3D Printed Egg Drop
Every year, millions of dozens of eggs are broken. A 2020 study by Cornell University stated that broken shells totaled 616 million dozen. A school egg drop project got me interested in the perfect design for a protective egg case. Taking inspiration from honeycombs which use a geometric pattern, which are light and strong, I printed an egg shaped case with square infill. I managed to create a successful egg drop by using a 2 piece case.
Design 1
Design 1 (w/ egg)
Design 1 - Square infill. This design was able to survive low height drops (2 meters) but failed the larger drop. (4.2 meters)
Design 2 - Two piece hexagonal infill case. This was designed for the 4.2 meter drop, and failed. The 2 loose design with space between the 2 pieces caused the egg to shatter.
Design 2 (Hexagonal infill)
Design 2 (w/ egg)
Design 3 (Square infill)
Design 3 (w/ egg)
Design 3 - Two piece Square infill case. This was designed for the 4.2 meter drop, and failed. The loose design with space between the 2 layers caused the egg to break, but the square infill absorbed more shock compared to the hexagonal infill, as the egg was only cracked.
Design 4 (Animation)
Design 4 - Two piece Square infill case. This was a combination of design 1 and design 3. It used design 1 and the outer shell of design 3 perpendicular to each other. This successfully survived the 4.2 meter drop. The extra padding and lack of space between the inner and outer shell prevented damage of the egg.
Design 4 (Assembled)
Two interlocking layers were proven to be more successful at alleviating damage than 2 layers that were aligned straight. Practical applications for such a design include helmets and packaging.