What I designed here is a lid holder for my rice cooker, that fits neatly in one of the slots on the side! This idea stemmed from the fact that whenever I finish cooking my rice and go to scoop some into my plate, I never have a place to put the lid. If I were to put it on the counter, the condensation gets on it, which is too much work for my lazy self to clean up. I noticed that one of the slots on the side are unused while the other holds the spoon, so I thought to design something I can put in the slot that will hold the lid and make scooping my rice easier!

The two files needed to print this design are listed below

Supplies

The things I used to design and construct this lid holder are:

CAD Software

I use a CAD (Computer Aided Design) software to create and visualize my design. Any CAD software can be used, but I mainly use Fusion 360.

Rice Cooker

This specific design only works on the Aroma 4 Cup Pot Style Rice Cooker which I purchased at Target for $18 (pretty cheap!)

3D Printer

Used to manufacture the parts I designed on my CAD software.

Measurement Tool

Used to measure the dimensions needed on the rice cooker. The device I used was a digital caliper because it displays very accurate measurements.

Super Glue

Because this part is printed in two pieces, I needed a way to bind them together strongly.

Step 1: Take Measurements

I started by taking a picture of the slot from above and using my digital caliper to get a measurement that I can base the sketch off of. I also got measurements of the lid itself so I know how big to make the holder.

Step 2: Design #1

Using Fusion 360, I made the first design, using a square slot design to fit them together.

Step 3: Print

I sliced the design files and exported them to my 3D Printer to print.

Step 4: Constructing First Design

I glued the two parts together and tested it on my rice cooker. It fit in the slot, but the size of the holder wasn't slim enough to hold the lid properly, and it sometimes slipped out. This prompted me to make a second iteration of the design.

Step 5: Design #2

This the second design I came up with, using a more stable design and a somewhat accurate lid recreation to help me visualize how it will sit. I also got rid of the square slot because the glue will hold it together fine.

Step 6: Print, Construction, and Test

After printing and constructing this 2nd design, I found that it fit quite well, which I am very pleased with.

Step 7: Conclusion

Overall, I am very pleased with the final design, and it proved to be very practical. Even though it was a simple idea and design, it was still very fun to go through the process of turning an idea into a reality, which is what I love so much about engineering. I hope you enjoyed going through the design process with me, and I hope to do bigger and better projects in the future!