Wool Fiber Winding Machine
Problem statement
The objective of this year-long capstone project is to design, build, and test a prototype of a machine that assists in making wool dryer balls, an environmentally friendly product that replaces dryer sheets and fabric softeners in the washing and drying of clothes. At this time each wool ball has to be hand wound which is a very repetitive motion that is detrimental to the human body. Increasing the production is limited because of the lack of equipment available to perform the winding of the wool roving into balls. Wool roving is the product produced after shearing the sheep, and prior to making the yarn, and unlike yarn, it is somewhat irregular in dimension. Having a hand-cranked or an electrically driven machine to wind the wool roving under tension into one-ounce balls would be of great value not just to a small producer but also to much larger dryer ball producers, nationwide and even worldwide.
Team members
Carter Rupkey – leader
Ezra Tucker – communicator
Isaac Myers – accountant
Rob Yaccarino – admin
Client
Helen Griffiths, Fibers ‘n’ Creation