Tea Time

Tea Time was my final project for ME203, Design and Manufacturing. This project came from a desire to pay homage to my Taiwanese/Chinese culture; additionally, my mother has always brewed a variety of traditional Chinese/ Taiwanese teas in a loose-leaf fashion. Accordingly, I decided to make a tea steeper that she could use for tea-making. The front side features a plum blossom, the national flower of Taiwan, while the back side features the Chinese character for tea.

The part was sand cast in 356 aluminum using a pattern made from Obomodulan (a synthetic wood analogue) and a 3D printed flower shape. Post-machining involved the use of both a manual mill and a lathe in order to hollow out the interior, drill holes, and remove drafted angles from the sand casting process. Finally, a set of neodymium magnets is used to attach the two halves together.