Re-Engineering the Singing Tea Kettle: July 2025 Update

• Reality check: Last run saw a 30 % return rate. Quality must improve.

• Fresh talent on board

  • Beni (UC Berkeley graduate student) and Dalil (undergrad engineer) joined the team. Go Bears (my alma mater)!

  • Beni decoded the original patent in three hours—best whistle explainer video in the works. Dalil rapidly prototypes with a mastery of machining, and 3D printing 

This is the team :) 

• Back to basics

  • Pulling every factory file, drawing, and spec since 1987. De-conflicting version types, changes, and materials used at various stages of production.

    • This includes measurement of all produced parts for concentricity and applying theories to get parts to better hold their shape.

  • Auditing material tests across stainless, and polymer blends.

  • Creating three “golden samples” with tight tolerance checks.

  • Re-examining vintage 1987 units for missed insights.

• Rapid prototyping

  • Weekly sprints: print, assemble, bench-test whistle housings. We are building a new test jig for this. 

  • Field-testing with a new test assembly and testing for heat exposure by soaking parts in boiling water to check for expansion.

• What’s next

  • Lock in final specifications for measurements and tolerancing – Q3.

  • Develop plan for low-lift methods of testing hypotheses for better unit performance.

  • Monthly progress snapshots until a kettle ships that stays in your kitchen.

• Also cool
  • My wedding is coming up. We are making a custom wedding cake topper and bronze family statue. My childhood friend is the artist. If you ever want some cool sculpting / 3D model work let me know and I'll introduce you