156A Week 10
Overview of Status of Analysis, Design, Fabrication, Tests, etc.
Awaiting delivery of Injection machine
Sponsors are hinting at the project to ramp up only starting next quarter
However, we have went ahead and identified 4 parts (one for each member) to work on now for the individual component analysis
High risk areas in this project, aside from the machine not arriving in time, are unclear. Instructor feedback and guidance is welcomed.
Purchased PID controllers, heating bands and thermocouples to have something on hand to play with.
Accomplishments from Previous Week
Set up meeting with Dylan Drotman, graduate student working on improvements to injector. Still waiting on a response for a meeting time, hopefully by the end of the quarter.
Set up meeting, then subsequently met up with Christy of the Design Lab and some design students from re:make, a student organization. Details of this are explained further under ‘Notes from Meeting on 3/10/20’ as they were in the same meeting as the sponsor meeting.
Purchased heating bands, PID controllers and thermocouples to test out the heating system ($120 used). Currently used by Kaleb for his individual component analysis.
Completed research on the Precious Plastics Universe. Detailed report in subsequent pages, summary is as follows:
Users of these machines are part of an open source community of makers and tinkerers who appreciate the replicability and flexible nature of the machines
It is used by a huge range of people in a large number of countries
As such, every improvement we make to the machine has to be backward compatible and easy to source regardless of where people are from
It also has to be accessible from a time-to-produce and cost perspective
Completed individual component research (detailed in subsequent pages)
Mold clamping system: Long wait time between injections because it requires the entire mold to be unscrewed from the nozzle, then separated into halves for part to be removed
Temperature and pressure measurements: Pressure measurements are not as important, so we're pivoting to the PID controller
Lever Mechanism: Currently requires a significant amount of force to pull down (have to jump o the machine and yank it down) to inject, now exploring mechanical advantage systems
Nozzle: Insulation on the shaft can have a huge impact on the time it takes to heat up the plastic as shaft is long and loses a lot of heat
Goals for Next Week (list names after each item). Use specific and measurable objectives.
Individual component analysis (not fixed, feedback from Professor needed)
Mold Clamping System (Brian): Quick release clamps, maybe bicycle seat clamps
Nozzle (James): Insulation tape
Lever Mechanism (Katherine): Rack and pinion
PID Control and Temperature (Kaleb): Band heater
Meet with Dylan Drotman
Identify high risk areas, perform risk reduction tests, then complete risk reduction presentation. Potential high risk areas include
Machines delayed until Spring Break. We can visit the maker space SD to see how they use it to minimize risk.
3D printed molds have a lower reusability compared to CNC molds.
Any small changes to the nozzle can have a huge impact on the print, whether positive or negative.
Visit the maker space in San Diego that has Precious Plastics machines to see how they use it
Sponsor Comments from Last Meeting and Actions Taken to Address these Comments (indicate date of comments and if via email or in person)
We're on the right track as far as things to work on are concerned
Lead time on the machines are still 4-6 weeks
Instructor Comments from Last Meeting and Actions Taken to Address these Comments (indicate date of comments and if via email or in person)
N/A -- refer to '156A Week 9' section
Comments from Other Students in the Class (indicate date of comments and if via email or in person)
Notes from Slack Channels
We're on the right track as far as things to work on are concerned
Lead time on the machines are still 4-6 weeks
(From Mark Hansen, sponsor) Insulation is a good place to start when it comes to improvements to the nozzle
(From Mark Hansen, sponsor) Currently, pipe heat up time is about 3 minutes, and plastic melt time is about 10 minutes
Notes from Meeting on 3/10/20
Meeting was more focused on introducing our team to the full range of collaborators, ie. The Design Lab, Masters of Public Health students, design undergraduates and Environmental Systems students.
Eric Hekler, The Design Lab and sponsor: Goal for this project is to use the initial seed money as a proof-of-concept that small-scale injection molded plastics can be improved on rapidly. The hope is to get more funding for this project in the future to build on the $10,000 initial funding. Also want to create a library of 3D printed molds for anyone to use.
Christy, Environmental Systems student: Craft breweries are one place she looked into for initial partners to source plastic from, and there’s a USP class on Craft Breweries. One way to get familiar with the machines is to visit maker spaces in San Diego that have Precious Plastics machines. Uniformity of the plastics also matters when injecting.
Eric Hekler, The Design Lab and sponsor: Preparing for things to ramp up starting next quarter when the machines arrive and when the team working on the project is finalized. Also, next quarter, the 12-1pm on Tuesday through Thursdays will be open for us to meet with him.
Andrew Krause, sponsor: Companion app to the machines that is currently being worked on by Steven Rueter that uses VR to simulate how the designed product will look like in real life. It will also allow for feature recommendations and annotations by users. The app might be worked on by the design students from re:make.
Risks and Areas of Concern
Delivery of Injection machine further delayed
We’re finding it difficult to make meaningful improvements to the machine when we come
We’re also finding it difficult to assess where the high risk areas are
We’re going to make a visit to the maker space in San Diego to learn more about the machines (paulmsdair@gmail.com)
Resources or Information Required but not Available
N/A
Schedule
Week 10 Meeting with Professor (3/12/20)
Individual Component Analysis (3/16/20)
Risk Reduction Presentation (3/17/20)
Budget (list amount spent and amount remaining)
Total Budget: $2600
Amount Spent: $120
Budget Remaining: $2480
Progress on Report and Webpage
Week 10 Updated
Team page modified to 'The People' for a younger, edgier vibe