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€20,000 Overall Community Prize
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Product Design: Help reduce waste from coffee-to-go paper cups and come up with sustainable solutions!

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Mille Mug

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MITMikeD
MITMikeD
Image of the Mille Mug in its telescoped state.
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Comments

Show all 46 comments
  • Benjey23
    0
    Useful?
    over 1 year ago

    Benjey23

    Good idea!
    However, I used to own a cup like this in my childhood the key problem was the need to pull the mug tight, otherwise there will be leaks, especially if I pulled it not straight up as it is often the case when I didn't pay attention. I remember this because I tried to demonstrate how practical it was and often ended up with wet hand if I pulled it in a hurry. Obviously you mention sealing material but I guess this will add significantly to the manufacturing costs. Another problem is the fact you end up with a dirty (or wet if rinsed) collapsed mug that you are meant to put in your handbag or pocket... Any thoughts about these issues?
  • bjerknes
    0
    Useful?
    over 1 year ago

    bjerknes

    This is the best of the multi-use cups I've seen here. Unfortunately, it has the drawbacks common to all multi-use cups - the consumer has to carry the cup with him or her from home to work and back home, it's impractical while traveling, and the consumer has to clean it. I have no doubt a significant number of people will commit to that and multi-use cups are an important part of the puzzle, but I also have no doubt a significant number of people can't or won't or won't all the time commit to the approach.
  • dalaa
    0
    Useful?
    over 1 year ago

    dalaa

    very nice idea..
  • MITMikeD
    owner
    0
    Useful?
    over 1 year ago

    MITMikeD idea owner

    @Benjey23, your point about the cost is a good one. We assumed that the raw material cost would be less than $1, based on the current price of bulk polypropylene molding grade pellets. We estimated an additional $3 per cup in molding fees (the silicone seal should be able to be molded along with the polypro) and $2 per cup for packaging, storage, and transit. This gives a total cup cost of $6. If the cup is sold to the consumer at $18 (a price which is in the middle of the range of comparable current Starbucks tumblers), there is an acceptable 66% margin.
  • lolec
    0
    Useful?
    over 1 year ago

    lolec

    Great idea i love that you actually made a prototype and it worked
  • talkdesign
    0
    Useful?
    over 1 year ago

    talkdesign

    If i was a consumer, will i buy your design which is beautiful but a bit too bulky, or will i buy the ones i saw in other people's submission that's really compact but too flimsy? This contest is starting to make me a bit frustrated.. so many amazing ideas that perhaps could be combined to make a better one.
  • danieltreacy
    0
    Useful?
    over 1 year ago

    danieltreacy

    Very cool that you prototyped this, and I hope you have luck with the sealing tests - o-rings might not be the way, what with the wear they would experience in the twisting, but there would definitely be something. I also like someone else's comment about putting aesthetic emphasis on the twist grooves - that's already something that differentiates yours nicely from other 3 part cups, so why not capitalize on it? Out of curiosity, was that model done on an objet printer or something? The plastic looks familiar - I used it for the prototype cap of my design too. Whatever you do, don't put even mildly hot liquids near it for too long, as it warps really badly even at low temperatures - just hoping you don't find this out the hard way too!
  • MITMikeD
    owner
    0
    Useful?
    over 1 year ago

    MITMikeD idea owner

    @danieltracy: Our prototyping was done using SLA (stereolithography). The materials we used for rapid prototyping are not compatible with hot liquids. The production version of this cup will be made from polypropylene, an injection-moldable, microwavable, post-consumer plastic. As for a sealing material, a soft rubber gasket (similar to the gasket that is in the lid of nearly every travel tumbler currently on the market) may be a better option. We are currently prototyping another version using this sealing mechanism and will update the forum on our results.
  • Bear
    0
    Useful?
    over 1 year ago

    Bear

    The spiraling telescopic twisting grooves of this cup doesn't seem practical to me and here is why: Sugar!

    I do not believe that this cup could ever be cost effective in any sense of the words. This is because of the nature of sugar. It is adhesively sticky! In other words, after you've enjoyed your hot sugar filled coffee, whether mocha, cappuccino or just plain black with sugar, you're going to collapse this cup in on itself INTO this adhesively sticky sugar that is going to make a film that will be present on the outside of the cup the next time you open it.

    This leads not only to sticky problems but also to hygienic problems as well.

    I'm not a physics expert, but it seems to me to solve a problem like this would be quit costly per cup.
    • msiboni
      over 1 year ago

      msiboni 

      You raise a good point about the fact that the cup will get sticky and frankly a little gross between uses, and this is something we have struggled with. However, in terms of effecting the motion of opening and closing the cup, the problem really isn't quite so bad.

      The motion occurs by a "nub" sliding on a track. The nubs are placed on the interior bottom edges of the first two sections. The tracks which they slide on are on the outside of the 2nd and 3rd sections. The nub is actually placed below where the O-Ring seals the cup from leaking. As a result, when the cup is in use, sugar, liquids etc do not come in contact with any part of the sliding components. You are correct that once the cup is collapsed, the interior walls are touching the exterior walls, so everything is getting a little dirty, but because the tracks are inset, they are fairly protected from getting sticky. Meanwhile, so long as the O-Ring is sealing when the cup is both opened and closed (which is essential to make this mug even functional), the nub is protected from stickiness at almost all times. Finally, there is a small gap between the interior and exterior walls so they are not actually sliding against one another. (If you go to the 8th image included, there is a section cut of the cup and many of these details are visible)

      You raise a good point in terms of sugar making the cup sticky and concerns about cleanliness, but in terms of opening and closing, the twisting mechanism has been designed so that it will work well even if the cup is dirty.
    • Bear
      over 1 year ago

      Bear 

      If you say, but if I were you, I wouldn't have many made until after you've tested the cup for this extensively. Just the wear factors alone with the opening and closing of the cup, and the material injection molding tolerance changes because of use would cause this cup not to seal as well as you think, especially over time. Loose coffee drippings at the bottom, whether in liquid or in foam form will find a way to the outside, even if its gradual and eventual. Just remember that you're working with an expanding and contracting liquid that can even move a mountain (frost) with the right conditions present. Just my two an a half cents.
  • danieltreacy
    0
    Useful?
    over 1 year ago

    danieltreacy

    Ah, cool, I did expect this would be PP for the final thing, which I also chose as a material (it certainly has very appealing properties). By Objet, I merely referred to the 3D print machine manufacturer, which is stereolithography, but there are many plastics available for that, and yours looked especially similar to what i've seen and used in the past with Objets. Just curious about your experiences with that :-)