Seal and Serve is a customizable prepackaged drink maker that fills up pouches with liquids and seals them, made throughout my Electromechanical Systems Design class at Carnegie Mellon University. My role in this project was Team Leader, essentially managing the team throughout the entire project, from initial proposal to final prototype. I also designed the Full System CAD using SolidWorks and helped design and test the heat sealing mechanism. The prototype was showcased at the CMU Mechanical Engineering Design Expo, where it won Best Overall Project.
Today's pre-packaged beverage market often misses the mark in catering to individual tastes, with its standardized flavors and ingredient proportions leaving little room for personalization.
Also, the industry faces a challenge in providing secure, tamper-proof packaging, which is crucial for ensuring beverage safety and integrity in public and communal settings.
This was my Full System CAD of the design, mainly used to determine the placement and geometries of each component as well as sensor integration
The final prototype was made from contact paper-wrapped hardwood, and custom parts were made using 3D-Printed PLA
This video shows a demonstration of Seal and Serve filling up a pouch and then sealing it. The three ingredients used in this demo were Tanqueray Gin, Sprite Zero, and Simply Peach juice. The video ends with the pouch being sealed, and as can be seen below, the seal was uniform.
In this short video, the quality of the seal can be seen. The seal is completely uniform, with no gaps for liquid to get through.
This video shows another functionality of Seal and Serve: the ability to bypass all heat sealing and fill up regular glasses or cups. A cup base can be mounted onto the device similarly to the pouch base.
At the design expo, Seal and Serve's sustainable choice of contact paper-wrapped hardboard over acrylic was a standout feature, as was the product's design, with its sloped front panel and clear indicator lights. The idea of integrating biodegradable pouches emerged from thoughtful user inquiries, steering us towards an even greener future for the product.
The design expo culminated with our prototype being awarded Best Overall Project.
The goal of this thesis was to be able to let a robot “see” an object, identify it, and figure out the best way to grab it.
Sebastian Levy - Portfolio