Refrigerator Water Dispenser Lever

Objective: Designed a mechanical lever to help a mother with limited hand availability activate a refrigerator water dispenser using only one hand.

Requirements: Create a non-invasive, functional attachment that allows the user to press the internal dispenser button while holding a water bottle, without using both hands.

Top Skills: design process (sketching, prototyping, iteration), waterjet manufacturing, 2D CAD (SolidWorks), teamwork, client communication, project planning (Gantt/RAM charts)

Overview

This was my first hands-on engineering project, completed as part of the first Design Thinking & Communication (DTC) course sequence at Northwestern. Our client, a new mother, needed a way to fill a water bottle from her refrigerator while holding her baby. We designed a simple aluminum lever that attaches to the dispenser interior and presses the button when a bottle is pushed forward, enabling single-handed operation.

Design Process

• Client Interviews: Identified the pain point: needing two hands to dispense water from an internal fridge spout

• Ideation: Explored solutions involving minimal installation effort and mechanical complexity

• Prototyping:

  • Created cardboard and foam core models to test lever motion

  • Final design: flat aluminum lever, laser-cut via waterjet

• CAD & Fabrication:

  • Used SolidWorks to generate 2D profiles

  • Waterjetted aluminum sheet to create functional prototypes

• Iteration: Tested for fit, motion, and repeatability inside the fridge

Teamwork & Project Management

• Helped build a Gantt chart and RAM chart to track team responsibilities and milestones

• Communicated regularly with the client to incorporate usability feedback

• Documented design rationale and testing process in a final engineering report

Final Design

• Material: Aluminum lever plate, durable and easy to clean

• Operation: Bottle or cup pushes lever, which mechanically presses the water button

• Installation: Tool-free attachment with minimal disruption to existing appliance

• Outcome: Successfully enabled single-handed water dispensing

Key Takeaways

This project introduced me to the fundamentals of user-centered design and physical prototyping. While the final product was simple, it met a real-world need and showed me how basic mechanical systems can have a meaningful impact. It also helped me understand the value of client interaction and clear team communication early in the design process.