The idea of making The Waterboy started with the problem that it took too long to fill up everyone’s water bottles during water breaks at soccer practice. During the hot, humid August soccer practices, my teammates and I would have to wait in the scorching sun for each individual person to fill up their bottles giving us less time to actually drink our water because it took so long to get some.
Before we even had any physical products in front of us to work with, we brainstormed what we wanted to make and what features it would have. Originally we thought that the water jug could have 8 spouts and that it would just sit on the bench. However, before drilling 8 holes into the jug we tested the idea of having 8 spouts and letting it sit on the bench.
In our classroom we simulated a “water break” that could happen. The regular water jug sat on the table with 8 pieces of wood taped to it to that represented spouts. Our classmates then walked up to the jug and pretend to fill up their bottles. What we learned from this test is that 8 spouts is too many because it overcrowded the space around the jug. Secondly, we learned that the jug couldn’t sit alone on the bench because the spouts on the side couldn't be easily accessed. We redid this test changing the number of spouts until it comfortably fit the right number of people around the jug.
Now with a clear vision in our minds of what we wanted the water break experience to look like, we started building and drilling. Using a drill press we made 3 holes, one on each side for a spout. We then used PVC piping to extend the neck length of the spouts we bought, for the spouts alone couldn't reach the inside of the bottle. Using silicone sealant, we inserted the spout into the piping and then the piping into the jug. After running into many leaks along the way, we would test a new spout every time by adding water to the jug to see if it leaked and where, then adjusting and fixing when necessary.
Once the jug was built to the standards we wanted. The stand had to be made to hold the jug at an ergonomic height so that it wasn’t so low to the ground it hurt to get water. We started this process by using an old tripod camera stand. We built a platform out of wood that the jug would sit on the top, and used string at the bottom legs of the stand to help support the weight of the heavy water jug. After testing the stand over and over it became apparent that the stand wasn’t strong enough to hold a full water jug we needed a new idea. Although the camera stand didn’t work out we learned a lot from it.
Since Luke knew how to weld steel and had a shop of his own, we came up with the idea to build one out of steel. We used the bottom half of a chair (the wheels up to the adjustable lever) and added four vertical steel tubing columns. At the top of the four columns a platform in the shape of an “X” was made also out of steel tubing. All of this together was well strong enough to support a human let alone the water jug.
Finally we added 4 caps on the end of each piece of metal on the X which would hold the water jug snugly to the stand. Using CAD (computer aided design) software we designed these caps which would clip onto the steel tubing and then hug the water jug enough as well. We 3D printed these parts and then adjusted the dimensions slightly until we had what we wanted.
Finally our stand and water jug were finished. The Waterboy truly changes the old ways of a water break and can enhance anyone’s hydration experience.