Glass Bowls

This project involved learning glass molding and tempering processes while managing inherent tolerance challenges. The core challenge was designing low-cost, food-safe, single-piece lids that seal containers while accommodating significant variations in bowl tolerances.

I sourced a proprietary PP+TPE blend material originally made for a competitor's glass bowl lids. During a visit to China, I coordinated meetings between material company representatives, lid manufacturers, and bowl manufacturers — and brought 50 pounds of the proprietary plastic to conduct sample production. The material met all tolerance specifications.

Personal Contributions

• Material Selection and Identification — tracked down custom PP and TPE blend for large tolerance sealing
• Factory and Supplier Integration — coordinated material specialists and factory leadership in China
• Statistical Tolerance Analysis — designed around production variation
• Non Linear FEA — modeled plastic lid displacement
• Strategic Mold Design — implemented slides and inserts for design flexibility