Palette

Palette is a portable paint tinter to be used by painters on the jobsite. It was designed for my undergraduate capstone, 2.009 The Product Engineering Process.

My team developed Palette to save painters time, money, and hassle by coloring paints themselves rather than having to make frequent trips to the hardware store. 2.009 focuses on user feedback and product iterations, and the second photo shows the development of Palette throughout the class.

The device functions through a system of interchangeable cartridges which accurately dispense tint via pumps built into the cartridges and powered by motors in the base of the machine. Cartridges can slot in and out for both replacement when empty and to switch paint color families. Shaped similarly to a five gallon bucket, Palette is easy to carry around and store.

I served as a project lead and systems integrator. I ran meetings, coordinated the team, worked on every component of the system, and ensured the different mechanisms functioned together properly. In addition, I was the lead designer of the main internal carriage which held and dispensed the cartridges of tint and participated in the manufacturing of the machine's internal components. During the final presentation, our machine accurately dispensed tint and matched the color of a sample paint from the store. My team's work throughout the semester can be found on the course website.