DreamWhipper: Complete product development of a hand powered cream whipper

Relevant Keywords:

Product development, household, manufacturing, technical research, technical development, prototyping

Design Goal:

As part of a design exercise at the TU Delft, we were given the task to use a 1928 patent of a cream whipper as a starting point for our design case. We were to use the patent as much as we could and translate the design of the cream whipper into our days in terms of production, assembly, materials, styling and features.

Project duration and team:

250 hours, 6 industrial design engineers (David Güiza Caicedo, Wouter Drost, Roos van Rhijn, Erik Jansen, Marie-Louise Brantjes)

Methods Used:

Product analysis

Technical research

Brain writing

lo-fi prototyping

3D modeling and Rapid prototyping

User testing

THE PROJECT:

Analysis

The target group identified for our cream whipper

The analysis phase of this project started with a background research of the domain of whipped cream. What is it? how do you make it? and what parameters play a role in cream whipping? were some of the questions we wanted answered.

Parallel to this, we thoroughly analyzed the existing patent to understand the working principle behind it and to identify it’s stronger points. We also performed a few tests with comparable products in order to assess their overal performance to take this into account during our design process.

The target group for our cream whipper was defined as “young families with small children who enjoy doing things together such as cooking”.

Once the target group was defined and the context of use was analyzed, a list of requirements was created with emphasis on product usage, geometry, production and materials.

Hands on technical studies on whipping dynamics

Conceptualizing and detailing

A few early foam lo-fi prototypes were created to have a general idea of sizes and proportions for the final redesign and a general working principle along with a basic geometry and styling were defined.

In order to have a solid background in which to base our design decisions in terms of the action of whipping cream, the variables involved and the implications these may have in the overall design of the cream whipper, we carried out a hands on technical study on whipping dynamics with tests performed under controlled conditions in which the relationship and effect of 3 variables could be properly tested: revolutions per minute, material of the whippers and geometry of the whippers.

Different whipper geometries used during the technical studies

The results from this set of tests gave us enough insights to continue with the development of the cream whipper, and each part was developed to a detail level involving it’s working principle, it’s relation to other parts and to the whole, a defined geometry, material and production technique, as well as cost estimations.

Prototyping and user testing

As the final phase of the project, the whole device was modeled in 3D and rapid prototyping was used to create a 1:1 working model of the product (some photos can be found below) which could be used to do some user testing sessions with consumers. Each session was video recorded and analyzed by 2 different researchers to ensure a thorough assessment and the results were used for one final iteration of the design process in which a final design for the DreamWhipper was achieved.

Description of the Final Design

A simple and playful DreamWhipper storyboard of use (in Dutch)

The DreamWhipper is a hand powered cream whipper design based on a 1928 patent.

It’s an effective and efficient alternative for whipping cream at home due to the ability to adjust the angle at which each individual whipper is positioned and the oscillating movement (up and down) that the whippers perform as they rotate. This guarantees that the DreamWhipper can make a perfect fit to virtually any of the most common sizes of containers used at home, and that it will have a maximum reach and whipping motion of the cream within this container. The whippers can also be taken apart for easy cleaning.

It’s easy to use by grown-ups and children alike and it has a timeless look and feel to it, with a clean white color combined with a few brightly colored parts.

When including assembly costs, the whole DreamWhipper is estimated to cost approximately €2.72 per piece (for a series of 120’000 cream whippers).

My role in the process

Throughout the project, my tasks included:

Actively took part of the product analysis of current comparable products
Co-organized and performed the technical studies
Designed the whippers with details of geometry, styling and production technique.
Calculated the production costs of the whippers
Planned the 3D modeling for both rapid prototyping and presentation rendering
Co-organized the user testing sessions