The Design Innovation (DESINV) Pathway allows students to let their imagination run freely at the Jacobs Maker space. Given a simple topic, I've put my design skills to work creating works that I am proud of. Here are a few of the projects I've done for these classes.
DESINV23 Projects: Creative Electronics and Programming
Sand Drawing Table v.2 - Mark-making Machine
The assignment was to create a machine that creates marks on a surface, similar to the DESINV22 drawing machine. I wanted to improve upon my previous drawing machine design by allowing for user input to modify patterns in the sand. For a 3 day project, I'm proud of the product I was able to present.
I first started by sketching the mechanism that would move the magnet and draw in the sand. The mechanism consists of two belt systems that control the movement of the main arm and the movement of the secondary arm independently. These are powered by two NEMA 17 Stepper motors, whose speeds are controlled by potentiometers, enabling user-input designs.
I then made a 3D model of the moving components, taking key measurements of the max arm length and height of the magnets.
After I was satisfied with how the CAD model looked and functioned, I went to prototype my machine. I laser cut a wooden base for the machine and acrylic pieces for the servo mount, as well as 3D printed the arms and belt gears.
With the prototype working, I made slight tolerance adjustments to the bearing mounts and worked on the drawing machine legs and edge guard. With a tight timeline, I wanted to be able to quickly fix any issues that came with the machine, so I designed the top to be able to easily detach from the legs.
After all of the parts finished were produced, I wired the 2 servo motors and coded the speed and direction of each servo to correspond to their respective potentiometers. I tested the arm movements and adjusted the speed of the motors.
Tuning the belt tensioning system and the movement of the magnets, I had a finished product that people enjoyed playing with during the showcase!
Track of Chimes - Sound Machine
The assignment was to create a machine that consistently outputs sound. My partner and I were inspired by the kinetic marble tracks we played with as children and designed a marble wire track that plays chimes as the marbles go through the course.
I started by designing the base marble lift system and brainstorming ways to create sounds with marbles.
Once I had a suitable design for the lifting system, I went to CAD an initial design. I took inspiration from a spiraling elevator system by Steven Frank in my design, modifying the servo mounting system so that it could be easily detached for troubleshooting.
Once my mechanism seemed to work perfectly in CAD, I went to initial prototypes of the base system.
