Portable Snack Bag Opener

Shaq Palmer
Michael Trela

Anderson Career and Technology Center
Engineering Design and Development
May 13, 2014




Abstract
Our group decided to pursue this topic because we both agreed that it can be a pain
sometimes to open snack bags. This is a very important topic because people want to
enjoy their snacks but sometimes cannot, because they cannot get it opened. We are
trying to eliminate the problem of people not being able to open snack bags because of
frustrating packaging or lack of strength. Our original approach was a product that you
could easily slide a bag through one end and the opened bag would come out the other
end. We conducted a survey asking consumers how often they eat snack bags and if
they have trouble opening them. The people surveyed agreed that this is a big problem
and are very willing to purchase a portable snack bag opener to help solve this problem.
This can help solve the problem of people getting very frustrated over their snack bags
not opening, resulting in a decrease in common problems.



Table of Contents
Abstract ii
List of Figures and Tables
IV
1.0 Summary 4
2.0 Introduction 7
3.0 Methods, Assumptions, and Procedures 9
4.0 Results and Discussion 14
5.0 Conclusion 15
6.0 Recommendations 16
7.0 References 17
Appendixes 18
List of Symbols, Abbreviations, and Acronyms 21
1.0 summary
We plan to make a portable snack bag opener. It is a device that opens up snack
bags. Examples include but are not limited to chip bags, candy bags, gummy bear bags,
frozen food bags. Many people always complain that their snack bags are too hard to
open. Many people get frustrated and try to find scissors. Sometimes scissors and other
methods of opening bags are dirty and shouldnt be used to open food products. Some
older people are too weak to open snack bags. This product requires minimum effort to
use and is much quicker than other opening methods. The snack bag industry is very
large. Many people are exhausted at the end of the day and are too tired to open up
snack bags. These tired people mentioned that they would purchase the product. 75%
of people surveyed mentioned that they would definitely buy a product if one like this
came out.
Industry
The Snack Bag industry is a really large industry. Many people these days want
things as convenient as possible. So instead of taking large bags and splitting them to
smaller bags people go out and buy small snack bags. There are also many bags that
are extremely hard to open. This includes candy bags, gummy bear bags, and frozen
food bags. Our goal is to make a product that can make opening these bags a lot
easier.
Market Analysis
To do market research we made a survey to see how big the problem is. Our
target market is consumers of packaged snack foods. Consumers of snack products
around the world have reported in 2014 that 85% say they are frustrated by opening
their snack bags and having their snack spilling out of the bag. Out of that 85%, 75% of
people surveyed said that this is a giant problem. Studies have shown that frustration
can lead to emotional, physical, and behavioral symptoms, such as depression,
insomnia domestic violence, and anxiety attacks. The snack bag industry is a $4.7
billion dollar industry. 75% of people would purchase the product if it was for sale.
Competitive Analysis
This product has never been made before. Some people have told us that
scissors are a good other option. Scissors are very dangerous. You can easily cut
yourself. Our product is 100 percent safe. The knife is entirely encased in the unit. The
hole for the snack bag is so small that there is no way a little child can stick their finger
in the hole. Scissors are sometimes large and not really portable. Never has anyone
mentioned that they keep scissors in their purse or pocket. Our product is portable and
easily fits in a purse or pocket. After we release the product there will probably be
automatic improvements. We did not want to take an automatic approach because they
would use batteries and it would make the product bigger and heavier.






2.0 Introduction
2.1 Subject
Snack bags are very common these days. People use them everywhere. They are
perfect to take on the go. However sometimes they are very hard to open. Sometimes
they are packaged in ways that even the strongest people struggle. Older people and
people with handicaps pertaining to strength or arms also have trouble.
2.2 Purpose
Upon inspection, it was discovered that a product can be created to eliminate this
problem. A little slider could be created that you can slide a bag through. The slider will
have a blade inside that when you slide the bag through it will cut the bag open. The
proposed designs that are contained in this report will make the lives of consumers
significantly easier.
2.3 Scope
This report provides technical information on the geometry, material, make-up,
And manufacturing methods. This report also identifies the problems associated with
opening snack bags. Not included in this report are discussions of alternative material
options, mathematical analysis of resulting stresses from applied forces and the costs
associated.









3.0 Methods, assumptions, and procedures
A visual, structural, functional analysis of an industrially only snack bag opener resulted
in the discovery of a design flaw that would render the product non-convenient. The
snack bag opener, pictured in Figure 1, was invented by Brian S. Colbert in 1988 and is
used by big snack corporations all over the world. This product was invented to help
companies open a large quantity of snack bag in the factory for testing purposes only.

The product idea was put through a tough thought process. First, the design had to
smaller, be safe so kids, and be able to fit in a pocket or bag without any compilation.
To do so there were many designs were sketched to determine the positive and
negative side of that particular design. Overall it took four sketches to final reach the
final design. The final design consists of four parts; split one split two back and blade
holder. A three-dimensional computer model of each component was created using a
computer-aided design (CAD) solid modeling program. The CAD models were then
joined to form a Virtual assembly of the snack bag opener as seen in Figure 2.

In the design of the CAD model of split one, it took many trial and error testing to
acquire the right fit for the final design. As seen in Figure 3

split one has a indention in the back for a
magnet, and in the inside of the design there is an interlocking split at the top portion of
the design so the final design can be easily assembly without any problems.
In the design of the CAD model of split two, it also took many trial and errors testing to
acquire the right fit for the final design. As seen in figure 4
Split two has any extension at the top portion of
the design that allows it to fit into split one and interlock. Split two also have an opening
in the back so the blade holder an easily slide in and be safely secured.

In the design of the CAD model of the back, it was an easily built addition to the
final design and did not take any time at all.
As seen in Figure 5, the back in a long piece that will be
assembled to the blade holder after the blade holder itself in safely secured into split
two. The objective of the back is so that the blade holder cannot slide right out of the
assembly.

In the design of the CAD model of the blade holder, it was a very unique but very
simple design. As seen in Figure 6
The blade holder was made to safe and securely
holds the razor blade in place so that the product will work.







4.0 Results and Discussion
when researching we realized that scissors can be a plausible solution to snack
bags that are hard to open. However, scissors are not that portable. They are also
dangerous. Very rarely do we see a person walking around with scissors in their
purse or pocket. Very rarely do we see a person take scissors out of their pockets
next to a vending machine to open a bag of chips. Also most scissors are very
long and dont fit into pockets easily. Safety is always a concern. Scissors are not
always safe; our product is designed with safety in mind. Our product is also more
portable than scissors. It can easily fit into a purse or pocket. For our research we
did a market analysis. We made a survey and asked people questions pertaining
to our problem statement. The results from our market analysis confirmed what
our problem statement stated.




5.0 conclusions
In order for the design for the PSBO to function consistently under normal operating
conditions, both split one and split to have to be connected and interlocked, then the
blade must be in side split two. For the final design to open the bag completely
every time the blade must be in safely inside and then slowly slide the PSBO across
the top of the bag safe opening your snack bag. Applying light pressure to the back
allows for zero complications when opening a bag. We found that this method of
opening the bag was most successful out of all of the other possibilities, although
alternative methods could be used.




6.0 Recommendations
6.1 Further studies
There were several unknowns which could affect the performance of the prosed
solution. Further studies should be conducted in the following areas:
Analysis of the Adhesive used to glues the magnet into the back of the device to
allow it to stick to magnetic object such as a refrigerator. The glue was also used
to secure the blade into the holder.
Alternative blades that are applicable to cut open any snack bag. The blade that
was used was a razor blade and it can easily be replaced if needed.
Analysis of split one and split two from which they interlock to create the final
design. A different way to interlock the two parts was purposed during the
thought process.


7.0 references
"HARIBO - The Home of Gold-Bears, the Original Gummy Bear, Happy Cola,
Twin Cherries - Information and News." HARIBO - The Home of Gold-Bears, the
Original Gummy Bear, Happy Cola, Twin Cherries - Information and News. N.P., n.d.
Web. 09 May 2014.







Appendixes
Pictures of the final design




List of Symbols, Abbreviations, and Acronyms
List of Symbols
None used
List of Abbreviations
PSBO = Portable Snack Bag Opener
List of Acronyms
CAD = Computer Aided Design