This week we're back to working on the Super Glue Gun. We've reviewed many of the comments and suggestions posted here on the Community and are factoring them into our design.
The first thing we are addressing is the motor location. Ben originally had the motor positioned so that it was sticking out the side of the gun, making the gun unevenly weighted. I suggested that we move the motor into the handle with the gear facing upwards to make the design more compact. While this solved some bulk and balance problems, it created new issues of the motor interfering with the auto stand and the trigger. Our new idea solution is in the photo below.
The proposed modifications here would also help another issue brought up by a community member, f5kn. We had the motor set farther back near the handle. However, this would make it so that there would be a significant time where the glue stick that was actively being melted would be past the point where it would be engaged by the motor gear, making the anti-drip function useless. By shortening the feed tube on the hot end and moving the gear as close to the hot end as possible, that drastically reduces the amount that the active glue stick would not be engaged by the gear. Hopefully negligible enough to not be too much of a design flaw.
We also want the end of the nozzle to be long and narrow to reach into tight places. We're hoping that by adding on a nozzle as shown, rather than having the normal small cone at the end of the plastic casing, will be enough to achieve that design feature. The concern with this is, will the smaller hot end be powerful enough to melt the glue within the the nozzle from a cold start.
Other suggestions we received said to make the stand mechanical and spring loaded rather than electrically extended and retracted by a servo. Others say to eliminate the stand all together in favor of a holster or cradle, or simply going cordless, using a heavy battery at the base as a stand like a cordless drill.
At this point in the design process, we're looking at, "What makes our glue gun better than what is on the market?" Can we keep enough features in the gun to warrant making an entirely new product? Moving forward, we turn to our community members for help.
What features would need to be in the Super Glue Gun to make you want to buy it?
Our key features are the auto extrusion and anti-drip. Are those features alone enough?
Does it need an electrical auto stand? Or is a spring loaded stand, or is no extending stand a better solution?
Should it be battery powered and cordless?
Should it have an LED indicating when the hot end is up to temperature?
Should it have an auto-shutoff timer so it can't be left on accidentally for too long?
Are there other features we haven't considered that if included would convince you to buy such a product?
Should it use 1/4" mini glue sticks or does it need to have a larger capacity?
Please share your ideas and opinions below!
