ironing station for students
2020 | Group project by 6 persons
Duration: 2 months
In this project, we developed an ironing station tailored to the needs of students in a group of six people. The station can be suspended from a door to save space and can be folded away when not in use. The concept also includes an iron with a steaming function that sprays steam onto clothing, allowing it to be smoothed quickly, which is an advantage for students who have little time for household chores.
Challenges for students in household tasks
The aim of the project was to make ironing easier for students. Clothes care is often difficult for them because there is little space in their living quarters to set up an ironing board and the storage space is too small to store the ironing equipment when it is not in use. In addition, the workload during their studies is high, leaving little time for ironing clothes.
Compact Design
The ironing station we developed makes use of the space in front of apartment doors, which is generally free because otherwise the doors cannot be opened. Inspired by hanging shelves, the station is hooked onto the top of the door and rests with its lower side against the door surface. The flat design of the hooks allows the door to be closed while the system is hanging on it. For storage, the ironing board is folded toward the door on hinges and stored attached to the door, where it takes up little space. In the storage position, part of the ironing board remains level, providing space to stow the iron included in the system.
In addition to the ironing board, the concept includes an iron with steam functionality. Therefore, the device has a water tank and an evaporator unit. The steam function can be used either to moisten a conventionally ironed garment or to steam clothing. By steaming, garments are smoothed while they are hanging on a hanger. This is done by spraying them with hot steam. The steam relaxes the fabric of the garment and reduces wrinkles. To ensure that the iron is suitable for both conventional ironing and steaming, the handle angle has been ergonomically designed so that it can be used upright or lying down.
Design process
In the development of the concept, the focus was on the ergonomic requirements for ironing. Therefore, the necessary heights of the work surfaces, reach areas, and contact points with the technical devices were analyzed. This also involved creating a handle model to determine the angle at which the iron handle should be positioned so that the device could perform all of its intended functions.
The technical elaboration of the concept included the development of a shape for the iron that would provide space for a water tank and allow easy access to the tank for filling. Models and sketches were produced to ensure this.