Junior Sam Sedgley won first place for his 3D-printed toothpaste cap at the PA Media and Design Competition.
Sedgley heads to the state competition at Elizabethtown College on May 20.
The idea came from a talk with his teacher, engineering teacher JC Lewis, about struggles some kids have with basic mechanical functions.
“My 3D project was a toothpaste cap for kids that made it easier for them to open on their own, and it was inspired by a conversation with my Engineering teacher, Mr. Lewis, about his son and the struggles he had with opening the bottle of toothpaste,” Sedgley said.
Sedgley faced challenges when creating his design, according to Engineering teacher JC Lewis.
“Sam was able to identify problems with his creation and found ways to solve them and make changes to make his creation better,” Lewis said.
Sedgley’s plan shifted the cap from an add-on into the cap itself.
“The biggest challenge when I was creating the design was figuring out how to make sure the cap stayed on because it was supposed to be an add-on, so I had to take measurements of actual toothpaste caps first,” Sedgley said. “This is because the cap keeps popping off under stress, so I am deciding to thread the cap itself, so it becomes its own cap with different threadings for different brands.”
Lewis influenced Sedgley’s creation.
“The person who has influenced my work the most is Mr. Lewis, because of how helpful he has been, whether it has been with the designing of the board or the cap itself, or bouncing ideas off of him to choose the best route for the cap moving forward,” Sedgley said.
Sedgley encourages students to compete in the future.
“I encourage going all-out,” Sedgley said. “It’s a really fun activity to challenge yourself with, and it always allows you to get better and create a superior product and design. But if you are serious about wanting to try to win, make sure you are willing to spend all your extra time working away on your design. I, for one, spent over a week working on it every 11th period in Mr. Lewis’s homeroom.”
Sophomore Kayla Wohltmann took third place in the PA Media and Design Logo category as well.
