Summary

Conclusion

As my senior year comes to a close and I reflect back on my time in Senior Engineering, I realize that I have learned a lot. I learned how to use a shop bot, laser cutter, 3d printer, surface solder, and excel. From my project I learned how use pre-planing as an invaluable tool. Planning helped me think through my project and possible ideas on how to everything would fit together before I even made my first cut.

A second major lesson I learned was the importance of team work in every project. From classmates helping me physically hold something together, to just being around to bounce of ideas, working with a group creates much better results. My classmates and my mother would bing up real problems that never would have crossed my mind. By thinking through the problems first, I had fewer large scale mistakes.

Finally, over the course of my project, I learned how to create hands on projects which incorporate many aspects of engineering. From the electrical lights to the civil aspects of solving an environmental project, my engineering project has taught me that I want to major in civil or mechanical engineering. From this project, I hopefully be able to donate the system to help younger children understand the importance of the environment and what we can do to keep our planet heathy. I know have a direction for me to go when I enter into college due to the skills I learned over the last four years of my engineering at Charlotte Latin School.

Major Problems

Over the corse of that last year, I have been working on an aquaponics tank. One the major problems I had was connecting all of the plumbing. The plumbing pipe sizes were different so we had to buy and create adapters. This allowed for me to pump water up from the bottom to the top of the tank. Another big problem, was that I didn't know how to use the correct tools so most of my project was a learning experience. However, after completing my project, I had learned how to use the shop bot, cnc machine, drill, 3D printer, and laser cutter.

Major Mistakes

I had a few terrible mistakes that set me back multiple weeks. One mistake was when I printed a 3D piece using the wrong measurement and that set me back. Another learning experience was when I forgot to zero the z axis on the shop bot. To fix that I had to unscrew the entire wooden piece and then re-screw the bottom. I also underestimated the amount of time I took to make the project. However, for most of my mistakes I was able to come up with a solution.