Steam machine
The steam machine is especially designed for this product service system. Using less water, less electricity and less time than a regular washing machine, the product is optimized for in-store use, also available for customers. Within less than 2,5 minute, 30 reusable cotton pads are cleaned and smell nice again.
The final concept works as follows:
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The cotton pads are inserted into the machine via the rollers on the top.
The rollers have rubber flaps to make sure the cotton pads will not lie on top of each other in the machine. This is to ensure that the cotton pads will be properly cleansed.
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The rollers place the pads on a mesh belt which moves until the entire belt is filled with cotton pads.
The belt moves until the full surface of it is filled with cotton pads. After that it stops to let the steaming process do its work. When that is finished it moves again to dispose of all the pads in the clean pads container. The conveyor belt, rollers and vacuum pump are driven by the same motor, this is visualized in a Solidworks model.
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The cotton pads are rinsed by steaming them for 40 seconds. A little bit of soap is also added here.
The steam ensures that all bacteria will be killed and the soap ensures that the makeup stains will be cleansed off of the cotton pads. The soap is added to the water in the clean water tank. The remainder of the moisture will mostly be sucked away by a vacuum pump. The steam will be emitted on one side of the pads and the vacuum pump will be placed on the other side of the pads.
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After the steaming the cotton pads will be disposed into the bucket on the other side of the machine. Now they can be used again.
For the final product, some big changes were made. All of the internal parts are rotated 90 degrees w.r.t. the exterior. The outer dimensions went from 45x30x30 cm to 26x32x26 cm (length x width x height). Because the conveyor belt is a lot smaller, a lot less pads fit on it at the same time. Furthermore, the cleaning process is no longer continuous. The pads can still be deposited at the front, but now the belt will rotate until it is completely filled after which the cleaning starts. The cleaned pads are caught in a drawer that can be completely removed as opposed to the previous version.
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The production
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The Frame
The frame is made from sheet metal. No specific type is selected, but any metal with decent strength and stiffness will be sufficient. First off, small holes are punched out and larger holes are cut out. After which the metal will be bent into shape. The corners are welded together and once the frame is complete it will be dipped into a ceramic coating to make it waterproof.
The outer shell, water tank and collection drawer
The material of the outer shell, water tanks and collection basket need to have proper strength and be able to withstand high temperatures while not being too expensive. For selecting the materials we look at the Young’s Modulus and maximum service temperature compared to the price.
When only considering plastics, PEEK and PTFE seem to be the best options. However, when also considering metals, most types of steel have better properties, with stainless steel being the best. Because PEEK is very expensive and stainless steel is heavy and requires more production processes to become the required shape, the material that will be used is PTFE. These parts will be made by rotational moulding.
Steam supply & removal
The steam supply and removal components are made from the same material; stainless steel, because they need to be water resistant, strong and be able to withstand high temperatures. They are also produced the same way. For the supply and removal component respectively a plate with holes and a plate with slots is machined. This plate is welded to a piece of folded sheet metal in order to create a hollow box.
Bought parts
Most of the parts are bought because producing them in house would be too difficult or expensive. These parts are; the (vacuum)motor, the water pump, the heating element, the gears and belts, the distribution rollers and the tubing.
For the packaging of the steam machine, only a box is needed, which includes instructions on the inside and outside.
Plan for the future
In this project there has mainly been looked at selling the product service system within the Netherlands. However, a part of the profit made can be put in growth of the company.
At the start up of the company the focus will be on Dutch cosmetics stores such as Douglas and ICIParis. When the company has grown enough the focus will shift to other cosmetics stores in Europe. For example Sephora. When the sales have peaked in Europe the focus will be on stores in Canada and the USA. The idea is to shift the focus gradually to make sure there is no high peak in the production.
The profit of selling the product will mainly be put in expanding the production line in such a way that the production of the washing machine will be more and more automated, which in the end will be cheaper.
Furthermore, when the sales spread more throughout the world, the cotton pads should also be producable in other colours for the stores where they will be sold.
Last of all, to make sure the stores will never be without a working machine for too long there has to be made sure in every area or country a handyman is able to fix the machine. This means the instructions have to be in the language of every country where the machine will be sold. It is not profitable to make sure the company has handymans in every country so making sure it is repairable is a better option.
Cotton pad
The cotton pad that is designed for this product service system is made out of organic cotton and has the same small size as a regular cotton pad. The pad is ecologically and environmentally better, but not with the disadvantages of bigger sizes and high prices. Eventually, the pads are even cheaper in use than when regular, disposable pads are used.
A regular, disposable cotton pad has usually a 5.7 cm diameter. Larger sized cotton pads exist as well, with a diameter of 10 cm. Different sizes also appear with the reusable cotton pads, the diameter can differ from 7 to 12 cm. On average, most pads have a diameter of 8 cm. The new made cotton pads will be around 6 till 7 cm big, looking mostly like a regular, disposable cotton pad in size and use.
Furthermore, two different existing reusable cotton pads are tested by one of the group members. These both have a diameter of 8 cm. After testing an 8 cm diameter, the conclusion was that the bigger size is not convenient, especially due to the thick and stiff stitched edge. Therefore the cotton pad for this PSS will be 6 cm big.
The pad is made of organic cotton, because the material feels the best in use and is environmentally friendlier as microfiber or bamboo when looking at both production of the plant and production of the actual pad. Also, the organic cotton is biodegradable, microfiber is not.
The pad will be produced like other reusable cotton pads are produced.
The general production process exists out of these steps:
- harvesting the cotton
- cleaning and colouring the cotton
- weaving the plant into a fiber, and weaving those fibers into a fabric
- cutting the fabric into the desired shape, this can also be punched out
- sewing two layers of the cotton together with the label
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The company will be a startup. Which means it cannot spent a lot on machines. Investing in machines is also high-risk since they can break. Therefore, it is better to outsource the production of the pads, leaving less risks and costs for the production. But the cost price will be higher in this case. The final price for the stores will be €1,20. The explanation for this can be found on the page 'finances'.
The store will pay this as a purchase price, to which they can add their profit marge, to come to the selling price for their customers.
The design of the cotton pad is based on the test and the store that will purchase it. The pad will always be coloured black, because some pigments of the makeup come out very badly, even though the cotton pad is thoroughly cleaned. The black colour makes sure that the pad looks clean and left over pigments are less visible. The stitching and the label are personalised for the store which will use and sell the pads. For example, the stitching and the label for Douglas are blue, and their logo is made onto the label. The design of the pad for every store will be unique.
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The material test which is referred to, can be found under the heading development; progress of the cotton pad.
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For packaging, the display box in the store could be made of recycled plastic or wood, like a jewellery box. The material used can be a sustainable option when its made of recycled wood, or the boxes will be recycled after use in the stores. The same goes for recycled plastic. The box will have a cover so that it fits in the theme of the store. As an example, we have one for Douglas and one for ICI Paris.
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The shipping box will be made out of cardboard, due to recyclability. Different sizes of boxes will be available.
