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January 17, 2017- Today in engineering class, we began working and understanding the program scratch. We began by learning the basics of the program scratch and the coding that goes into scratch such as void loops, allowing the object to start the movement or code, how to add movement, and how different types of loops can help with the code. We created a ping pong, one person game to begin, where the ball will go off an object, in this case a trampoline, and then bounce off. I had to first add two sprites, or objects, in order to work with a ball and trampoline. I clicked on the trampoline and was able to code it using the command to start when the green flag is clicked, which is how all codes are started. Then I used a forever loop, or known as a void loop in other programs, in order to have a continuous command to the trampoline until I stop the code. I placed inside the code, the command to set x to mouse x, which are under the categories motion and sensing in the program. Now the trampoline will be able to move side to side where ever my mouse goes. Then I created the code for the ball. Then I programmed the ball by using the same staring command as the trampoline and adding the motion of pointing in direction 180, therefore the ball will go down. Then I added a forever loop, and used an if then loop within the forever loop, therefore it wouldn't be happening always, but only if that situation occurred. I used the sensing category to say if touching the trampoline, and then I used the motion category to say then the ball would point in direction zero and turn 15 degrees, so it would rotate and be slightly harder to bounce the ball off the trampoline. Then outside the if then loop, I said move 10 steps and if on edge bounce, because therefore the ball could stay on the screen and keep moving. This simple coding design was successful, but I will keep adding to it.
January 18, 2017- Today in engineering class, we improved our ping pong, on person game, and improved our knowledge of scratch coding. I added a dead zone to my game. This means that if the ball misses the trampoline, It will fall and restart. I kept the same coding for the trampoline and added some more sprites to make the dead zone, but I did have to change the coding on the ball. I used the same starting command, but then added the command show because the ball needs to show up after it disappears at the end and when the game restarts. Then I used the motion command go to x 21 and y 23, for coordinates for the ball to start and then added point in direction 180, so the ball would go down. Then I created a forever loop and added an if then loop inside of it, addressing if it touched the trampoline, then it would point in direction zero and turn fifteen degrees, just like when I first created the game. The outside of the if then loop I kept the commands move 10 steps and if on edge bounce, but then I added another if then loop in order to address what the ball would do if it hit the dead zone. It said if touching, the paddle, which was the name of the sprite I used to create the dead zone, then it would hide, which is a command from the look category, then it would wait 2 seconds, then show, then go back to the original starting coordinates of x 21 y 23. I repeated this code for every sprit I used to make the dead zone. This allowed the ball to disappear every time the ball missed the trampoline, but then show up again after 2 seconds, making it a more complex code. Then I was able to add score by creating a variable and having the score set to zero at the beginning and adding another if then loop to say if the ball was touching the trampoline the score would change by one, therefore now I can keep score with how many times I have touched the trampoline. I will add more coding and make a two player game in future classes.
January 19, 2017- Today in engineering class, I began working on creating a two player ping pong game. I began by creating a ball sprit and two random sprites. I turned the two random sprits into rectangles by using the costume tab at the top of the coding categories and used the draw tool to create a rectangle for each sprite. I also had to rename my sprites to make it easier to understand which one is which. I named then paddle left and paddle right. Then I had to code the ball to begin with. I used the starting command the makes me have to click the green flag before the code beings. Then I used the command show, the go to the coordinates x 212 and y -11, which are numbers to make the ball appear and start at, and then the command point in direction -90, so the paddle would go to the left to begin, instead of going 180 which would make the ball drop down. Then, I used a forever loop and added a if then loop inside of it theta addresses if the ball was touching the left paddle, then point in direction 90, in order to go right to the right paddle, and then turn 15 degrees, to make the ball on a less straight path. Then I created the same if then loop for if the ball was touching the right paddle, but instead of pointing in the direction 90, point in direction -90, so it would go left instead of right. Then at the end of the code, I put move 10 steps and if on edge bounce, inside the forever loop, but not in an if then loop. Then I created the code for the paddles. For paddle left, I used the same starting command as always, then I created a forever loop, and created an if then loop inside the forever loop saying if key up arrow is pressed, then change y by 10, which means that when the up arrow is pressed, the left paddle will move up. Then I created another if then loop, that said if key down arrow is pressed, then change y by -10, which means that when the down arrow is pressed, the left paddle will move down. For the right paddle I created a very similar code except for instead of the up arrow, I used when key 1 is pressed the right paddle will change y by 10, or move up. Also, instead of the down arrow, I used when the 2 key is pressed, then change y by -10, or move down. I used different keys, so the paddles are won't move at the exact same time, but depending on when the person presses the keys. I will expand on this code and game in classes soon.
January 20, 2017- Today in engineering class, I continued working on my two player ping pong game by adding score and a dead zone and changing the ball speed. I began by improving my game by placing the command under the operations category, to point in the direction random 90 to -90 instead of just -90, in order to make the ball move or rotate a little more. I also added a command from the operations category for if touching the right paddle to turn pick random 20 to -25, to make the game harder because it is rotating more, instead of just turn 15 degrees, and also changed the command for when the ball toughs the left paddle to turn pick random 30 to -30 degrees instead of 15. Also, after the beginning of the code where the commas says point in direction pick random 90 to -90, I created two variables that addressed the score right and score left and placed the command to set both scores to zero to start the game. Then, another command I added after if on edge bounce was, I created an if then loop to address if it touched the dead zone on the sides of the screen. It said if touching convertible 1, then hide, wait 2 seconds, go to x 23 y -11, then show, and also set score right and left to zero, therefore when the ball touches the dead zones, the score will reset and the game will start over. I used the same code for the other side of the dead zone as well, but said if touching convertible two instead of one. Then I created another if then loop that said if touching paddle left, then change score left by one. I also added another if then loop that said if touching paddle right then change score right by one, so the corresponding side that touches the paddle will receive a point. Then I decided to add another feature to my game to make it harder as the score increased. I increased the speed of the ball after every time the ball hits a paddle. I created another variable called ball speed and then under the beginning coding part, before the forever loop, I added the code to set the ball speed to 12 at the beginning of the game. Then instead of move ten steps in the code, I used the variable ball speed instead of ten, in order for it to say move ball speed steps. Then in the if then statements for the dead zone, I added the variable to set the ball speed back to 12 under setting the scores back to zero, so it will be like the game completely starting over. Then under the if then statements for the paddles to change their score by one, I added to change the ball speed by one underneath the score commands. Therefore, the ball speed will get faster and faster, making the game harder and harder as the score increases. I will continue creating more codes and games on scratch in future classes.
January 23, 2017- Today in engineering class, we downloaded a program called mblock. Mblock is an extension to the program we have been practicing with over the past few days, called scratch. The coding is very similar, such as they both contain the categories motion, looks, sound, pen, data, events, control, sensing and operations for coding the sprites, but what makes mblock different is the added feature for robots. The robots category applies to all arduinos and mechatronics, and this program allows you to code the arduinos and mechatronics from the block program instead of using other programs such as Arduino, but it will also allow you to add features to the arduino or mechatronic by using the other categories of coding on mblock. Today there was a problem with being able to set the robot coding to an arduino, but it turned out that what needed to be added was an extension. When we went under the extension tab on the computer, we were able to check arduino and arduino uno off in order to be able to have the correct coding for the arduinos. Today, we built a simple arduino, just to have an LED blink, and will later be able to use or test out some coding on mblock to allow the LED to blink.
January 24, 2016- Today in engineering class, we continued working on Mblock by making one LED blink and setting it up to potentially have 8 LEDs blink. To make just one of my LEDs blink, I had to have one wire going to ground, one wire going to 5v, and then one wire going to the pin of my choice which I chose pin 13 on the digital pins. Then I placed the LED on the breadboard and had the wire that was connected to pin 13 in front of the long wire, and the resistor behind the LED, behind the short leg. I repeated this procedure for 7 more LEDs using the pins 6-12 instead of 13. I needed to make the one LED blink to begin, though. In order to do this I had to make sure the extension was on arduino and so was the board. Then, I was the signature starting code piece that was under robotics and says Arduino Program. Then I created a forever loop, so it would keep blinking on and off and never stop. Then, inside the forever loop, I used the command set digital pin 13 output as HIGH, which is very similar to the arduino program to code an LED, and this will allow the LED connected to pin 13 to turn on. Then, I used a wait command for 1 second, so it would stay on for 1 second. Then, I used the same command as before with set digital pin 13 output as LOW, instead of HIGH, in order to have the LED turn off. Then I added another wait command for 1 second, so it would wait one second before starting the code over again and turing the LED back on. Then I loaded the code to the arduino after plugging the arduino into the computer and connecting it to the correct serial port. I was successful in having the LED blink, and now I will have to find a way to program all 8 LEDs to turn off and on, one after another.
January 25, 2016- Today in engineering class, I continued to work on Mblock and programming 8 LEDs to blink on and off one after another. There was difficulty in the beginning to make all the LEDs the same brightness, so we discovered if you use the command with pwm pins instead of digital pins and put the out put as 255, the brightness of the LEDs will be at maximum brightness. Before that, I used the usual starting code piece of arduino program. I then created a variable called pin in order to manipulate which LED corresponding with whatever pin is lighting up. I started with the command set pin to 6 because that is the lowest pin I have. Then added a forever loop, so it would continue going after the code was done the first time. Then I used a repeat 10 loop, instead of an if then loop, because I am telling the arduino what to do, there is no if then in commanding the arduino, and also with the repeat 10 loop, it allows the code to repeat itself 10 times. Then I used the set pwm then the variable pin then output as 255, to have the LED at maximum brightness. Then I used a wait command for 1 second to have it wait until the second pin would light up. Then I added the command to change the variable pin by 1, therefore the LED that is turing on will be the pin directly after the one that had already turned on. Then that set of commands repeats 10 times, in order to have all the pins light up. Then I added another repeat loop, but I had it repeat 12 times instead of 10, so it would go all the way down and turn off the last pin, and I needed more that repeat 10 times to do that. Then I put the command set pwm pin then the variable pin then output as 0, so it would turn off all the way. Then I used a wait command of 1 second to put time between each pin turning off. Then, I used the command change the variable pin by -1, so whatever pin number it was on, it would decrease from that number. Therefore, the LEDs should light up starting at pin 6, the start turing off at pin 13 and end back at pin 6. The next class, I will work on having one LED fade up and down.
January 26, 2017- Today in engineering class, I worked on making an LED fade up and down gradually. I started with the starting command of arduino program. Then, I created a variable for power and set it to zero, so the LED would start off. Then, I created another variable for pin and set it to 6 because that was the pin I chose, and it is a pwm pin on my arduino, which allows me to use this pin for this programming. Then I created a forever lop, to have the code go on forever after the code ends. Then I added a repeat until loop and said repeat until power = 255, therefore this command will stop when the power of the LED is at maximum power. Then I set pwm pin to variable pin and its output as the variable power. Then I said wait .1 seconds, so the LED will fade on fast, but I will still be able to see it. Then I put change power by 1, so the power would gradually increase until maximum power at 255. Then, I created another repeat until loop and said repeat until power = 0, so the LED will be completely off. Then, I put set pwm pin as variable pin and output as variable power. Then, I used a wait command of .1 seconds again, so I could gradually see it decrease in brightness, but it would also do it vastly. Then I used the command change power by -1, so the LED would gradually decrease until the LED is completely off. I was successful in making my LED fade all the way on to making it fade to where it looks off. Next class, I will attempt to make all 8 of my LEDs fade on and eventually fade off.
January 27, 2017- Today in engineering class, I worked on trying to make all 8 of my LEDs fade up to eventually reach maximum power. I started with the starting command of arduino program. Then I created a variable for pin and set it to 6, which is my lowest variable number. Then, I created another variable for power and set power to 0, so it can gradually increase. Then, I created a forever loop. Then I created a repeat until loop, and used the loop to say repeat until pin> 14, therefore, the pin number will increase until it is greater than 14, therefore it will increase up until 13, which is my greatest pin. Then I created another repeat until loop, and it said repeat until power = 255, therefore, the LEDs can gradually increase to 255, the maximum brightness of the LEDs. Then I said set pwm pin to the variable pin and output as the variable power, so the whatever pin is fading up at the moment, it will fade up at the same rate as the variable power, which is by 1 until 255. Then I used a wait command of .1 seconds, so it would increase vastly, but I could still see the change in brightness. Then I put the command change power by 1, so the power will gradual increase to maximum brightness. Then I put the command of change pin by 1, so after one pin increases to maximum brightness, it moves onto the next pin until after pin 13. I was able to create this code, but unable to test it because it would not upload to my arduino in time. I will continue to work on making the 8 LEDs fade up and down in future classes.
January 30, 2017- Today in engineering class, I learned how to set up and read a photo resistor on the Arduino program. I added the photo resistor to my breadboard by putting a 10k resistor behind the short led of the photo resistor and a wire going from right behind the 10k resistor to the analog zero pin on my arduino, which shows that this pin was an analog pin vs. a digital pin which we have used in the past, which makes this pin an INPUT vs. an OUTPUT when coding. I also added another wire going from behind the other end of the 10k resistor into the negative side of the breadboard rail and then another wire going from right next to the wire that went to the analog pin and went to the positive side of the breadboard rail. Then in order to see code the photo resistor, I had to put under void setup pinMode (AO, INPUT);, which allows the photo resistor to be an input vs. an output which we have been working with in order to make LEDs blink, and therefore this code will the photo resistor not exactly to be seen what is going on, but later add code to read and understand it. Then under void loop, I put int LDR = analogRead(AO);, so it would read the photo resistor even though I will be unable to see anything change with this code at the moment. In order to be able to download this code, I had to make sure the correct serial port was connected before and after in order for it to work. I will work further with photo resistors later.
January 31, 2017- Today in engineering class, we reviewed the basics of the Arduino program. We made one LED blink using the Arduino program which is review from last semester, and did it by identifying the variable or pin by saying int ledPin = 13, and then in void setup pinMode (ledPin, OUTPUT), so it would be able to be seen as an output, and then under void loop I wrote digitalWrite (ledPin, HIGH), then delay (1000) then digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW), then delay (1000). This allows the led that is connected to digital pin 13 to blink on and off with a delay so it can stay on and off for a certain amount of time. I also reviewed that the for loops on Arduino program is like the repeat loop on scratch; the loop overall makes defining variables and pin numbers easier and faster when developing a long or repetitive code. We also reviewed void loop and void setup and how we needed to define our variables. Also I learned that if I used // it makes a side note in order for me to remember what is going on in a certain line of my code. Overall, today was just review in order to move forward with working with the Arduino program.
February 1, 2017- Today in engineering class, we worked on being able to read the photo resistor on out arduinos by using serial print commands to "look inside the arduino." I created the code starting with the void setup being pinMode (AO, INPUT), then Serial.begin(9600). This sets the data rate in bits per second for serial data transmission, and allows the photo resistor to be read or transmitted. Then under void loop, I put int LDR = analogRead (AO), then Serial.println(LDR), and that allows whatever the variable define as LDR, which in this case is the analog pin AO to be read using the serial monitor. In order to see what the photo resistor is doing, I had to press the serial monitor which looks like a magnifying glass, and if I didn't I would still not notice any changes in the photo resistor. Then I was able to see many numbers on the screen and when I put my hand over the photo resistor or made it darker around the photo resistor, the numbers decreased and when it became more light the numbers increased. The lowest number is zero and the highest is 1023, but mine only got to the mid 900s. The photo resistor is a pull down resistor. I will continue working on and reading photo resistors in later classes.
February 2, 2017- Today in engineering class, I added a button to my photo resistor setup on my arduino. I added the button a few components down from the photo resistor and added a 10k resistor behind the first leg of the button and the positive side of the breadboard rail. Then I added another wire behind the second leg of the button and put the other side of the wire in the positive side of the breadboard rail. I also had another wire that went in front of the first front leg of the button and into the digital pin 8. I added to my code from the photo resistor with the serial print commands by adding the void setup of pinMode (8, INPUT), so I won't be able to physically see anything unless I use the serial monitor because I used the serial.begin (9600) command and also reused the pinMode (AO, INPUT) for the photo resistor. Then under void loop, I put int LDR = analogRead (AO) and then int button = digitalRead(8), so the input or the code would reflect on those to pins. Then I put Serial.println("LDR = "), and then Serial.println(LDR), and then I put Serial.println("button = ") and then put Serial.println(button), so the serial monitor would not only read the photo resistor but also the button. When, I had this code successfully work when I clicked on the serial monitor, the photo resistor changed the same, when it became darker the numbers decreased and when it got lighter the numbers increased, but now instead of just the numbers, it says LDR= and the number value. The serial monitor also added a line saying button = 1, and when I pressed the button, it changed to zero, therefore the values changed and were reflected as an input on the serial monitor vs. an output. I will continue working on the photo resistor and button in future classes.
February 3, 2017- Today in engineering class, I worked on having an LED turn on and off due to the amount of light on the photo resistor. I already had the correct setup to the digital pin 9 from when I was working with making 8 LEDs blink, and in order to start my code, I had to define my variable as int LED = 9, in order to move on further with my code. I added to my code from making the button change values along with the photo resistor due to darkness and added pinMode (9, OUTPUT), so I would actually be able to see the change in brightness in the LED vs. it being an internal change within the arduino. Then additional to the photo resistor and button code under void loop, I added if (LDR<600) then digitalWrite (LED, HIGH), and then else digitalWrite(LED, LOW), and this allowed additional to the code from the button and photo resistor to have the LED turn on when the number value of the photo resistor is less than 600 and if the number is greater than 600, then the LED would be off. This statement acts similar to the if then loop on scratch. When it worked, it allowed the LED to turn off or on depending on how much light there was on the photo resistor. I can also adjust the number the code to make it more easily turn on or off depending on how I adjust the number. It was successful visually and when I looked at the serial monitor, I was able to see the number the LED turned on at, as well.
February 6, 2017- Today in engineering class, we began learning how to use a machine called a shopbot. First, we have to do a safety prep or consider safety procedures, such as making sure 2 people are in the room with the shopbot when it is being used or set up, hair must be back, have to wear safety glasses, don't touch wires behind the machine, don't agree to anything before you read it, and if something goes wrong and the machine needs to be stopped immediately then there is a read button of the right side facing the machine and one next to the computer to stop it. The shopbot is a subtractive process unlike 3d printers which is an additive process. It also has the ability to cut through thicker material than the laser cutter such as a quarter inch of a material. Then after safety preparation, make sure the z-axis on the spindle is high enough to safely slide a piece of material under it. Then you have to measure the thickness of your material and write it on your board, and then slide the material under the spindle. Then secure the material with the correct size wood screw that does not go into the piece of base wood, and attach the wood screws in several places on the material. Then on the side of the machine on the left facing the machine, there is a red button that needs to be turned and then a key that also needs to be turned in order to turn the machine on. Before you turn on the machine or start your cut, you need to make sure the warmup rounties have been run, so it is okay to start the cut. You also need to decide what bit you need depending on what type of cut you intend to do on your material such as a pocket cut, profile up or down cut, or engraving or others as well. Near the computer there is also a blue button that means restart and green button means start to start or reset the cut you are doing. We will learn how to zero out the axises and more about the shopbot next class.
February 7, 2017- Today in engineering class, we continued learning our workflow for using the shopbot, especially zeroing the axises. After we do all the steps that I learned yesterday such as safety prep, securing my material, and learning the parts of machine, before I can start cutting my material, I have to zero out the axises, starting with the z-axis. I used a blue hexagon that was attached to the machine using a clip, which I had to make sure was attached on the yellow side in the beginning. I had to move the blue hexagon until it was underneath the spindle. Then, I had to use the button that said zero z-axis and press enter and okay to make it go down, and so it will go down until it hits the hexagon and then the z-axis will be set. Then, after the z-axis is zeroed, we have to take the clip the hold the hexagon to the machine off. In order to set the other axises, we have to use the yellow keypad in order to press the blue button that says zero axises and press y and x and zero those axises. The things we have to adjust are different depending on whether it is the small or big shopbot. For the small shopbot, we have to change speed by dial on side of machine. Also to just move the spindle to the left, right, front, or back, you have to press control and then press the arrow on the yellows keypad. I will continue learning how to work and built stuff on the shopbot in later classes.
February 8, 2017- Today in engineering class, we practiced zeroing the axises on the shopbot. My partner and I used the small shopbot in order to do this. The workflow for zeroing the axises on the small shopbot and the big one are the same as far as I know right now, but we will work with the small shopbot and how to use it more later. In order to zero the axises, it was very simple because I just had to follow my workflow from yesterday. I used the blue hexagon and the zero the z axis button and then took the clip that attached the hexagon off, then I used the blue button to zero the x and y axises, but overall did not do a lot today because it was just applying my workflow to the shopbot to practice to later make different projects.
February 9, 2017- Today in engineering class, we learned how to change the bit on the shopbot. The bits can be different depending on what type of cut you want, like a pocket cut, a down or up profile, or an engraving, or others as well. In order to make the spindle go down, there is a black button on the back of the bar near the top of machine near the warning sign that I can turn or loosen in order to make the spindle go down. I can also take off the dirt skirt on the bottom of the spindle in order to change the bit. In order to loosen the spindle to make the bit come off after I make the spindle come down, I have to use the small wrench on top and the big wrench on the bottom of the spindle pole that makes it come together and apart to make it go down. You turn the the top wrench clockwise to loosen it and counterclockwise to tighten it, and you turn the bottom wrench counterclockwise to loosen it and clockwise to tighten it, and it seems like this because when looking down it is opposite than you would think of loosening and tightening it. Once taking the old bit out, you can push the new bit in and tighten the spindle. Then you push the spindle back together, so it is back where it started. Then, you have to zero the axises and especially the z axis again.
February 10, 2017- Today in engineering class, we decided on a project we could make to begin working with the shopbot. We decided for our first project, it should be simple and easy to make in order to make something easy to start with to learn how to use the machine. We decided we were going to make coasters because it allows us to understand how to use the shopbot along with changing bits because it could involve pocket bit if we wanted, profile cut bit, and engraving bit if we wanted. Therefore this will be a good project in order to get started and learn how to operate the machine.
February 13, 2017- Today in engineering class, we began trying to set up our starter project to understand the shopbot. We decided to make coasters. There was a tutorial on how to make coasters on shopbottools.com and we downloaded the file to the small shopbot to vcarve, the shopbot program, and edited it further. We adjust the length and width on the computer, so it would match the length and width of the board we were using. We also had to address the thickness of the board and adjust the coasters and the inner circles by unlocking them at first then using the move tool, so that they were all on the necessary space for the board. We will continue to work with our coaters in future classes.
February 14, 2017- Today in engineering class, we worked on securing the piece of wood to the shopbot in order to cut out our coasters. It took longer than expected because we first had to find the correct screws that would go into the base board but not the metal on the bottom. We had to find a lot of these because we had to use the screws around the board. Then we had to find the correct part of the drill that would allow us to just drill a small hole down to the base board, in order to make it easier to put the screws in and drill them. Once we made several holes, we changed the piece on the drill, to allow us to drill the screws into the board. We used the correct screws for the board we were using. That is all we could get to today, but we will continue to work on cutting our coasters out in future classes.
February 15, 2017- Today in engineering class, we had to secure our board again, change a bit, and zero our z axis. We began by securing our board to the shopbot exactly like we did yesterday. Then we had to change the bit on our spindle to a pocket bit, in order to have the shopbot cut into the piece of wood circles. We did this by loosening the spindle with the wrenches and then taken out the other bit and replacing it with the pocket bit and hand tightening it at first, but then we tightened it back up with the wrenches, and we put the spindle back up and all together. Then we were able to zero the z axis by putting the blue hexagon underneath the spindle. Then we pressed the zero z axis button on the yellow keypad, and the z axis was zeroed. We hope to cut our coasters next class.
February 16, 2017- Today in engineering class, we had to add two squares to a piece of wood that had already been cut, and then cut the two squares instead of our previous plan to cut coasters. When we did this we had to make two squares that wood fit in the left over room of the original design that we were adding on to. We had to make sure there were only two tabs vs. four on the squares because only two were necessary to pick up the pieces at the end. We also had to re- zero the z axis to make sure it was the same as before, and we kept the same origin, so it would start where it had started at the beginning of the design, but then we highlighted the two squares we wanted to cut and saved them, so under the tool path list we were able to select the squares we wanted cut, so it would only cut those two squares, not everything else in the design. We had to do a run through of the design without cutting anything to make sure it worked by saying there was a 3d offset, and so it would not cut anything, and we can make sure it was going to cut the way we wanted. Once we realized that worked, we changed the settings back to no offset, therefore it would cut and we would be able to cut out the two squares. After the squares cut we were able to take them out of the larger piece of wood. We completed our first shopbot assignment, and now we have a greater understanding of the shopbot and how to use it.
February 22, 2017- Today in engineering class, we continued working on making coasters on the Shopbot. Since we had already worked on the shopbot, it made it easier to set up the file and download it. Today we worked on screwing the board down, again. We had to make sure we made the holes that go into the base board before we began putting in the wood screws in order to make it easier to secure the board. Then we made sure the wood screws we were using went into the second board, but not too deep. Then we used the drill to put the wood screws into the board in order to secure it. We will continue working on the coasters later.
February 23, 2017- Today in engineering class, I wanted to continue working on my project from last semester. I took out all of my materials and was ready to complete my project, but I realized that I had the wrong adapter and need to get one soon because I have to connect my phone to the leds and the arduino in order for the leds to blink to the music. I need an adapter with two sides that look like I can connect it to may phone, in order to connect it to may phone and the arduino. Therefore, for the rest of class, I worked on trying to find this specific adapter in order to go pick one up or order it so I will finally be able to finish my project, and hopefully it will come soon.
February 24, 2017- Today in engineering class, we continued to work on the coasters. Yesterday, my partners had worked on the shopbot to create and origin and create holes using the shopbot in order to more accurately place the nails into the board, and they also changed the bit, so it is a pocket cut, which is what we need to begin making the coasters. Therefore, today we had to reset the origin because someone had changed it and zero out the z axis again. Once we did this so that the spindle was programed to go right to the corner of the board to start the cut and the z axis was set, then we were able to cut the small holes again to make them more process and where we want them. Once the holes were cut again, we were able to get a see of around where the coasters were going to be cut. Also, before we cut anything we had to make sure the bit was spinning first. Then once we secured the board, we were able to cut the inner circles of our coasters with the pocket bit on the spindle. Later we will be able to change the bit to cut out our coaster and finally complete these coasters.
March 13, 2017- Today in engineering class, we worked on learning how to use vcarve, more closely. For the previous classes we have been organizing our portfolios because many other groups have been making something on the Shopbot to understand the machine, but now we got to learn how to elaborate on the program vcarve. We learned that you can press create a new file to type in the width and length and thickness of the material. Then on the right side of vcarve you can choose the type of toolpath you want depending on the cut you want and put in the specific information you need for that toolpath. You need to select the vector you are using first before creating a tool path for it. In toolpath you can also add and edit tabs for the selected vector. Tabs hold your material in place, but too many tabs takes too long to sand off. You can click click on the vector once to add tabs, once add tabs is selected, and click on the place you made the tab in order to remove tabs. You have to name the selected vector as well and can go to the name of your cut and press calculate to see the cut, and you can go to preview the selected tool path in order to preview the cut and tabs. You also have to save the tool path and then send it to Shopbot. Also, make sure to look for warning message throughout vcarve, maybe about thickness, because you can sometimes make your cut thickness bigger than the thickness of your material. Also, besides toolpaths, on the left side of vcarve you can draw shapes, create vectors, edit or move shapes, can scale objects with its dimensions or by percentage if you have the vector already selected. We learned that edit and scale tools help make good measurements with vectors, and also if you are to edit or move your vector in any way the vector needs to be selected. We have just begun learning about vcarve and will practice more with it later.
March 14, 2017- Today in engineering class, we tried to find a pdf to work more with vcarve. We had to find a pdf and send it to inkscape before we could send the file to vcarve. I decided I would make a pdf in Inkscape in order to just make something and then put it into vcarve, instead of searching for a pdf. I decided to make a name tag, and so I made a rectangle and added a text box and typed my name into the rectangle. Then I looked online for pdfs of a lacrosse stick in order to add to my name tag. Once I found a lacrosse stick, I imported it into inkscape and adjusted it to fit my name tag. Then I saved my name tag as a pdf and downloaded it into my google drive and will import it into vcarve next class.
March 15, 2017- Today in engineering class, I imported my pdf into vcarve. I first had to open my google drive and had to download my pdf onto the computer. Then, I opened vcarve and pressed open existing file, because my pdf was already downloaded onto the computer, and pressed on my name tag file. Then, I was able to adjust the length and width and thickness to be what I wanted because this assignment was just to understand vcarve more, and we were not going to end up cutting this on the Shopbot. Then after entering the material information, I began wiring on creating tool paths. First, I had to select the letters and lacrosse stick using the select tool on the left side of vcarve. Then I chose an engraving tool path, which I had not used yet. I then put in the settings for an engraving cut, like how deep I wanted the engraving and what type of bit I was going to use. Then I previewed and calculated the cut or engraving. I then saved the tool path, and it showed up under the tool path section on the right side of vcarve, at the bottom. I then saved my file in order to continue working on it later. I will be able to finish making tool paths for my name tag tomorrow.
March 16, 2017- Today in engineering class, I finished making the tool paths for my name tag on vcarve. I started by opening my existing file, again, but this time it was my file that had been worked on and had an engraving tool path for it. I created a profile tool path for the rectangle that created my name tag. First, I had to use the select tool and pressed on the rectangle. Then I selected the profile tool path. I then put in the thickness for the cut that I had put for the material, but we are not actually cutting it, so the actual thickness did not matter, I just had to make them the same, so it would seem as if the rectangle would cut out. Then I made sure the correct profile, 1/4 down cut, bit was selected. Then, I created 3 tabs around the rectangle, in order to secure the material, but not make it too hard to get out or sand the material. I then previewed and calculated the cut. I also saved the profile cut, so it then showed up under the tool path list and I could see both of my tool paths that I had made and had them both checked off, so I could potentially cut or engrave both of the tool paths for my name tag. With this assignment I further learned how to create toolpaths and use vcarve, and will use the new skills I have learned and vcarve in general for future projects on the Shopbot.
March 27, 2017- Today in engineering class, I researched project ideas for my second semester project idea. The only requirement for this semester's project is that we use the shopbot. If the design or the project we choose to do is not elaborate enough or doesn't demonstrate a lot of the skills we can use on the shopbot, then we have to add intelligence to the project. So far I have seen a lot of ideas on websites like shopbotmake and pintrest and just searching shopbot projects into google images. I have seen many different chairs that I could make all by shopbot, bird houses, tables, games, signs, and more, but it is very hard to decide what I really want to do for my project along with knowing what is an intricate idea and what is not, but hopefully I will choose my project soon.
March 28, 2017- Today in engineering class, I continued searching for an idea for my second semester project idea. I continued looking for inspiration on the same websites that I had before, but it is still difficult to decide a project that I will have to commit to for two months and not get sick of. I am trying to find an elaborate shopbot project that does not involve me doing any intelligence because I am more interested in working with the shopbot and increasing my knowledge of all the different cuts and designs I could do with the shopbot to make something, rather than, using intelligence, which I have used in past projects already.
March 29, 2017- Today in engineering class, I found three options for my second semester project. My three options for a project are a corn hole game, a cylinder with texture and design added to it that can hold coffee packets, and an elaborate chair that I could use outside. My first idea of a cylinder with texture and design that is used to hold coffee packets, would look similar to a log and would have tiny holes in it, enough to hold several containers of coffee packets. It would also rest on a circular pieces of wood, on both sides of the log, and I could add even more design to those ends. I will be able to make this project more intricate because I will be able to add designs to all sides of the wood and can add texture be making some protect cuts or engraving slightly deep into the wood. This would be a great Mother's Day gift because it could be patterned and designed to be intricate, but also have the holes, which I could make with a pocket cut, in order to hold the coffee packets. My second idea was a chair. I would make the chair as elaborate as I could in order add to the chair and not have to use electronics with the chair. I could possibly make a rocking chair with all different types of pocket and engraving cuts, like maybe things I like, for example college or pro sports teams, but I could also do stripes or a tree for a design on a rocking chair or just out door patio chairs that fold together and apart. My third idea is a corn hole game. Since the boards to make the corn hole game is pretty basic, I would probably have to put intelligence into my project. I would be able to add lights, where anytime someone made a bean bag into the hole, the lights would light up. I could also add a speaker because that is also intelligence, and I like to listen to music, and I would be able to listen to music and play corn hole a the same time. The top of the corn whole boards will be basic and just simply have a hole cut out on the top, but the sides, which support the top board and create the corn hole board, will have elaborate designs that allow the boards to stand up. I am going to think about my three ideas and decide what idea will be my project next class.
March 30 2017- Today in engineering class, I decided to make my second semester project a corn hole game with a speaker in it. I have wanted a corn hole game for a long time, and now I have the opportunity to make one myself. Since the corn hole boards themselves are not a very elaborate design and don't require very intricate work on the shopbot, I have to add intelligence, and I decided what I wanted to do was add a speaker because that would be the most fun for me when building the project as well as when I am playing the game. I want to add a speaker that is not super complicated to where it could have been my whole project, but it does need to display my knowledge of how to incorporate intelligence into a project. I found a design for corn holes on shopBot Projects, the website, and that allows me to download the toolpath and design for the project, but it will have to be modified to incorporate the speaker into it as well as it be able to fit onto the piece of wood I buy. I downloaded the zip file from ShopBot Projects for this project into my google drive and will access the files in later classes.
March 31, 2017- Today in engineering class, I researched information for my speaker that will be attached to my corn hole game. I want a speaker that is not super complicated to where it could have been my whole project if the only requirement was intelligence, but I also need to show that I know how to add intelligence into my project and can do that. Therefore, I have been researching on websites such as adafruit, spark fun, and in general, google, in order to find a speaker that is easy to assemble, but it is very hard to find designs for speakers that don't involve spending a lot of money or several weeks or months potentially to build because they are very complicated, so I will continue to search for a speaker idea.
April 3, 2017- Today in engineering class, I continued researching ideas on how to incorporate a speaker into a corn hole game. I have kept looking for an idea on how incorporate the speaker into my corn hole game, but the same complicated, expensive, time-consuming results keep popping up, and I don't completely understand the instructions for many of the designs, so it would be hard to make a speaker in order to incorporate it into another project, without making the speaker a completely separate project, but my teacher found a simpler way to make a speaker on adafruit, and he said he would be willing to help me make my speaker for my project by guiding me on the tutorial on adafruit, and so this will make making the speaker more efficient and very helpful for my project in the long-run, and will especially help me finish my project on time more likely, now.
April 4, 2017- Today in engineering class, I tried to find the necessary materials for my project to put on my spreadsheet for my project which includes the price of materials. I looked on websites such as Lowes, Home Depot, and google searched for my piece of wood. I researched that a normal corn hole board is 2ft by 4ft and about 3/4in thick, and so that is what I looked up on these websites, and since the piece of wood I was looking for was so large, there was only so many results, and so I had to choose a piece of wood from Home Depot because the actual dimensions of the wood were the same dimensions to the material I needed, with the same thickness. In order to find a speaker, sparkfun, the website, had a very cheap speaker that will be useful in my project. I didn't many materials for this project because my whole project can be built on one piece of wood and many of the materials that will help make my speaker can be found in the fab lab.
April 5, 2017- Today in engineering class, I learned how to download the instruction file and other files connected to my project in order to make my project. There was a zip file on the ShopBot Projects website and so I downloaded the folder into my google drive folder, but I was unable to download any of the files from there to open them and see the instructions, toolpath, or even any pictures of the project. I then tried using a laptop instead of the computers, to see if it would work under different software that I could download the files into. I was then able to go into my google drive and download what the corn hole pieces look like in vcarve, without the toolpath, but see how it fits on the material, and I was also able to download the instructions to the project, which did not contain a lot of information on it except for the dimensions of the wood that I needed for this project. The wood was 2ft by 4ft, but instead of 3/4in thick, it was 1/2in thick, and so now I will have to find a new piece of wood, and also learn how I can open the toolpaths into vcarve, as well.
April 6, 2017- Today in engineering class, I searched for another piece of wood that fit the correct dimensions in the instructions of my project's original dimensions. It would have been as okay piece of wood if the dimensions were slightly off and the thickness was okay, but since all of the toolpaths and cuts are programed to a certain thickness, which should be or should be close to the thickness of the board, I had to find a new piece of wood in order to use for my project. I searched on Home Depot, Lowes, and google searched again, and I was able to find a piece of wood, that according to the Home Depot website, had the exact measurements of 2ft by 4ft by 1/2in thickness, and so I was able to replace the wood easily before I ordered anything. I also had to replace the wood and website on my spreadsheet.
April 10, 2017- Today in engineering class, I finished my spreadsheet for my project. My spreadsheet consists of my name, the name of my project, which is a corn hole game, the name of the location or provider of the material I am buying, the material with the link to the website I found and am buying the material from, the material number, the cost of the material, how many of each material I need, the total for each material, and the total cost for my project. My spreadsheet is not very long because it only consists of two materials, but it may get larger as my project continues.
April 11, 2017- Today in engineering class, I worked on how to download the toolpath for my project. I used the laptop instead of the computer in order to download the toolpath into vcarve, but when I attempted to go into my google drive to the already downloaded zip file for my project, it would not allow me to open or even see the toolpath. I was able to open the cut design into vcarve, but in order to make the design be cut, there has to be a toolpath. I will have to try to keep opening the toolpath or find a way to open the toolpath, or I will have to create all the toolpaths myself, which I will already have to do for the features I add for the speaker. If I cannot figure out how to open the toolpath, then I will just have to create the toolpaths because I have tried opening it several times, and it has not worked so far.
April 12, 2017- Today in engineering class, I ordered my materials for my project. It was not a hard process because I only had to order two materials, the speaker and piece of wood. It did take a little while though because I had to find out all the billing and shipping information before I could confirm my order, but by the end of class, I managed to order both of my materials, and should be able to start working hands on and do more with my project once the materials arrive.
April 18, 2017- Today in engineering class, I created the toolpaths for the objects for my project. I could not figure out how to select all of my objects together to make one tool path, and so I had to create a tool path for the small designs first, because I could select all of those together, and then I did each of the big pieces separately. I had six tool paths in total. I used the 2d profile cut for all of my tool paths and then I made the start depth 0 inches and the cut depth .5 inches, because that is how thick my wood is, and I want it to cut through all the way. Then, I changed the bit to a 1/4in down cut bit because that is the bit necessary for this cut. Then I pressed add tabs to tool path, with a length .5 and thickness .125 inches, and I selected create 3d tabs. Then in order to add the tabs to the objects, I pressed edit tabs and selected all of the areas that needed a tab in order for the wood not to come loose, and it varied depending on how big the object was. Then I renamed the tool path to whatever object I was making the profile cut for. Then I calculated the cut and changed the material to oak because that is the material I am using for this project. I did these steps for all six of my tool paths for all of my objects. Then, I saved all of the tool paths to my file and saved my file.
April 19, 2017- Today in engineering class, I had to re-create my toolpaths into just one toolpath. I went to my computer and then tried to download my file again into vcarve, but when I did, there was no tool paths, probably because I saved it to the computer or it didn't end up saving at all. Therefore, I had to re-create my tool paths, but instead of making six different tool paths, I just made one, by selecting the whole rectangle I was working on. It was a lot faster process because all of my objects had the same settings anyways, just different number of tabs. I started by making my start depth zero and my cut depth .5 again, and then changed the bit to a 1/4 down bit, and then I added the amount of tabs necessary for each object and it varied depending on how big the object was. Then I just renamed it to be Zoe Claytor Corn Hole Profile Cut and then I calculated it and changed the material, and I re-created my tool path, and then saved the tool path and file to the computer and google drive.
April 20, 2017- Today in engineering class, I worked on creating my scale model of my project in Inkscape and also realized I needed a new piece of wood. I opened a document on Inkscape and put in the correct document settings of 20in by 30in and putting the units into inches. Then from my downloads from my project's original instructions, I looked to see if there was a pdf or svg file, and there was not, and so I decided to copy and paste from vcarve file. I copied the objects from my vcarve file, and then on Inkscape I pasted the object, and once they were in there, I selected all of the objects together and shrunk them down in order to fit in the 20in by 30in rectangle, that is the laser cutter's dimensions. Then I selected all of the objects again and changed the darkness of the lines and the thickness of the lines, so it would be a dark red, and so I would be able to see the lines and manipulate them from there. I then saved this file as an svg.
April 24, 2017- Today in engineering class, I made a toolpath and hole in my project for my speaker. I started by measuring or finding out the diameter of the speaker in order to make the circle for the speaker to eventually go into. The speaker was about 49mm, and since vcarve's dimensions are in inches, I changed the 49mm into about 1.9 inches. I used the draw a vector tool in vcarve and made a circle and then selected the circle in order to scale it to make it the dimensions I wanted. It allowed me to type the diameter I wanted for the circle and it to be the size I wanted. Then, I selected the circle and created a 2d profile cut for it. I made the start depth zero, the cut depth .5 and the bit a 1/4 down bit, and did not add tabs because the shape was so small, so it doesn't need any tabs. Then I named it Zoe Claytor Corn Hole Speaker Profile Cut and then calculated it and changed the material to oak and then saved the tool path and saved the file and then saved it to my google drive.
April 25, 2017- Today in engineering class, I did the math to find my scale from the Shopbot to Inkscape and also added the speaker hole and made the speaker whole actual size. I decided that if I wanted to make an exact model, then I would want to know exactly how I am scaling and making a model of this design. I realized that if the actual size of the board I am cutting is 8ft by 4ft, and maximum piece of material the laser cutter can be is 20 in by 30in, which is actually 2.5 ft by 1.67ft, then the scale is 3.2. I also added my speaker to my model today, and I began by making it a scale of 3.2 to the actual size like the rest of my project model, but then I decided to make the speaker cut actual size,so I could see if it actually fits or not in the circle I am creating, so it won't be too big or small when I actually cut my wood, and then there wood be an awkward gap in the middle of one of the boards. I made the speaker with a diameter of 1.9 inches.
April 26, 2017- Today in engineering class, I changed the settings for my model to cut and got ready to cut my model. I changed the settings on my model lines to .001, in order to cut straight through the card board on the laser cutter. I then saved the file as a pdf and svg. I then downloaded both files into my google drive and will use the pdf to laser cut my model next class because both laser cutters were being used all class today before it was my turn to use the laser cutter.
April 27, 2017- Today in engineering class, I cut my scale model. I downloaded the pdf to the computer connected to the laser cutter and put the settings of the laser cutter to the correct settings for cardboard, which are 12 for speed, 100 for power, and frequency 10. The laser cutter now automatically has color mapping turned off, so I didn't need to change that, and it was automatically set for raster, which is what I needed. I also made the settings of the board 30in by 20in, which is the length of the laser cutter. I then saved my preferences and printed it.
April 28, 2017- Today in engineering class, I glued my model together and realized I will have to change the size of the tabs in order for it to word with wood vs. cardboard. I had to force the tabs together and to fit together with the cardboard, and since the cardboard thickness is only .15 inches, and my wood is .71875in, then I knew I needed to change the entire design of my project, in order to make the correct tabs for my wood, instead of cardboard, so it word fit nicely.
May 1, 2017- Today in engineering class, I began making a new design in Inkscape. I started by using the regulation corn hole sizes, with the center board being 48in by 24in, and the inner circle being six inches in diameter and three inches from the top and six from the sides. I then had to add the tabs to my rectangle and I decided to make 2 by 2in square tabs to go up the side of the board, so the sides and board can eventually fit together. Then I moved my board to be at the position zero, zero on inkscape because then, I was able to make all of my tabs according to the thickness of my wood. I subtracted .17875 from 24, because that is the thickness of my board subtracted from the width of my board, to make accurate tabs. All the tabs on the right side of my board were 2in apart and at 23.28125 on the x axis, to have a .17875 tab. Then on the left side of the board, I made the tabs 2in apart as well, and then I subtracted .17875 from 0, because that is where the board was on the x-axis. It ended up making the tabs at -1.28125in on the x-axis. I then used the difference tool on inkscape in order to make the tabs actual tabs on the side of the board, and I had to do this for every tab. I discovered that nothing can be grouped on the shape that you are making the difference of. I had to ungroup the middle circle and the big rectangle in order to use the difference tool to make tabs. After I finished differencing every tab from the larder rectangle, I grouped the circle and the rectangle, so I could connect connect the shaped again and move them if I wanted to.
May 2, 2017- Today in engineering class, I finished making the rectangles for my new design and began making the triangle. I copied the rectangular board I made in order to make to boards for the korn hole game, and then I began making the sides of the board, but the hard part about this is that there was no triangle tool on Inkscape, and so I had to figure out a way to make straight lines, which means I couldn't just free draw the lines, and make them the correct length and width. I used the straight line tool on Inkscape. I had to look at the model from the original plans that I was going to use, in order to see how long and where the lines should be located in order to line up with the rectangular board that goes on top. It took me a while to find the correct angle and line the ends of the triangle up well, but I learned that it is easier to type in the x and y axis of where I want the lines to go, and I could also type in how long I wanted to make the lines. It took about four lines to complete the outside of the triangle, and I make a small rectangle and two other small triangles inside the triangles, to be similar to the original design I was going to use. I used the straight line tool again to do this as well.
May 3, 2017- Today in engineering class, I finished making the triangle, but had to do the math for the tabs. I made 2in by 2in tabs, so they would fit inside the tabs on the rectangle, but I realized that they would have to be slanted in order to fit into the tabs of the rectangle, therefore I cloned the 2in by 2in tabs slanted instead of normal squares. Then I made them 2in apart, and I found out that the easiest way to decide how far the tabs would have to go into the triangle to make .17875 tabs for my wood, would be to see where the edge of the part of the triangle, for wherever on the y-axis I was doing, and subtract .17875. Since there was no pattern for this, I had to do this for every multiple of 2, I was doing for the y-axis.
May 4, 2017- Today in engineering class, I finished the triangle with the tabs, but realized i could not union it together. I had finished the tab calculation and I selected on of the tabs, and when I tried to combine the triangle with the tab, in order to make the tabs for the wood, with the union tool, it only deleted the line of the triangle I was trying to union the tab with. Then, I tried it several times, but then I realized that I could could not union the tabs with the whole triangle, because I could only select one of the lines I had created, not all of them, because the triangle was not really a triangle, but a series of lines. I also, could not group the lines to make the triangle and tabs union because the union tool doesn't work when you group objects. Therefore, I had to come up with a new solution to make the sides of the triangle, which I decided would be making rectangle with the same dimensions of the top board, but I would union the tabs instead of difference them, and then I would draw a line down the middle in order to turn a rectangle into two triangles.
May 5, 2017- Today in engineering class, I created a rectangle with a line through it in order to make the triangles and added tabs to bot sides. I made the rectangle with the same dimensions of my top boards, which was 48in by 24 in, and them used the straight line tool to draw a line down the middle of the board, and typed in the length to fit from both corners of the board, and also, typed in the x and y values for where the corners of board were. I then created the same tabs that had the same x values of 23.28125 and -1.28125 and the y values of 2in apart, but instead of making the difference of the tabs and the rectangle, I used the union tool, to combine the tabs and the rectangle, so the board and the sides will fit together because of the tabs.
May 8, 2017- Today in engineering class, I finished and laser cut my model and also made the toolpath for my project. I downloaded my Inkscape file as a pdf and a svg on my google drive and then was able to change the settings on print preferences to speed 12, power 100, and frequency 10, which are the setting for cardboard. I also make the board length and width to by 20in by 30in, and then I kept the settings as color mapping off and the setting of rastering. In order to make the model be the correct dimensions of the larboards, I had to select all of the objects and shrink them down, to about 1/3 the size of my actual model. Then I was able to cut my model, and it fit together, with the tabs, a little bit hanging over, which is what I want, so it will fit together with my wood. Then I decided that since my model worked, I could download my svg into vcarve, and then I was able to make my toolpath for my boards and sides. I also, added my speaker hole onto one of the the sides of my boards with the diameter of 1.9in, so the speaker would be able to rest in the side and be able to fit perfectly. I made the dimensions of my board 96 in by 48in and then the thickness as .719, because the computer rounded my thickness from .17875in, and I made sure to select z the axis from the bottom, not the top. I made the tool path, a profile cut, and set it to be a 1/4 down bit, to have a cut depth of .179, which it the thickness of my wood rounded, and the start depth as 0 inches. Then I added tabs to every part of the boards, except the speaker hole because it is too small, and then I calculated my tool path, and made sure I renamed my tool path to be Zoe Claytor Korn Hole Profile Cut, and then I saved my tool path, and my file to my google drive.
May 9, 2017- Today in engineering class, I tried to cut my board but there was some problems with the origin and it just went straight down and had to use clamps to secure my board because it my design was so close to the edge. I changed the bit on the Shopbot to a 1/4 down bit, then I was ready to cut my project, and secured my wood with clamps instead of nails, because the design of my project goes to the very edge of the board. I zeroed the z axis and made my origin the very edge of the board, and did a 3d cut to view it first, and then, when I went to cut the board, the bit ended up going straight down and kept going, so I had to stop the Shopbot, and it made a burnt mark on my wood. I then had to change the way my boards were positioned and turned it 90 degrees, but this way only one of my boards could be cut instead of both of them. Later in the day, It was bale to be cut, It just had to be reset.
May 10, 2017- Today in engineering class, I put one of my boards together and realized I needed to make them a shorter height. I realized that the normal height for a Korn hole game is 12in, but mine was 18in, and so I needed to cut it, or the bean bags wouldn't be able to stay on the board. I also couldn't adjust it on vcarve or inkscape, because the sides were a full rectangle, not triangles, so I would just have to use the table saw later on the sides of my project to make it the correct height.
May 11, 2017- Today in engineering class, I drew the lines on the sides of my board where they needed to be cut. I used my cardboard model to see where I would have to cut my board and made the ratio of 12 to 18, is 4 to 6, so I would have to cut the sides of my model at 4in tall. I then started drawing lines, to see which one would end up going all the way to the end of the triangle and which would the the best and still maintain the angle I needed for my board. I then used the cardboard cutter to cut across the line, on both sides of my board, and was able to see that it was the necessary angle I needed for my project, and I was able to make the lines similar on my actual sides by drawing them with a straight edge, to later be cut but the table saw.
May 12, 2017- Today in engineering class, I cut my other board.
May 13, 2017- Today in engineering class, I used the table saw to make my boards the correct height and then I used clamps and wood glue to glue my boards together and then learned how to operate my speaker and how I am going to work with it. We had to use an extra piece of wood as an edge to try to make the diagonal line straight as it went into the table saw. We clamped the extra piece of wood to the table saw, and it worked in the beginning, but we ended up guiding the board along the line as best as we could to make a good cut. I did this for all 4 of the sides of my board. I then used wood glue to glue the sides of my board to the top parts of my boards, and then used to clamps to made sure the glue dried and it stayed together. My teacher also began describing to me, how the bluetooth speaker was going to work. He has already built a model, but I will be building it with his guidance and a tutorial from spark fun. The spark fun program taught us how we could potentially change the name and volume of the speaker by using coding. I also learned how to connect the speaker, after soldering wires to it, to the arduino blue tooth board, in order to connect the speaker to the breadboard and arduino, which is connected to the coding.
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