Tidal Wave
In a world where every drop counts, how are you keeping track?
The Brief
This project tasked us with reimagining what plumbing could look like in 15-20 years. In partnership with Austworld, we were tasked with anticipating the needs of consumers in a speculative future. This project combines education and play to help young children understand water consumption and the importance of mindful water use.
Speculative Future
The speculative future imagined for this product put us in a world of a much harsher climate, with the effects of climate change impacting our everyday lives. With extreme shifts between droughts and floods, water consciousness becomes crucial.
What does it do?
Tidal Wave features a home flow rate meter that tracks water usage during showers, transmitting data to both adult and child display units. The Adult Unit shows weekly and current shower usage, while the Child Unit incorporates an interactive game. In this game, a character runs from a growing tidal wave, which grows faster with increased water use. Parental controls set water thresholds for levels, and as the user advances, the wave's size and warning colours intensify, encouraging shorter, more mindful showers.
Education and Play
Developing the animations and displays for the adult and child units involved meeting several criteria to ensure the product was engaging and informative without overwhelming users. The adult unit features a minimalist design, displaying only essential information through a simple interface that requires minimal onboarding. In contrast, the child unit uses bright colours and simple animations to engage younger children.
Form v Manufacturing
The form was kept simple and streamlined to appeal to a wide range of aesthetic preferences. This approach also aligned with the manufacturing process: the product was designed for injection moulding, the most effective production method for this purpose. Using 3D printing, the model was inspected and tested to meet the standards required for an injection mould, which revealed various design flaws and provided valuable insights into the injection moulding process.
Development
Inital sketches and models
The initial design was much larger and resembled a rain catcher. It used a flow rate monitor built directly into the plumbing during construction. However, this approach felt too limiting, as renters and those living in older homes would likely be unable to use the product. Additionally, the unit occupied too much space and would be extremely expensive to install and maintain.
This led to the exploration of a smaller, single-unit design that could sit in the shower. This version offered greater flexibility, as it could be either built into new homes or added on later, making it accessible to a wider range of users.
Intial 3D Printed Model
The initial 3D print revealed several issues with the model. It was oversized and appeared clunky when combined with the shower head. Additionally, the tidal wave unit was not modeled carefully enough for injection molding and required numerous revisions regarding wall thickness, draft angles, cable management, and final assembly.
Revised 3D Printed Model
The final version featured updated draft angles and locator pins, sized to industry standards for bracket mounting. Wall thickness was made uniform to ensure even cooling and minimise potential warping during manufacturing. Additionally, space was provided for cable management, allowing consumers the option to hardwire the unit or operate it with batteries, ensuring compatibility for a wide range of users.
