Week 8 Term 2

On Tuesday I recreated my design on Solidworks and tried out some colours. I posted this on my blog along with the picture of the design in process. I also posted some other pictures of last weeks work. On Wednesday I worked on my blog and calendar. After updating these I Put some of my other postings in order. On Friday I finished my prototype box. I worked on my circuit attaching the wires and the components - the battery snap, the LED's and the wires for the solar panel. I had to stay until 5 to finish it. The wires kept breaking at the soldered joints which made the process MUCH longer because I had to keep fixing them. I also had trouble with the glue guns. They were too big and bulky, the glue dryed too fast and it was just too hard to use with the glue running out. If I did this again I would use something else to stick the LED's up, or at least a smaller glue gun. I finally got the circuit glued in, the bottom screwed on and the solar panel siliconed. But I forgot to take a photo of the inside so I have to take it apart again. While I have the bottom off I will have to fix the LED which fell back through its hole and the battery snap which came unstuck from the side. I will do that next Friday. In the weekend (!) I wrote a copper research paragraph and a vacuum plastic research paragraph and my evaluation of my prototype box. Which took ages.......

Circuit working! 3.1

Circuit with all wires and battery snap 2.1 + 2.2

Circuit with new wires attached 2.1 + 2.2

Evaluation of Freehand design

The thing that inspired my first design was a picture of a neon light. I wanted to have several coloured lights in my design not just one uncoloured LED. In all of my conceptual designs there is some kind of curve or circle so I knew that my final design would include spheres. I chose the three spheres design out of my conceptual designs because it was the most professional and clean looking one. Also the shape appealed to me because it was pretty. At first my idea was to have the two lower spheres in different kinds of metal and then the top one a non-coloured light. But then I thought of the neon lights and how cool they were and decided to make all the spheres out of acrylic and let a different coloured LED light each one.

Materials Justification

I am going to use vacuum forming plastic to create my design because it is the best way to make my three spheres. Although it may be rather difficult to make all the shapes fit together there isn’t a way it would be easier, and by having a flat bottom on the circles we can make it work. The plastic I will use to make it (Acrylic) is relatively cheap. The polystyrene for the mold is cheap too. It is an ‘economical process’ so we won’t be damaging the environment too much, which is important. Overall it is a versatile and easy to use method that will be the best way to make my design happen.

Vacuum forming plastic

Vacuum forming, commonly known as Vacuforming, is a simplified version of thermoforming , whereby a sheet of plastic is heated to a forming temperature, stretched onto or into a single-surface mold, and held against the mold by applying vacuum between the mold surface and the sheet. Vacuforming is one of the most versatile and economical processes available for manufacturing returnable packaging and many other products.

The strengths of thermoforming are as follows:
. Parts have low internal stresses therefore good physical properties to work with.
. Lead time and mold changes are relatively short and easy to perform.
. Large part don't increase costs.

Suitable materials for use in vacuum forming are conventionally thermoplastics , the most common and easiest being High Impact Polystyrene Sheeting (HIPS). This is molded around a wood, structural foam or cast/machined aluminum mold and can form to almost any shape. Vacuum forming is also appropriate for transparent materials such as acrylic.

Circuit at beginning of adaptions 2.1 + 2.2

Prototype with bottom plate fixed on 2.1 + 2.2

Week 7 Term 2

On Tuesday I published a whole lot of photos of my progress on Friday last week. Then I went on to Freehand and finished off my annotations on my first design, so I could do Solidworks on Wednesday. On Wednesday there was a computer knowledgeable guy in the classroom who helped me to figure out how to get my design into 3D!! We finished in all but I have to do it again next week to show that I can do it by myself. We had one problem where the solid lines should have been construction lines, so it wasn't 'closed', but the computer guy figured that out soon enough. On Friday we had two periods of practical. I drilled out the holes and screwed in the bottom plate. Then I started on doing up my circuit. I couldn't quite work the solder suck but I got someone to help me and it was all good.

Final Design

My design has its three spheres on top of each other

small medium large

Final design in progress

Week 6 Term 2

First period this week we had practical. I drilled out all the holes on my brackets. I had a small problem with this in that I tryed to push the drill through too fast and it got stuck. But I figured that out in the end. I didn't get much done as I was late. On Wednesday I updated my blog and calendar and uploaded some photos. On Friday we had a double practical. I put in my rivets first. This was very hard for me as I was not strong enough to actually use the gun. So I ended up getting someone else to do it for me. I also sanded and filed my bottom plate and then scribed it and drilled out the holes. No problems there.

Freehand design with annotations

Bottom of box with holes drilled and bent edges 2.1 + 2.2

Box with brackets riveted on 2.1 + 2.2

Week 5 Term 2

On Tuesday of this week we worked on blogger and calender. I also researched and posted some information on Poacita grass. I also found a photo of it. On Wednesday we were doing practical. I I bent my brackets into the angled shape. I problem I encountered was that I sometimes moved the bracket just before I bent it (accidentally). On one I bent it in the wrong place because of this so it doesnt fit on my box properly. On Friday I was Very Sick (NOT having a mental health day). So I couldn't be here so I got quite behind. My aim next week is to catch up!

Poacita

- A dense shiny fawn green (dead leaves are mixed in with fresh green ones) tussock -30 to 70cm tall
- Leaves tightly folded, leathery, smooth above, fringed with hairs along the margins below; tip sharp.
- Leaf sheath creamy brown, shiny, with rough margin.
- Ligule is leathery, very short and even.
- Flower heads (30-100cm) do not stand proud of leaves. Panicle is open, slender, rough, with twisted branches. Awns absent