Sole Supports Inc is an orthotic shoe insole

= Sole Supports, Inc. is an orthotic shoe insole and sandal manufacturing company based in Lyles, Tennessee. As an industry innovator in producing custom insoles, Sole Supports is currently supporting physicians across the United States and looking to expand internationally. Their current process begins with an order from the physician for casting blocks of foam to form a mold of the patient's feet. The mold is taken using a biomechanically correct gait simulation performed by a trained physician or nurse. This mold is sent via mail (generally Federal Express) to Sole Supports, who cleans the foam and attempts to correct any damages from shipping. If there is irreparable damage in the foam then the doctor’s office must recast the patient’s feet and repeat the shipping process. As a means to make the Sole Supports process more appealing to physicians, they incur the shipping costs from the doctor to their facility. Sole Supports uses this foot mold to create a new, harder positive mold made out of plaster. These plaster molds are form-fitted with a malleable plastic using vacuum sealing. Completed plaster molds are stored by Sole Supports for six months in an on-site warehouse, which tends to take up large amounts of space. This method is expensive and inefficient. The extra cost is ultimately passed on to the customer and the inefficiency consumes valuable time and money from all. Sole Supports has requested the services of our team to create an improved process that will save space, time, and money. We have determined that the main inefficiencies are generated by the shipping from the physician to Sole Supports and the warehouse storage. Digitizing the process by utilizing a 3 D imaging device will save on both the time and expense of shipping, and allow for incredibly more efficient storage of each foot image. Our mission objective is to design and implement a software program and apparatus that is easy to use, accurate, and cost effective. DAVID is a freeware software program that requires a PC, a laser -level, a web camera, a 90 o angle, the calibration grid, and a target object. The proper procedure is as follows: 1. Calibrate the camera 2. Place the target object 3. Scan the object 4. Render a 3 -D image Image Resolution: < 5 mm between points Accuracy: 95% of points within 2 mm Original Orthotics Manufacturing Process Maximum Shipping Cost Savings ($8) Adjusted Cost Savings Using Unit Furnishing Option ONE Unit Furnishing Option TWO Low End ($7) High End ($8) 1 51, 000 $357, 000 $408, 000 $322, 600 $373, 600 $336, 360 $387, 360 2 58, 650 $410, 550 $469, 200 $376, 150 $434, 800 $389, 910 $448, 560 3 67, 448 $472, 133 $539, 580 $437, 733 $505, 180 $451, 493 $518, 940 4 77, 565 $542, 952 $620, 517 $508, 552 $586, 117 $522, 312 $599, 877 5 89, 199 $624, 395 $713, 595 $589, 995 $679, 195 $603, 755 $692, 955 Proposed Orthotics Manufacturing Process Option One Design a 3 -D imaging device with the following minimum criteria: Easy to use in under 10 minutes Apparatus External Dimensions: < 3 ft x 3 ft Overall Cost per unit: < $400 Year Minimum Inbound Shipping Cost Molds Savings ($7) Creative Labs Webcam Live! Motion: $102 – Amazon. com Strait-Line X 3 Laser Level: $25 – Home Depot Calibration Grid - Included with the DAVID software Housing Components (wood, brackets, paint, etc): $46 – Home Depot Personal Computer – supplied by doctor Total Spent to date - $172 Project Team Members Michael Galante • Computer Engineer Edward Krei • Biomedical Engineer Derrick Snyder • Computer Engineer Kathryn Yates • Biomedical Engineer Project Advisors Paul King, Ph. D. , P. E. • Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Vanderbilt University Matt Moore • Project Sponsor Sole Supports Option Two Payback Period Low End ($7) High End ($8) Excluding 15% Growth 2. 13 1. 84 1. 22 1. 07 Including 15% Growth 1. 98 1. 75 1. 22 1. 07