SPELUNKING SPORK

In Spring 2025 I was enrolled in a creative design thinking course. The final assignment was to create a proposal using the SCAMPER design process. The SCAMPER design process is a creative brainstorming technique used to generate innovative ideas and solve problems by modifying existing products, services, or processes. It stands for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, and Reverse. Each component prompts specific questions to spark new perspectives and improve designs.

The initial concept evolved from the idea of a glow spoon and was expanded using SCAMPER to create a functional prototype. The resultant Spelunking Spork is a utensil for late-night snacking, outdoor camping, or even for literal cave spelunking! The key is that the unit has built-in flashlights that can project light as well as provide ambient lighting. Use the projected handle beam to search through a pantry or camping bag and then utilize the ambient light for when consuming food. The spork design allows for consumption of both liquids, solids, or the undetermined.

INITIAL DESIGN PROMPT

The initial concept started with the idea of a basic glow spoon. I then considered specific contexts and functional purposes beyond this basic glowing feature. This prompt is the setup for SCAMPER exploration of new designs that could incorporate lighting elements to help a spelunker navigate the dark and also serve as a low-light eating utensil.

SCAMPER DESIGN PROCESS

In this substitution step, I returned to the basic problem of eating in the dark. The fundamental needs for this activity are a source of light and an eating utensil. The challenge is that holding both a flashlight and utensil simultaneously can be difficult. This foundational perspective was used to reset my starting design concept and isolate the key components.

For the first iteration of the new design, I directly combined the flashlight and spoon into a single utensil. This addresses the challenge of using multiple devices by consolidating them into a single unit. The flashlight beam shoots out the end of the spoon and allows one to see the food being consumed.

To adapt the design to be more versatile, a second light is placed on the other end of the handle. This allows the user to utilize the unit as a traditional flashlight since the scooped surface will partially obstruct the light cone on the spoon end.

For this step, the number of ambient light sources was modified on the spoon end. Two more lights were added to the sides of the spoon to provide radial lighting to the eating area. This allows the user to see more of the peripheral area when eating.

In this step, I evolved the design from spoon to a spork. This allows the user to eat diverse foods that range from liquids to solids.

In this step, the front facing light was eliminated for two reasons. The first is that the front light is redundant if used as a flashlight since the handle light provides the same function and is unobscured. Secondly, and more importantly, the front light is facing the spork area and would likely be obscured by scoops of food or becoming gunky and hard to keep clean.

In this last step, I decided to rearrange lighting designs. Radial ambient lighting was added so that there are four total around the spork area. The handle taillight was made to be a bright white beam versus an amber beam to provide a more intense source for searching in dark pantries, bags, or even a cave.

By starting with fundamentals, the core problem of eating in the dark was reestablished. From there, the new design evolved through the SCAMPER process to explore variations, ask key questions at each step, and to reach an optimized end design solution. The final design had similarities to the original concept of a spork with lights, but improved upon the idea by focusing on how the lights are arranged and used. The problems of having a forward-facing light into the spork area was a significant discovery since that wouldn’t work once food is in the spork and it could get residually messy. Rather than a ring light around the spork though, there are instead four radial light beam holes that can project slightly farther. The handle taillight was also altered to consider a brighter white light to project when used in a more traditional flashlight mode.

PROTOTYPE MODELING

Since a full-sized penlight would be difficult to integrate into the prototype design, small twist LEDs were obtained for use on the spork and handle ends. A three-dimensional STL (Stereo Lithography) model of the LEDs was created using the Morphi iOS application and was based on their actual physical measurements. This LED model would be used for sizing, orientation, and solid space subtraction from the final Spelunking Spork model.

The utensil prototype used simple shapes as a starting point including a cylindrical handle and a scooped oval spheroid with jagged edges for the spork. Measurements were taken of a standard size spoon so that the design would feel normal for eating. A three-dimensional STL (Stereo Lithography) design was then modeled of the spork and handle components using the Morphi iOS application. To integrate the LEDs, cut-outs were subtracted from the handle and spork solids to allow for them to be inserted into the ends. The STL design of the cylinder handle was a separate component so that twisting the spork head component will turn on the ambient eating LED while twisting the protruding end light will turn on the brighter flashlight beam.

PROTOTYPE CONSTRUCTION

The STL prototype design was then exported from Morphi and used to create a physical print using an Ender 3 with PETG filament. Although everything was measured precisely and the print done at 100% scale, the fitting of the LEDs into their cutouts was tight and required some mild hammering to get into place. A future manufacturing of the design might require a print at 101% scale to allow for the LEDs to fit into place with less strain.

PROTOTYPE TESTING

The core features of the prototype design were then tested in real-world conditions. The handle taillight was used to explore a pantry for items late at night. The bright white search light was more than adequate to serve in a traditional flashlight manner. The twist action for on-and-off worked well for the main flashlight function. The ambient eating lights were also tested during dark conditions and provided adequate illumination to see into a bowl and its surroundings. Again, the twist action for on-and-off worked well for the ambient light function. The amber color was easy on the eyes for general ambiance, but occasionally could glare when bringing the utensil towards one’s mouth since the “top” light hole is aligned perpendicular to the spork’s plane.

Moving forward, future design alterations might consider shifting the orientation of the ambient spork light holes, rotating them about 45 degrees around the handle’s cylindrical axis. This slight adjustment would avoid occasional glare from the amber LEDs since the holes would be offset, not pointing towards the eyes, when bringing the utensil close to the user’s face when eating.

I talked to my parents about the design and had them test out the prototype. My parents are general users and were asked to help find issues or make suggestions for improvement. Since this prototype is designed around the fundamentals of eating utensils and flashlights, there was no need to seek out any special topic experts. My father commented on the twist action on-and-off function, “I like the ease and simplicity of twisting the lights on and then off, but the twist is a little loose in the off position and might need a clip or something to secure it when in that state.” This was an important observation since having the LEDs slightly off could cause intermittent activation if jiggled and when sufficiently off it can feel a bit unsecured. A future design improvement might be to put something like Teflon tape around the LED twist screws to make the action stiffer when transitioning from on and off states. My mother commented, “The spork is functional for solid food, but is a bit shallower than a normal spoon if used for something like liquids or soup.” This observation was a fair criticism as although I took measurements of a standard spoon to get the general width correct, the concave depth of the spoon wasn’t measured as precisely and ended up being a bit shallower. This could easily be addressed in an updated STL design by adding more depth to the spork scoop.

CRITICAL REFLECTION

Overall, I am pleased with how the design process went. The SCAMPER process started by establishing the core problem of eating in the dark and then progressed through evolutionary steps to arrive at an optimized utensil design. During the process, discoveries were made revealing issues needing attention as well as enforcing good design aspects that could be further elaborated upon. The prototype exceeded my expectations since I was able to find LEDs small enough to incorporate into an STL model. This allowed me to go beyond just taping multiple penlights onto a spoon, but instead custom model a spork where LEDs could be inserted into a physical print of the utensil. The twist action LEDs make for easy on-and-off functionality and keep the overall Spelunking Spork prototype simple and effective. A future design would consider test observations and feedback such as ambient light hole positions, stiffer twist action for the LEDs, and a more concave spork. I would also plan to upgrade the material used from PETG plastic to cast metal for future prototypes. An additional handle encasement around the protruding end flashlight might also add some grip consistency and protection to that segment. In summary, the problem of eating the dark is ubiquitous at some level, but the universal solution is usually to activate some external lighting whether it is a campfire or kitchen light. Even cross-country backpackers carry some form of fire igniter or small lamp. There is a niche though for adventurers looking to pack superlight and have combined utensils such as a cave explorer who is sliding through cramped spaces. For those situations, a Spelunking Spork design could evolve into a refined product that is both viable to manufacture and genuinely useful.