Ways of opening the egg Traditional way Using egg cracker

Aim To provide an alternative way for users to open the egg To open eggs with no fragments of eggshells fallen into the egg content (egg white+yolk) Designed for those who are unable to open eggs Designed for those who don’t want egg yolk to be contaminated by their hands  For examples, people with wounds or cuts on their hands thus prevents avian flu and salmonella To standardize the steps of egg opening which can simplify the process of programming in the domestic robot in the future

Composition of the egg cracker -Connection bar (To connect the upper part and the lower part) -Inter-crossing sides (To provide a vertical way for screws to put in)

Composition of the egg cracker -PVC Pipe (Tough shell against mechanical damage) -Foam (Soft cushion to protect the egg)

Composition of the egg cracker

Performance Time

Photos -50 participants -33 eggs are successfully opened

Photos -11 out of 15 eggs are opened successfully in one experiment

How it works Vertical Motion - Contact of the sharp screws and the eggshell - Pressure radioactively distributed -Initiate cracks on the eggshell when the pressure reaches to when the pressure reaches to a certain level a certain level

How it works Horizontal motion -Moment provided by hands enlarges the cracks on the eggshell the cracks on the eggshell Action of releasing -Egg content flows out into a desirable place desirable place

Evolution First Version: - Made of cake making apparatus - Triangular aluminum plate pasted at the bottom Disadvantages: - Toughness lacking shell - Aluminum plate lacks firmness

Evolution Second Version: - Made of PVC water pipe - Triangular aluminum plate assembled at the bottom Disadvantage: - Cracks cannot be made and the egg is not opened. Disadvantage: - Cracks cannot be made and the egg is not opened.

-Inappropriate choice of position on opening the egg- Improvement: First and second version: Blue spot – harder Third and Final version: Red spot – weaker

Improvement: - We need to find materials to replace the aluminum blade. The material should provide strong and concise force acting on the egg - We have tried stainless steel and plastic -Using electroplated screws -Unsuitable use of materials in cracking the egg-

Improvement: Using flat headed screw Using sharp headed screw A more concise and sharp crack by using sharp headed crew than using flat headed screw -Choices of screws in cracking the egg-

Improvement: Thin screw -The screws make small holes on the egg shell -The egg can not be opened -Choices of thickness of the screws in cracking the egg- -The egg yolk smashes out and makes contact with the hand once the vertical motion is completed Thick screw -The egg yolk smashes out and makes contact with the hand once the vertical motion is completed Appropriate thickness : 2.5mm

Improvement: -No consideration of the variable egg sizes- Method: We bought two kinds of egg with the most contrasting size in a super market Result: Jumbo size-- Length: 62.2mm Width: 51.9mm Small size-- Length: 53.9mm Width: 44.6mm

Improvement: -No consideration of the variable egg sizes- Egg SizeLengthWidth Jumbo Size62.2mm51.9mm Small Size53.9mm44.6mm -Invention of the connection bar -Adjust the size of the egg cracker Another way of adapting to eggs with different sizes is using adjustable screws. The disadvantage of this method : - It is rather complicated to adjust the length from time to time

Evolution Third Version: - 8 Metal screws is used - A round side board with no hole on it is used Disadvantage: - The egg shell cannot be pushed out - Too many cracks are made

Final Product - 4 Metal Screws are introduced - Two boards with holes at two ends are used

Features - Light in weight ( 65 g) ( 65 g) - Comparable size with the egg - Water insulating material (PVC Shell, Foam inside) (PVC Shell, Foam inside) - Specialized Connection Bar

- Large aperture at two ends - Standardized steps in process - No contact between egg content and hands - Separating the egg content from eggshell Features

- The egg cracker can open salted egg and preserved egg Features

Thank you for your attention This is the end of the presentation