Overview
McMaster Designathon 2025 is an annual CAD competition hosted by McMaster Design League. As Team Lead, I led a team in designing an innovative robot vacuum attachment: an elephant-shaped accessory that raises furniture legs, enabling the robot to clean underneath previously inaccessible areas.
Design Challenge
The competition challenged teams to create a creative, feasible, and versatile design that could be communicated effectively to a panel of judges. Our concept addressed a common limitation of robot vacuums: their inability to clean under low-clearance furniture like sofas and beds.
Design Process
The project began with sketching and comparing multiple initial design concepts. We evaluated each concept against criteria of creativity, feasibility, and versatility. The elephant-themed design emerged as a balance of these factors: its trunk could function as a lifting mechanism while the form was distinctive and memorable.
The design was refined through iterations to ensure it could be manufactured, would integrate with standard robot vacuum platforms, and would reliably elevate furniture legs. A final CAD model assembly was developed using Autodesk Inventor, capturing all components and their relationships.
Presentation
The completed design was pitched to a panel of three judges. The presentation communicated the design benefits, functionality, and how the solution addressed the identified problem. As Team Lead, I coordinated the presentation and ensured clarity of the technical and conceptual aspects of our design.
Key Outcomes
- Leadership experience guiding a design team through competition
- Creative problem-solving bridging aesthetics and functionality
- Structured design process from concept to CAD to pitch
- Effective technical communication to an expert panel
Tools Used
Autodesk Inventor, Concept Sketching, Technical Presentation