Teardown Project
An exploded view of the Cuisinart PowerCut Can Opener that I created in PhotoView360
Project Description
In my mechanical engineering design class, along with a team of 4 other students, I was tasked with tearing down a Cuisinart Can Opener and producing an extensive report on its design, including a complete recreation of the product in SolidWorks.
In the team of 5 students, my main responsibilities included reverse-engineering the complex shell of the model, and CADing multiple other parts in the 30+ part assembly. I took dimensions from the real-life parts using digital calipers and a tape measure, and then sketched the parts first on paper and then in SolidWorks. Finally, I received all of the other parts that the rest of the team had designed, and I mated every sub-assembly to produce a functional assembled model of the can opener. I added materials to the parts and created cutaway and exploded views via a PhotoView360 render.
I also contributed to the writing and production of the final teardown report, displayed below.
A rendered front view of our finished model. I was really happy with how much it resembled the real product.
A section view showing the inner workings of the can opener. It operates via an AC motor geared down to a gripping wheel.
We labeled parts on the exploded view based on their index in our BOM
The real, assembled Cuisinart Can Opener. The teardown was completed in multiple steps to ensure we could re-assemble the product..
This rear-view of the can opener highlights the complex internal geometry of the front casing. This was one of the hardest parts of the casings to model.
I used a series of lofts in order to re-create the curved shape of the back of the can opener. Making sure the model was aesthetically accurate was very important to me.
Real-life exploded view of the can opener. The teardown process took a few days and was conducted in Tufts’ machine shop.