Rachael Ryan
BSc (Hons) Product Design
RProdDes accredited programme
Dublin Institute of Technology
‘Ground’ is a sustainable, simple solution
that utilises coffee waste by moulding it into
seedling pots. “It is now becoming a trend for
coffee shops to leave out bags of used coffee
for their customers to take home to fortify
their soil,” says Rachael Ryan. “This device
can be used with any sort of excess coffee.
As coffee is one of the largest traded commodities
in the world, on average a coffee shop produces 10kg of
coffee waste every day. “Ground aims to reduce the amount
of overall waste associated with home gardening,” she
explains. “The idea is to cut the number of plastic pots
manufactured and use the valuable resource to make an
ecological gardening product. These pots can be planted
straight into the ground to biodegrade.”
Initially, this project was testing the coffee material and
soil itself, including its PH and water retention levels. “Many
tests were also conducted to calculate the force needed
to adhere the coffee waste together, so that it would be a
reliable and durable structure. The concept was developed
by designing different iterations and prototypes in the
engineering phase, which included heat testing, FEA testing,
forms and shapes and material selection. This product allows
the user to apply certain amounts
of force to these grounds. It is
an example of good sustainable
practices, being effi ciently
manufactured and using recyclable
materials such as beech,
aluminium and steel.”
Rachael, who recently started a position as a product
design engineer in an emergency lighting company, also
points to how Irish and European legislation is promoting
a greener environment. “This product has the potential to
have a far-reaching impact on the environment. It is society’s
responsibility to reverse the damage and effect sustainable
behaviour, using the valuable resources that are currently
being wasted. I recently took part in a three-month incubation
programme (ICUBED) to develop this product into a viable
business, from conceptualisation to the manufacturing stage.
With the help of this programme, I hope to bring Ground to
market.”
IED STUDENT AWARDS
Frida Ragnar
MEng PDE
CEng accredited programme, University of Strathclyde
The MYNTA lunchbox provides the user with a solution
whereby food can be cooked using an oven or microwave
oven and then kept hot – until lunch time, for example – or
allowed to go cold. The essential design feature of MYNTA
is that it can tell the temperature of the food via a colourchanging
thermometer, which shows red when the food is
too hot; green (for hot food); blue (for chilled food) when the
food is at a good eating temperature; and orange when the
food is cooling down/heating up and there is a larger risk for
bacterial growth.
“A large part of the project was extensive testing to
select the best materials from a heat and cold insulating
perspective,” says Frida Ragnar. “This was completed by
heat transfer, cold transfer and wall temperature experiments
on glass and ceramic containers, and experiments on heat
and cooling pads.”
The aim of the project, she adds, was to “create a food
storage solution for people with a stressful lifestyle to aid
them bringing home-made food to work”. This particular
project was selected, due to the diffi culties associated with
bringing such food into work or university when not having
access to a fridge and microwave.
The testing of the prototype and simulations of the CAD
models show proof of concept, however to fully create a
product ready for the market more testing and refi nements
would need to be completed. These including a more
refi ned prototype using all the right materials since some
compromises had to be made when making the current
prototype. There are currently no thoughts of progressing the
project further however it is a possibility at a later stage after
obtaining more experience from working within industry.
Frida, who graduated in June 2018, has since been
travelling in New Zealand and is now back in her native
Sweden. “I have a new job from the beginning of 2019 and
am looking forward to progressing my career from there.”
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