Bottle opener

Making a bottle opener is my first project in the course/in engineering. First, my partner and I did some research to learn about the different types of bottle openers (horizontal or vertical). Then, we both did a series of sketches to get our ideas flowing and to select different design features that we both liked. One of my sketch pages is below:

I circled the 5 designs I liked best

Taking elements from my partners sketches and my own, we decided we wanted a vertical bottle opener that referenced a cute object or animal. One of my partner's designs featured many cutouts that I found to be interesting so we decided to incorporate those as well. Below is the final design we decided on:

Then, taking measurements of the height and width of an actual bottle cap we roughly scaled out the size of the bottle opener and the ratio of its parts. The length of the bottle opener would be approximately four inches long to accommodate three fingers on the underside, which would fit into the grooves. After making a foam core model, we sketched (many times) a design of our bottle opener on SolidWorks and, with much trial and error, were able to print it out on Delrin with a laser cutter. Below is the final product:

Now what should we name him?

Update:

Upon testing this model of the bottle opener, we saw that the bottom piece that catches under the cap snaps under the pressure and the rounded head did not hit exactly in the middle of the cap. We then went back to SolidWorks and make the necessary adjustments to lengthen the head and thicken the bottom piece. In addition, we rounded out some of the top spikes to that it wouldn't cut into anyone's finger while using it. Below are all three versions (foam, first, and final) of our bottle opener:

As you can see, the final model is larger than the first and we added a keychain hole at the tail. We also removed the inner eye for aesthetic purposes. And, when we re-tested the bottle opener, it was a success! Sprite never tasted to so good (maybe having to due with the fact it was made in Mexico).