Two Headed Drum Wrench

Concept:

 

The waste management team was complaining about drum caps being too difficult to remove and causing them pain in their wrists. The solution that seemed best was to create a wrench that would perfectly conform to the drum cap. 

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Requirements:

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1. Conform to the drum cap

2. Light-weight 

3. Be able to withstand applied forces

4. Longevity

 

Design:

 

After drawing out the cap design, I took a pair of calipers and measured all of the critical measurements. Thereafter, I began designing the wrench on SolidWorks, output the .STL file, and then 3D printed the first iteration using ABS material. After trying out the primary design, the waste management team agreed that it was slightly too thick and prevented them from being able to get into the crevice that contains the drum cap.

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With this issue at hand, the design for the second iteration of the wrench was 0.2 inches thinner than the initial design. The team found this to be a much better fit. The next thing to consider was the different sizes of caps that the team would be faced with.

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After looking into the various sizes of drum caps, it became clear that there were only two sizes that were very consistent and so then I came to the idea of having two heads on one wrench. 

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Results:

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Ultimately, we achieved a design that was successful and met all of the requirements. The original one has been functional for over 18 months and more have been printed since.