Intro to Design Final Reflection

Intro to Design is "is an introductory course, which develop students’ problem skills, with emphasis placed upon the concept of developing 3-D models or solid rendering of an object", according to the FUSD handbook.  This course exceeded my expectations and if I had to take sophomore year over again, I would definitely sign up for this class again. 
My goals at the beginning of this year included using different tools to develop skills in visual communication.  I met these goals because much of the work this year included documentation and display of work, especially through this blog.  I learned the basics of CAD as well as basic design principles, such as color, units, and sketching and used them in my projects.
Next year in Principles of Engineering, I hope to do more hands on projects like the instant challenges done this year.  Those were very fun and I do not think we did enough. 
A few of my favorite parts of this year are:
stumping people with my puzzle cube,

making a car with Sonia, Sachi, and Meera,

and designing the coliseum for Adrastus, our Maker Faire Game.

Final: Fabrication

In my research, I found that although 3d printing is very fast and cheap.  Because of the manufacturing speed, inventory warehousing is not necessary because the products can be made on the spot.  On the other hand, there is a limit of materials and size of parts as well as the danger of people printing dangerous objects.  All in all, for single user products, I do not think 3d printing is worth it because for a small object for someone to print once for themself, it is not really that inexpensive.  For major manufacturing deals though, I think it is worth it.  The 3d printing world will continue to improve, so I think it will be worth it in the future.

After ordering my part, I was informed that it would arrive in over a week.  I expect that my necklace pendant will be smooth and shiny and nicer than anything that I could make by hand.  After seeing my partner's printed object, I do not think that it will be very smooth.

When I was making the part in inventor, I had some technical issues so the j inside the pendant had to be omitted.  I also decided to not include the loop.

When I swapped object information with Sachi, she did a great job fabricating my object.  It is everything that I hope the 3d printed version will be.

When something is made by machine, it is always made the same.  On the other hand, when a human creates the same thing over and over again, it will not be exactly the same.

Working drawings are very helpful in order to communicate the design of an object, but they are not completely necessary.  It is easier to show someone with a picture than to explain with words.

3d animated assemblies might be useful in a design that includes moving parts.  They can be used to better communicate the purpose of the part.  Beyond the design process, an animated model would be a great display option.

My 3-d printed object arrived!  I am very happy with it.  It is exactly how I wanted it.

 

Documentation Packet

Design to have 3d printed:

constraints: 

$15

black plastic

1 in by 1 in or smaller

Maker Faire Reflection

Overall, my expectations were met at Maker Faire; I was really pleased that people came up to play the game that we all made.  Next time, I would like to spend more time on the project and contribute more to it than  I did for this one.  Maker Faire was really amazing.  It was like a combination of a county fair, flea market, museum, and a science fair all at one.  It was really cool to see the mechanical giraffe and R2D2.  I was also intrigued by the figures made from wood and soda bottles.  From the surveys, I noticed that although many of the people that played the game enjoyed it and would recommend it to a friend, few would actually buy it.  They mentioned aesthetics that were just okay and weak AI.  A few suggested weapons to fight off the guards and clues to the maze.  In an improved version of this game, I would like to see fighting options and better guards.  I think it would make the game more fun if you could view the maze from above but while viewing it, you would not be able to move and would be vulnerable to attack.

Adrastus Feedback

I think that the game should be easier to beat.  The player should leave footprints to show where he has been.  Also, the oval enemies should be more intimidating than they are now.

Maker Faire Display Design

Looking at other tables from past makers, I noticed that they all have an eye catching sign and an interactive activity.  I think we should make a noticeable sign to attract people to play the game.

In my design, the main focus is the monitors, where people can play our video game and watch other people play it.  Next to the game is information about it and a large sign.  Because just a simple game might not be enough, I propose that we present other things that we did during the year in Intro to Design, not just the game design part.  We could bring some of our puzzle cubes, CD cars, or cotton ball launchers to add interest.  We could bring the cotton ball launcher materials and explain the project that we had to do, allowing visitors to try as well.

For this game design project, I began as a level editor.  However, due to lack of necessity for this role, I began working with inventor to make parts in the game.  Pallavi and I were able to figure out how to build the coliseum, which is my greatest accomplishment for this project.  I think that we met our original Game Design project goals because we worked together to make a game and will look professional in matching shirts :)  I wish that we had a little more time so that we could improve it further, but otherwise, I am satisfied.

Looking at the game, I think that the little oval enemies should look more like humans and the game should be easier to beat.  Perhaps the player could leave footprints to show where he has been.

Maker Faire Update

Finally, Pallavi and I finished the coliseum.  Completed, it looks much more complex than it was.  The reason it took so long to complete was because we needed to figure out how to make it.  Along the way, we met many challenges.  First of all, by revolving the 2d wedge 5 degrees, we were unable to draw and cut out the doors on the sides because the surface was curved slightly.  This problem was solved by drawing a plane on the surface.  After assembling it as a complete coliseum, we realized that at least one of  the doors needed to go all the way through to the inside of the coliseum because the player would need to completely exit the maze and coliseum.  We had to go back to the 5 degree wedge and cut out another door all the way through.

If I were to make this same coliseum again, I am fairly confident that I could make it in just 3 class periods because I would not have to figure out how to make everything again.

Maker Faire Update

This week, Pallavi and I worked on the coliseum in Inventor for the first level.  It was difficult to figure out how to do it, but we make one flat triangular piece with cutouts and revolved it 5 degrees.  Then, we drew doorways on the curved surface by drawing a plane.  The full coliseum will be finished once all the pieces are assembled. 

Maker Faire Update

I have been trying unsuccessfully to build the coliseum, however I am having trouble.  To practice, I make a simple triangle with an arc for one side and revolved it around an axis to get a basic coliseum shape.  From there, I was unable to cut doors out of the curved surface.  I hope to learn how to do this and finish next week.

Maker Faire Update

Since the coliseum needs to be made before I design the terrain, I started researching coliseum to CAD.  The following picture is something I found that I would like to CAD.  More research must be done before I make it because it is a very complicated building.

Extra Project

Outside of class, I have been working on a building block like unit.  It is one square that interlocks on all sides so that many shapes may be produced.

Maker Faire Update

For this week, my goal was to experiment in unity.  I was successful in making a simple terrain with different textures. 

 

Also, I was able to add trees.  

Most importantly, I learned the hard way that in order to save, you must save scene and save project or your work will be lost.

Maker Faire Roles

In this project, I think I would be best as a level editor of some other kind of designer.  Level editors create interactive architecture, include landscaping, buildings, and other objects.  Although I have no experience in game design, I have experimented a little bit with designing houses in SketchUp.  Also, I can learn more advanced skills as well as programming.  This would also be a benefit for me because I am doing my ISearch on architect, which relates nicely.  I pay close attention to detail, am well organized, and communicate fairly well.

Dimensioning Standards

Size dimensions show the size of each geometric figure, while location dimensions show the locations of each geometric figure within each view.  Datum dimensioning is where all measurements are made from reference point, while each point is measured to the next in chain dimensioning.  Datum dimensioning results in smaller deviation.  With a dimensioned drawing, it is easier to visualize than a written description because everything is laid out for you already; it is easier to imagine. 

*drawing three was made in centimeters but I was unable to label the drawing in centimeters

Interviewing an Engineer: Jessica Pauley

Today, we interviewed Jessica Pauley, an engineer at SpaceX.  What I took away from the interview was that she works very long hours, maybe 60 hours a week, but she does it because she thinks it is important.  I agree; she made an interesting statement that the reason that we can access the internet and listen to music on our phone, in one compact thing, can be related to space exploration and the moon landing because it gave us a desire to have everything on that one compact thing.  I learned that SpaceX has about 9 launches a year, with each piece being fairly inexpensive compared to other companies.  Looking at the website, SpaceX has already had three launches this year: the fifth official mission to resupply the space station, the Dscovr satellite, and two all-electric communications satellites.  Ms. Pauley also said that in order to come back from a failure, the first thing that you should do is admit it.  When asked for one flavor of ice cream to describe her job, Ms. Pauley said pistachio, because you aren't sure that you will like it but it actually turns out pretty good.

Maker Faire Game Research

One game that I really like to play is Puzzle and Dragons, a puzzle rpg game in which one collects monsters to pass through dungeons.  This game, released in 2012, was headed by Masayoshi Son and as of 2015, has accumulated more than 40 million downloads.  It was developed by only 6 people but is the number one app in the apple store in Japan.  This game is intriguing to me because it reminds me of Pokemon, but it involves more skill.  I have spent many hours playing this game because it is very fun and I love to clear dungeons, collect monsters, and rank up.

Potential and Kinetic Energy Car: Two Wheels, Rubber Bands, and Iterations

On Friday, we were asked to design a car that stored potential energy and converted it into kinetic energy.  Using the materials provided, my group designed a car with two wheels made of CDs held to cardboard with a wooden skewer and duct tape.  We launched it with a rubber band.

When tested, it went only about 2 feet, which, honestly, was farther than the majority of the other cars.  I heard someone mention that our car "was a piece of crap and wasn't even a car", which I fully disagree with, because I think it highly unlikely that future cars will have four wheels.  In the picture, the wheels can be seen bending, towards the left, which happened after a few tests.  We set out to find a way for the wheels to support themselves on the road.

The above picture is our redesigned car.  As you can see, we made each wheel out of two CDs, separated with cardboard to make them more sturdy and able to stand on their own.  This car went at least five feet before it swerved off course and hit a curb.  The wheels moved very freely, allowing the vehicle to be able to spin 360 degrees, but proved to be a disadvantage in the distance competition.  If we were to do this again, we would fix the wheels better for better distance, but otherwise, we are happy with our car and the way that it spins so easily.  

Reverse Engineering

Visual Analysis:
a. Automoblox M9 Sportvan
Automoblox company

b, c, d:

front

side

top

isometric

e. Front: windshield, wheels, people, headlights, very balanced, emphasis on colored portions (wheels/windshield), contrast between wood/plastic, light/dark, good proportion, good unity
Side: wheels, windows, people, door shaped structure, not balanced, emphasis on colored portions, contrast between materials and colors, good proportion, good unity
Top: windshield, people, not balanced (vertical symmetry/horizontal asymmetry), emphasis on plastic

Functional Analysis:
Product Name: Automoblox M9 Sportvan
1. entertainment
2.a. We guessed that there was a cylinder that jutted our, attaching the wheel and allowing it to rotate freely.
2.b. Our hypothesis was partly right.  The ridge hollowness and slit allow the wheel to spin freely.  The slit on both sides of the rim allow, when pressure is applied, for he diameter to shrink in the wheel.  Once the wheel is in place, it is able to turn, and the rim holds the wheel in place.  The hollowness allows the diameter to contract and dilate ever so slightly.
2.c. we guess that its design is lego-like and can be connected and separated easily like one.
2.d. We were wrong, since the middle piece is what connects the pieces together.   One side of the middle piece can be easily pulled out from one side, while you must unclip the other side.
2.e. The ridges are present on the connector to indicate the presence of a clip and for better grip.

f. The grips on the wheel are made out of a rubber material that allows more traction.  The shapes on the passenger stands match the shapes on the passenger seats, which indicate where each piece goes.  The car is made out of wood rather than plastic for more durability and better aesthetics.

3. wheels-spin-moving car
connector piece-hold pieces together-one car
shapes on seats-car seats-people don't fall out
rubber tires-better grip-smooth ride
axle pin-connect the wheels-smooth ride

Structural Analysis:
Each part of the car was built with a material appropriate for its purpose: rubber tires for grip, wooden body for strength, and plastic for visibility.

Reflection:
Visual elements of design are crucial for good commercial appeal because the appearance is the first thing that someone experiences.  If a car is ugly, nobody will buy it.
The black box in a system input output model represents product function.
Reverse engineering, basically, is taking something apart and analyzing the parts and pieces, the things that make it work.  People do reverse engineering to figure out how to improve products.
In order to improve the automoblox design, I would add some kind of motor.

Automoblox T9 Dimensioned Drawings

In this project, I am still working on sketching the first piece.

Making the star piece was most challenging and I still need to move it in place.  This whole process was very difficult.  How do I use construction lines?  Can I move pieces once they are already saved?  Do I extrude this normally?

Geometric Constraints

In class, we were given 30 toothpicks and a handful of Dots candy and assigned to make the largest and strongest model shelter.  Below is what my group came up with.

In this design, we used many triangles because we know they are very strong.  As a result, there were 60 and 30 degree angles. The surface area, not including the base, is about 23 square inches.  If each inch were equal to ten feet, the structure would need about 2300 square feet of wood to make walls.  The area of the base was about 16.24 square inches.  The floor would be about 1624 square feet, so the structure would be able to hold about 45 people.  We designed our model to support a lot of weight above, but not so much around the sides.  As you can see, it supported a textbook.  In this assignment, we followed form follows function because the shape is not necessarily like that for aesthetic purposes, it is to be a strong shelter.  We designed it with the purpose, to be strong, in mind. 

Exploring Inventor

During this week of exploring inventor, I wondered:
How do I make a sphere in inventor?
View the tutorial I found here.

I then taught Sachi how to make a sphere.  In exchange, she taught me how to make a cone.  Both are very similar, the only difference is the shape you start out with.

Form Follows Function

Form follows function basically means that an object should have a design that supports its function.  Looking around the room, almost all the objects demonstrate form follow function: a chair affords sitting, a water bottle affords holding liquid.  However, by observing everyday objects that we use, we found products that do not follow form follows function, so we could improve them.  Below is my brainstorming and sketching.

Due to time constraints and limited inventor access, I was unable do make the CAD parts, but below is a picture of my presentation.

I designed a new box that would allow you to use the blade to slice the plastic wrap instead of tearing the plastic wrap using the blade for a cleaner, easier cut.  The process for making a box like this would be very similar to that of a normal box, but the blade needs to line up exactly with the edge of which it closes on.  In a plastic wrap box, form does not follow function because often, the blade does not work properly.  My design would fix that, so that it is designed mainly to cut the plastic.  It reminds me or a regular plastic wrap box, but it is different in the way that it demonstrates the function.  My design could be better with extra room on the edge between the flap and back piece to allow the flap more give and easier motion for slicing back and forth.   

Puzzle Cube Reflection

I timed 7 people in solving my puzzle, stopping them at 15 minutes if they could not.  The times, rounded to the nearest minute are : 15, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15, and 10.
mean: 14.29
median: 15
mode: 15
sample standard deviation: 1.8898

Looking back at the project, it is important to model an idea before making the final prototype because it allows us to test it before we actually make the real thing.  I made mistakes in the model that would have been in my final puzzle if not for the modeling.  

I love how my puzzle looks well made, but still looks like I made it.  I like how it isn't exactly a perfect cube because some of the faces are a bit uneven.  However, it still looks neat and I like that about it.

If I were to do this project again, I would probably put more interlocking pieces to make my puzzle even more difficult.

After the project we took about 30 minutes to sketch, plan, and build packaging for our cubes.  I made a simple box and had to sacrifice some of the aesthetic quality to get the job done neatly.  This process was much different in comparison to the puzzle because it was over a shorter period of time.  We had to rush through things to get things done and finish.