Isabella Panzica
An Industrious Person, An Industrial Engineer
Capstone Project
Project Explanation
At Elizabethtown college there is a capstone project which is split into a junior year and senior year project. Junior project is about finding a project idea, completing research, and presenting the idea to the engineering department. Senior project is about making the idea come to life and presenting it. Â
My team's idea was to improve the ice bags and the ice bag making process for student athletes while making it more eco-friendly. Â This was done by dividing the project into two different parts: the ice bag press and the ice bag sleeves. The ice bag press was used to make the physical ice bags. Then the ice bag sleeve was used to attach the ice bag to the sore area of the athlete instead of using large amounts of plastic wrap.
The Original Process
This is how the ice bags were originally make and attached to the sore area of the athlete.
Capstone Idea Presentation
Shown to the Elizabethtown College Engineering Department in order to reveal our capstone project idea
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Life-cycle Assessment
Comparing methods of attaching a muscle recovery ice bag to a person
One of the major goals of the project was to make the current ice bag system more eco-friendly. Using a life-cycle assessment I was able to mathematically prove that the capstone project was better for the environment than the previous method.
Project Images
 Final%20Poster%202020%20Ice%20Bag%20TeamOur Project Poster |  Ice Bag Attached by Plastic Wrap (2).pngComparison of the different ice bag sleeves |  ice bag prototype.pngIce Bag Press Prototype |
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The Results
Our project goal was to increase the efficiency and the eco-friendliness of the ice bag manufacturing and application process. Our calculations, tests, and data collected proved our success.
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By switching to the new method of producing and attaching athletic ice bags we eliminated most of the habitation destruction impact that the current ice bags are causing and reduce the amount of CO2 produced because of the ice bags. Energy use from material production will be reduced by 82%, while waste will be reduced by 98%. The total time needed to make and attach an ice bag sleeve decreased by 36%.
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Another result of the project was that it reduced the cost of the ice bags. The cost of making a full stock of ice bag sleaves for Elizabethtown College was $308.40. This is smaller than the annual cost of buying 300 lbs of plastic which approximately costs $600 a year.
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Unfortunately, since Covid-19 abruptly interrupted the last two months of our project timeline, the project ended up not being implemented. Though our team worked with the professors to allow for a sophomore project group to finish the little amount of work we had left to complete our project.
Award Winning
Custer Award
Our team won the Custer award, which is given to the most outstanding capstone project in the Elizabethtown college Engineering department.