Heat Formed Acrylic Boba Straw Support
Hot bubble tea in the winter can be a fantastic treat, but when served too hot one may begin to worry about the platic straws (used to suck up the tapioca pearls) melting. To ease the minds of all boba fanatics (myself included) I sought to design a simple and aesthetic way to support the boba straw outside of the tea while it cools to an appropriate temperature. The straw itself is inspired by my orange-morph bearded dragon Cedric. The design although made from acrylic was designed in such a way that it can be made of thin cardboard and glued to paper cups so that it is practical to be used as commercial design, not just a novel item for myself.
Meet Cedric, my bearded dragon
Mood Board
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When asked to design a cup piece for a coffee or teacup my mind immediately rushed to think of standard tea and coffee cup designs. However, only after fleshing out a design for a tea diffuser fully in CAD did I realize...BOBA. Boba is a growing market, and very much "my cup of tea". This mood board is a conceptualized mixing of my love for boba, carrying convenience and Cedric.
Brainstorm Sketching
This is a small snippet of the sketches done during the concept phase of cup design. My concept started as a tea diffuser cup then changed to be coaster designs that hover a cup above a table, and ultimately ended as a straw supporting cup cozy. My goal for the design was simplicity and functionality. I did not want to make a one-time aesthetic design, but rather something replicable that solves a problem, in this case, plastic to heat contact.
First Design Attempt
My first design was a tea carry cup that had a plug and drop-in tea diffuser. The diffuser also was compatible with berries and other fruits for a water infusion. Ultimately I did not feel any connection to this design and decided to do a second brainstorm, during which time I came up with using a single piece of acrylic to make a design. Initially, I considered various coasters, and then came up with the boba themed design
Final Concept Selection
The final design was simplistic, organic and based on my own dragon. I knew this was the design I wanted to use since it had personal resonance, both in functionality and appearance
The Fabrication Process
Initial Attempt
Initially, I made the dragon too small.
When the dragon was large enough I attempted heat forming it with just a heat gun and gloves. I was heating, the acrylic curling it inwards and checking fit around a cup. Each time I warmed the acrylic just enough to be somewhat pliable and forced it inward. Halfway through the process, the acrylic cracked. Later after experimenting I found the acrylic needs to be at the consistency of molten glass to form. Additionally, I started using a mold to form around directly which gave smoother curves and a better product.
Photos of Final Fabrication
Demonstration of Commercial Viability
Despite my appreciation for one of a kind pieces, I wanted to focus my design to be simplistic and commercially viable. The dragon straw rest can be made with thick paper or cardboard and be glued down at 3 points. Once the dragon is glued it can be moved to flush to the cup and the cup can be stacked. Once the cup is ready to be used the head and tail can be pulled away from the sides of the cup. The design is cheap to implement, unique and serves a functional purpose. The design is similar to Solo Cups paper pull away handles pictured to the left.
Final Product
