Site Photo

Site Photo

Site Photo

The bins used to transport produce around the wash room are heavy and hard to carry.

Root washer is at an incline so roots come out other end.

Farm uses a root washer, which is a big drum that rotates and sprays water on the vegetables inside.

Thesis Statement

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We want to make washing the farm's roots faster and easier. Specifically we wanted to work on how produce is loaded into the root washer, collected after it's washed, and how it's re-washed. Our idea is a lever that attaches to the crate, that makes this task efficient and less strenuous for the people loading the produce into the root washer, a root pusher which make moving the produce inside the root washer easier, and a new layout for the root washing area. We are also building a rake-like tool to push and pull vegetables in the root washer. This is important because sometimes roots need to be washed for longer, or produce is clogged in the middle of the root washer due to the shallow incline.

Root washer does not have a spot to stay

Size of root washer

Size of crates

The root washer functionality is cumbersome

Problems & Parameters

Easy crate transportation

Flexible space

Crate design uncomfortable to tip at table height

Faster root washing process

Desires & Observations

Roots sometimes need to be re-washed

Root washer cumbersome

Size of root washer

Size of crates

Easy crate transportation

Flexible space

Crate design uncomfortable to tip at table height

Faster root washing process

Root washer cumbersome

Faster root washing process

• Crates are heavy and awkward to tip
• Roots sometimes have to be pushed back to the top to be washed again, no good way to do this
• Roots have to be caught on the other end

Desires

Problem

• Roots are the heaviest produce, so farm want's them to be easier to work with
• Root washer needs improved efficiency, especially for re-washing

Root washer cumbersome

Faster root washing process

Early Sketches

Diagrams

Initial Prototypes + Models (Photo booth)

Prototypes (At the farm)

Site Photo

Site Photo

Site Photo

Make the prongs of the lever further apart to make putting the lever on crates easier.

Make the lever easy to use from both the side and the back.

Make a rake-like object to push and pull produce in the root washer.

Site Visit + Feedback

Site Photo

Site Photo

Site Photo

We made the prongs of the lever further apart to make putting the lever on crates easier.

We made the handle more comfortable to hold from any angle.

We designed and built a pole with a piece of a wood at the end the matches the curve of the root washer to make pulling and pushing produce easier.

Changes + Revisions

Diagrams

Diagrams

Print Materials

Print Materials

Lever

Pusher

Next Steps

Next Steps:

• We want to use a piece of wood to attach the plate to the broom handle, so it's simpler and the farm can make it.
• We want to create some other handles for the lever to see which ones are the most comfortable to use.
• We hope to gain feedback from the farm and about what changes we should be make.