MORPHY RICHARDS BLENDER
Morphy Richards blender
For this design I undertook a live project with Morphy Richards to design a food preparation product. The three main aims were to create a family blender to encourage a healthy life style, that delivers enjoyment through food preparation and ensures safety for children.
The main body can be removed from the docking station and shaken when blending, therefore making for a more enjoyable experience and encouraging children to use it. The organic shape based on an egg, having a bottom section produced via injection
moulding ABS with a brushed steel veneer being placed on the exterior. This allows the
ribbing and internal fittings to be included within the initial mould, making manufacturing
easier. The top piece is glass that is formed through blow and press moulding, which is then
annealed and treated with a sulphur coating on the inside to reduce the amount of
erosion caused by the acids from the fruit and vegetables blended within.
The glass stand allows the top to turn into a usable drinking vessel, or a storage system should the user not want to consume all of the smoothie at one time. The stand is injection moulded out of ABS with a brushed steel veneer, exposing the gloss black corners making it fit in successfully with all other parts of the product.
The Iris provides blade safety by being open when the lid is on the product, yet closed when the lid is off. The glass top has pins on the bottom of an internal rim, each slotting into the bottom of the egg, thus twisting the iris open when the top is being screwed into the base. This means that the user cannot come into contact with the blade at any point. With a ring provided to put in and twist the iris open for cleaning.
A lithium battery housed within the main body, can be charged via the docking station therefore supplying an external power source for the egg whilst away from it. The shaking element allows the user to have more fun whilst preparing the food, making it a more enjoyable task. This shake feature is aimed at encouraging children to increase healthy eating as they are more likely to make a smoothie or something using the blender rather than baking. The main dock is made out of injection moulded ABS covered in a brushed steel veneer, with the ABS corners exposed boasting a black gloss finish. At the rear of the dock there is a recess showing the Morphy Richards logo, with a reinforced glass cover. The clock will be a bought in component that will be sunk into another recess at the front of the dock, also covered by a layer of glass.