this, we tested the pump operating time to ensure enough water was pumped into the brewing chamber for steeping.
Next, we checked on the servo to ensure that it turned just enough for the mesh ball holding the tea leaves to be fully submerged in the water in the brewing chamber.
Lastly, we had to check if the brewing time was decreasing and being displayed on the LCD on the control panel.
the video above,
We tested if the servo turned just enough for the mesh ball holding the tea leaves to be fully removed from the brewing chamber to stop steeping completely.
Next, we had to check if the Arduino board played the coded melody to signify the completion of brewing.
Lastly, we had to check if the was operating long enough to pump out all the tea in the brewing chamber into a cup.
As seen from the videos above, our tests were...
SUCCESSFUL!!
YIPPEEEEE!!!!
Week 3:
Finally, we have come to our final stretch of the project. At this point, we were already done with at least 95% of what we had planned to do. The only thing we had left to do was to improve the aesthetic look of our tea brewer.
Unfortunately, at this stage, we forgot to take pictures of any videos of us attempting to make the product look better.
However, for reference, we did try to use beeswax like the photo above to enhance the look of our wooden cover. Sadly, no matter how much we put in, we were unable to achieve the glossy finish that we wanted. Hence, we decided to leave it as it is and go with an original look.
With that, we were ready for our presentation on the coming Wednesday in week 3.
Problems & Solutions
As smooth sailing as the design and building process may have sounded, we still encountered many problems and here are the top 3 problems we encountered.
❌ Material selection
The very first problem we encountered with the limited time our group had to construct our product was material selection. Initially, we wanted to use acrylic or 3D filament. However, for clean cuts on the acrylic, laser cutting should be used, and at that point in time, just like us, everyone had their products to craft and the laser cutting lab was fully booked out. Furthermore, the use of 3D printing filament was very costly and would've added another $10 to $20 to our BOM. With the size of our tea brewer shell, it would've also taken at least 4-5 hours to complete the print.
✅ Use of plywood
To solve this, we continued to search for solutions and eventually, we found our way to using plywood. At first, we were thinking where can we get plywood and wouldn't it be expensive.
Fortunately, ArtFriend Clementi was only one stop away from Dover MRT and they were selling a large piece of plywood for JUST $5.60 along with other arts and crafts materials. Hence, this was how we decided to use plywood as our material for construction. It was very strong and durable as it was able to support all our components like the weight of the filled-up brewing chamber without collapsing. Additionally, it also gave our tea brewer a clean and warm overall look.
TRULY MONEY WELL SPENT! HOHOHO
❌ Inconsistent flow
The next problem on the list was the limited flow the pump could supply to the brewing chamber and dispense out. This was because the provided pump tubes were folded and packed during manufacturing. When used for our tea brewer, we had to slightly turn the tubes to fit both the pumps and tubes inside the water tank and brewing chamber. From the picture below, these slight turns immediately formed dead knots as the tubes reverted to their original folded structure which prevented the pump from being able to pump liquid around the tea brewer.
This problem was frustrating as the tube would always revert to its original folded structure no matter how much we tried to widen the dead knots when the tubes were turned.
✅ Use of zip tie
To solve this, we decided to use zip ties, as seen in the picture below, which could compress the 2 sides of the flattened tube and fatten the flattened tube to allow liquid to flow through.
Luckily, this quick-fix solution managed to solve our problem and allowed us to progress in completing our product. If not, we had to remove the pumps and the tubing to change out the tubing for a new one that does not have any folded points.
❌ Electronic component malfunction
The 3rd problem we encountered was the malfunctioning of our servo motor. This happened at least 2 times whereby the servo would not stop turning. At first, I did not think that it was a big problem as I thought it was a problem in the code. However, after consulting ChatGPT and my friends for troubleshooting help, I concluded that this may have been because the servo may have been overused or a component in the servo motor may have burned out. Regularly turning the servo shaft without any power supply may also cause it to break.
At first, we used the black coloured motor on the left in the picture above, called a 3kg 360-degree continuous rotation servo. Unfortunately, after repeated use and testing, it eventually broke down on us. After this, we decided to use another smaller and more compact servo called the micro 360-degree continuous rotation servo on the right in the pictures above. However, just like the black-coloured servo, the micro servo broke down on us too. 😔😭
✅ Change of servo
Since we had to use the servo no matter what, we decided to switch out for another of the same blue-coloured servo and luckily, this time, there were no problems with it.
From the video above, now it works just fine. For future testing and use, we paid extra attention and caution to not turn the servo shaft as much as possible so that it does not break down on us again.
Project Design
Now you must be dying to see our code and fusion design files for our product. RIGHT!??!!?
WELL FRET NOT! HERE THEY ARE!!
Arduino code:
From the embedded codes above, the first tab displays our code that runs the tea brewer.
Next, the second tab displays the code used to provide the melody in the code of the first tab with the required musical notes.
Downloadable file for gears:
Downloadable file for hinge and handle:
On top of the final sketch from the first section of the blog, my group and I designed a 3D model of our finalised tea brewer along with most of the internal parts which we would like to share.
HERE IS THE FILE!
Downloadable file for tea brewer model:
Reflection
Having completed the construction of our product, I honestly felt nothing but sweet relief as it has been a stressful month juggling between studies and assignments. These enjoyable yet painstaking experiences have taught me many lessons which helped me to gain deeper insights on project development and management.
1️⃣Being flexible and improvising
The first lesson that I was taught while doing this project was the need to be flexible and innovative. This was because during the project there were many times where we were required to make changes on the spot despite not having any blueprints for it in the original sketch. For example, after creating the shell of the tea brewer, we realised that it was very difficult to put the Arduino kit and the breadboard together with the brewing chamber as there was limited space. Furthermore, it was not wise to put electrical components together with a water tank. Hence, this was where we had to design and create a platform which would act as a separate compartment in the tea brewer to store our Arduino kit and breadboard to house all the wirings. This can be seen in the circled part in the picture below.
Being flexible and improvising is also all about trial and error. This caused my group and I to get stressed and frustrated whenever our ideas didn't work out and we had to find other possible ideas to improve on the old one. However, we continued to improvise and find new ideas to solve our problems despite the stress. Hence, I believe that this skill allowed my group to be able to complete our product earlier than we expected as it helped us to cut down the time we needed on having to redo other parts. Instead, we spent just a little more time having to make improvements to the current design which helped us make more significant progress.
2️⃣Importance of communication
The next lesson I was taught while doing this project was the need for communication. For example, our group only had 3 weeks to complete our product construction yet we still did not have all our materials. Additionally, there was also an instance where the group met up in school without having the tea brewer system. This made everyone feel lost as we weren't clear on what we could do without having much on hand. That was when I realised that due to the lack of communication, nothing was done and my group had wasted time having brought our heavy coveralls and safety boots to enter the lab. Furthermore, it made me realise that without communicating, there will be no directives on what should be done and there will also not be any understanding on how we should approach our product construction.
Fortunately, on that day, we managed to do some designing by using the materials that we had on hand such as the water containers as seen in the picture below. This allowed us to take measurements of the tank size to determine how big our tea brewer would be. Aside from that, we also managed to do some 3D modelling as had brought our laptops along.
This lesson made me understand that without proper communication, it is impossible for everyone to be on the same page and to work efficiently. Hence, my group and I began to actively communicate after this incident so that we were updated on what was done and what needed to be done. As a result, we were able to complete the design and construction of our tea brewer ahead of time despite such a small given time frame.
3️⃣Careful planning
The last lesson that I was taught while doing this project was the importance of careful planning. During the span of this project, it made me realise that without careful planning it was very hard to imagine what needed to be done or what was there to complete. For example, as seen from our finalised GANTT chart in the first section of the blog, there were many tasks that we had to complete. By having this detailed schedule, focused on our goal as we were clear on what we had completed already so that we could move on to the next. This also allowed everyone to have a better understanding of what is left to be done as everyone could always refer back to the GANTT chart for any help if they were lost on the team's progress.
Planning carefully, allowed our group to be able to complete our product design and construction well within time as we were able to work more efficiently without having to constantly ask around to check on the group's progress. Below are some images that show how our group made our progress by following our GANTT chart.
Looking back at this project, I believe that it was a blessing that we got to experience this before our final year project. These experiences provide us with a clearer image of how we should approach our FYP. I also believe that through the painful and joyful moments of this project, I was able to gain both soft and technical skills which will help me improve as a chemical engineer and as a person, especially during assignments where teamwork is crucial.
That's all for my final blog this season!!
I don't know if this will be my last but THANKS FOR READING!
It was one of the longest and most meaningful blogs I have written in a very long and I'm glad that you can join me on this journey to see what my group and I have been up to for these 19 weeks of our Chemical Product Design and Development module.
It was truly an experience that I will never forget and will always cherish!!
I hope my blog has been informative and helpful for those who are going to have their FYPs next semester!
Finally,
PEACE OUT!!!
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