SquEase: Easily Squeeze Residual Toothpaste

After creating a concept at the start of the year for a toothpaste squeezer, I wanted to follow up by turning the product into reality. Using Google Sketchup, I designed and 3D printed a model that would squeeze out toothpaste. I call it SquEase.

After concept creation and sketching, I came up with a final product I would move forward with. I experimented with different forms, but I eventually refined the design based on what would most effortlessly blend into a bathroom countertop. The electric motor concept, on the other hand, would be too expensive considering this is a product to alleviate a minor nuisance and save minimal residual toothpaste.

I had arrived at the product I wanted to make; I just had to figure out how the internal mechanisms would work. That was where legos came in. After the squeezing process was determined, it was time to design this on Sketchup and print it using a 3D printer. Note that this was the second attempted print; the first attempt involved a single block with conjoined components. For the second time around, I had to print each component individually and solder them together.

SquEase: A Tube Squeezer

Elevator Pitch: The last thing you need in the morning is a wrestling match with your toothpaste tube. As I struggled to squeeze the last bit of toothpaste onto my toothbrush, I conceived an idea that would eliminate this tedious and often frustrating task. In the U.S., 10% of the toothpaste is wasted on average from every tube, so this product contains conservation ramifications as well. I now use this product to squeeze out paint, medicine, and of course toothpaste in my own life.