Spice Rack in Action
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Personal project to improve the spice organization in my apartment's kitchen
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Started during a week long break from class, finished in spare time over one month
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Built with scrap materials from the prototyping lab where I worked, and 30$ of other supplies
My university apartment's cooking area was cramped. There was limited counter-top space and barely enough storage for my spices. This left spices unorganized and difficult to identify, which slowed down my cooking process. I cooked almost every meal for myself, so improving the process was very important to me.
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The spice rack was designed to fit in the cabinet above the stove, where it would be most useful for seasoning dishes in the pan.
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The Kitchen: Very minimalist
3D Model: I wanted my spice rack to look like a hearth, with a flame coming out of some stones.
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I began the project by making a model in SolidWorks. I saw upperclassmen using the software to design interesting items which made me want to learn CAD. I thought this project was a good way to practice. I played with various features and watched many online tutorials to model my ideas.
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Left: Render of the design Right: Exploded view
I knew I wanted something that spun. These 8$ "lasy susan bearings" seemed like a great option which I modeled the design around.
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When I fabricated the spice rack, I made a few changes to simplify fabrication. I removed the central rod and its complex joinery that are featured in the model. Instead I directly connected the two side pieces with mortise and tenon joints. After a few test shelves, I decided I didn't like the chaotic look of the initial design, so I opted for smooth quarter circles with a receding bevel.
Analysis:
​Initially, I planned on heat bending an aluminum plate to make the base. Fortunately, I was curious about Solidworks FEA tools and simulated the deflection from a distributed 10 kg load. A 10kg load caused undesirable deflection, so I decided to alter the design.
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A rolled sheet of steel was thinner and would not deflect excessively. Up to 30 kg loads would easily be supported. (I selected a thickness commonly found in scrap from the shop)
SolidWorks sim of a 10 kg load on an aluminum plate
Sim of a 30 kg load on a steel sheet
Features:
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Curved sheet metal base with room for boxed spices
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Pebbles around the base add weight to stabilize the spice rack
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A turntable rotates the shelves for easy access to all spices
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A wire rack stores spice packets; the packets are held by binder clips, facilitating rapid retrieval
Fabrication:
I worked in the Segal Prototyping and Fabrication Lab, which gave me access to many useful tools and scrap materials for building this spice rack. Aside from the turntable, I bought some pebble tiling from a home decor store to weigh the base down and give a firepit feel to the piece.
I rolled the edges of a steel sheet to form the base
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The turntable was riveted into place
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I used the lab's waterjet to cut a ring in a pebble sheet to leave room for the turntable. The pebble sheet was bound to the steel with a special mortar. Grout was applied to fill the gaps
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Left: A simple jig was used with the bandsaw to cut a round shape for the base of the flame. The curves of the flame were also cut on the bandsaw
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Right: Hose clamps were used to apply clamping force while gluing the irregular flame pieces together