I was able to print Design 5.1 which was candy cane shaped. The design was made in OnShape, which has a learning curve but was successful in helping me make a hook on the side of a cylinder. It has been tricky getting time with the 3D printer, but I was able to print my designs so I could have multiple designs for my friend to test.
On Wednesday night, I asked my friend to test Designs 3, 4, and 5. I knew Design 3 was likely not going to be successful for her, but I wanted to see how it worked and what could be modified to make it work. The biggest issue was that it was too big for the elastic to wrap around multiple times. One thing that Design 3 highlighted for me was that I should consider hair types. I have medium-thickness hair that is straight and my friend has puffy hair which can be hard to wrangle while holding a tool. Considering hair type is something to consider in my designs.
Design 4 had potential but I think it needed to be longer so that the hair could drape over the cylinder. My idea with Design 4 was that if the hair tie is in the divots of the cylinder and the hair is over it, I could rotate the cylinder, flip the hair over, and then wrap the elastic around the hair. Designs 3 and 4 were made in TinkerCad
Design 5 worked well but I definitely need to consider hair type for this design because that will determine how much hair can fit in the hook. The hook worked when I grasped my hair put the elastic around my hair and then used the hook to stretch and twist the elastic. I still had to pull my hair through the elastic, but it was easier with the hook holding the elastic. This design was pretty close, but it does require some fine motor skills to pull the hair through the elastic.
I have one final idea for a design that could work. What if I made Design 4 smaller? At first, I thought I needed it to be bigger so more hair could be draped over it but now I’m thinking, if it were smaller it would act like a grip for the elastic. Instead of trying to wrangle the hair into a hook or something, this design would be a tool to grasp the elastic better so the hands can focus on grabbing all the strands of hair.