Carrow Safety SupplySchool Shop Division
TO Contract designers
RE One-piece sharps container for school classrooms
DUE
The ask
We sell safety supplies to school shops and art rooms. Our customers keep telling us the same story: used craft and utility blades go in the regular trash, and someone gets cut — a student emptying the bin, or a custodian lifting the bag.
We want a small container that sits in the classroom all year, takes used blades, and never gives them back. In June the whole thing goes in the trash with the blades sealed inside. Because it gets thrown away every year, it has to be cheap to make: one plastic part from one mold, nothing to assemble.
The hook
Blades go in easily. Knock it over or turn it upside down and nothing comes back out.
Requirements
Function. Accepts all four blade sizes used in the classroom. Once a blade is in, it stays in for good. Blades must not fall out if the container is knocked over or turned upside down.
Design. A student should know how to use it without reading instructions. One single plastic part — no lids, hinges, flaps, or moving pieces. Keep it simple and easy to manufacture. Keep it a reasonable size; smaller is cheaper to make. No sharp edges or pinch points. Tough enough for a year of classroom use.
Deliver to us
- Notebook pages — research notes and at least three concept sketches, by
- A technical drawing of your chosen design — multiview and isometric, to scale, dimensioned — by
- A 2–4 minute presentation to our product team on
How to draw it, what to research, and how you'll be scored are all on the project page.
