RISE
Product Brochure
In the Fall of 2019, I participated in a team of eighteen students to develop the market-ready product Rise (Figure 1) as part of MIT’s mechanical engineering capstone. Rise is an easy access oven rack that aims to reduce common pain points associated with oven use such as lifting heavy objects, bending over, burning from the interior of the oven, and discomfort from radiant heat. Rise achieves this by allowing the user to bring the rack out of the oven and up to a level comfortable to reach with the simple push of a button.
Figure 1: Rise having risen out of the oven, ready for the user to easily access their food.
To accomplish this, Rise features a dual stage mechanical system, composed of sliders, linkages, and a rack holder. The mechanism is made out of stainless steel for stiffness and structural integrity – even in the hot environment of the oven. It is designed to withstand up to 600 degrees Fahrenheit, greater than the oven’s cooking and steam cleaning temperatures.
Figure 2A: Motor, cable system, tensioning spring, and gearbox in oven (back view)
Figure 2B: Motor, cable system, tensioning spring, and gearbox (back view)
Figure 2C: Motor, cable system, tensioning spring, and gearbox (front view)
Our mechanism is actuated by a motor housed behind the insulated oven interior. This motor drives a tensioned cable system attached to linkages on the rack assembly. A custom gearbox on the motor prevents it from back driving and gives the user confidence that the rack will maintain its position when the button is released, at any point along its motion profile (Figure 2A-C). For actuating the rack, there are two options: a remote control (Figure 3) and a button built onto the oven (Figure 4). As either the remote button or built in button is pressed, the cables pull on the linkages, first sliding the rack holder out horizontally until it hits a mechanical stop (Figure 5). At this point, the linkages rotate upward, lifting the rack assembly to within arm's reach of the user (Figure 6).
Figure 3: Remote control that can be used to operate Rise.
Figure 4: Built in button that can be used to operate Rise.
Figure 5: The rack first slides out horizontally until it reaches a mechanical stop
Figure 6: After hitting the mechanical stop, the linkages rotate upward to lift the rack up
Figure 7: Rise features three options for placement of the rising rack as well as two placements for stationary racks. There is up to 15 inches of vertical clearance for the rising racks.
We selected this motion profile to prevent food from hitting the top of the oven interior while in motion, providing up to 15 inches of vertical clearance. This is greater than the height of the largest high dome roasters. Since user testing showed that multiple options for rack placement is a valued feature for our product, we designed the rack holder with three height options spanning the lower half of the oven interior - each rack having a thin silicone wrapping on the edge as a safety against anything sliding outward. Stationary racks can also be placed in the top half, preserving full use of the oven space. (Figure 7)
Figure 8: Rendering of the oven with Rise.
Figure 9: Rise and its removable rising rack with blue silicone wrapping.
We also implemented a speed controller to maintain a constant and safe lifting speed for the variety of weights food can have. Rise also has a maximum load of 40 pounds, about double the weight of your average holiday turkey.
We also developed a business model for Rise to determine how to get it into users’ homes in an affordable manner. We determined the best and fastest way to get Rise onto the market is to license it to current oven manufacturers who can integrate Rise into their current oven designs. We suggest an oven with Rise to be sold at an increased retail price of $350 – composed of a $45 material cost, $55 estimated labor cost, $15 estimated overhead cost, $80 wholesale markup, and a $150 retail markup.
Figure 10: Rise within the oven.
Figure 11: Our teammate demonstrating Rise at our final presentation - being viewed live by over 1000 audience members and viewed via livestream by over 70,000 unique IP addresses!
Figure 12: (Most of) our amazing team that helped create Rise.