Designing a reusable applicator and extractor for the Beppy menstrual cup

Designing a reusable applicator and extractor for the Beppy menstrual cup

van Nieuwenhuizen, Sonja (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)

Pasman, G.J. (graduation committee)
Filippi, M. (mentor)

Delft University of Technology

Delft University of Technology

Design for Interaction

2023-09-22

This graduation report explains the process of the creation of a new reusable product to apply and extract the Beppy menstrual cup, to make the user experience less intimidating and more convenient. The results are two seperate products: the applicator made from medical grade silicone via injection moulding and the extractor made from a hard plastic core with a medical grade silicone outer layer via 2K injection moulding. The applicator helps the user fold the cup and keeps the cup tightly folded while inserting. When inserting, the cup is pushed out by pressing the bottom upwards, pushing a stick against the cup.
The extractor is used to take the menstrual cup out of the vagina canal. This is done by inserting the extractor next to the cup until it passes the rim of the cup. This will release the vacuum that is created by the cup and enable the user to pull it out. The cup is grabbed by the loop, before it is completely out of the vagina canal, so it does not fall.



To come to these final solutions, an analysis, ideation, integration and evaluation were conducted. The analysis provides knowledge about the company Beppy, their customers, related products, inspirational products and designs and general knowledge about the menstrual cycle and anatomy. By conducting a questionnaire and gaining insights from client support, a user journey is made to visualize the troubles experienced during the use of a cup. The insights from the analysis are concluded in the requirements.



To come to concepts, explorative ideation started during the analysis, followed by a brainstorm ideation via a structured micro user step scenario. This was divided into three parts: folding, inserting and extracting. Some of the mirco steps were ideated on and were combined to create ideas to 3D print prototypes with TPU.



The concepts were integrated until they worked properly when tested on vagina dummies and were ready to create silicone prototypes with by the manufacturer of Beppy. The extractor was not as thoroughly integrated as the applicator, because the applicator was more important for the company to develop. The design of the extractor is not yet up to the standard of Beppy, so they would want to continue with developing the design before proceeding with the creation of samples to test. The sample production of the extractor was also more expensive and would take too long to produce for this graduation project.



To test the applicator with users, a 3D printed mold was made and used to create silicone prototypes by the manufacturer. Six participants tested the applicator and gave feedback via a feedback form, first impression video and interview. The feedback was analysed, so a redesign could be made with which Beppy can continue its development.



The final design of the extractor is functional yet not fully shaped in a coherent design. The final design of the applicator is a promising product, that improves the experience of menstrual cup users by making is less intimidating and more convenient.

Menstrual cup
Applicator
Extractor
User Experience Design
Sustainability

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:63ea86ad-3f02-4609-939f-c48c09563aed

Student theses

master thesis

© 2023 Sonja van Nieuwenhuizen