On The Go Fountain

Last crawled date: 1 year, 11 months ago

Our design resolves the issues of bottle pollution and drinking water contamination by providing any user with their own portable drinking fountain, which not only reduces the risk of bacterial growth, but also allows for people (like the elderly) to get a drink of water quicker and easier in their own homes. According to the Earth Policy Institute, it takes about 1.5 million barrels of oil to create the 50 billion plastic water bottles Americans use each year (Smithsonian). In a separate study, Bright, Boone, and Gerba (2010) tested elementary classroom surfaces for bacteria, norovirus, and influenza A (Pacinist). They found that water fountain knobs and push buttons were the most contaminated surfaces per unit area (Pacinist). Public drinking fountains provide numerous benefits, from improving public health through broad access to affordable drinking water to reducing the environmental costs of bottled drinks. However, a decline in the number of water fountains and eroding public trust in water quality have led to a shift away from publicly accessible water toward commercial bottled water. This is where our device steps in. By applying the techniques of additive manufacturing we have successfully created a pocket-sized device out of ABS plastics which can be rapidly produced using fused deposition modeling technology. The tool allows for anyone to conveniently satisfy their thirst wherever a water faucet is present, all with an ergonomic handle for better grip of your “On the Go Fountain”. (This is a group project by Evan Yasick and Nolan Ruble)