Daily Journal

As a culmination of skills obtained in EDM II, students were tasked with completing two final projects, a cutting board and a resin lamp. These projects ran concurrently, challenging students to manage their project schedules and tasks. This daily journal contains all documentation between March 30th-May 26th, with descriptions, images, and videos. 

March 30, 2023

I received my wooden plank and labeled it with my partner and my names. Afterwards, I opened up a new Notability document to sketch a potential design for my cutting board as well as to measure the dimensions (9.125" x 12"); I plan on using the CNC Shopbot machine to create a pocket in my wood and a disposal hole (potentially a thumb hole too?). I wrote these dimensions down and started a Corel Draw file. 

March 31, 2023

Drafting ideas in CorelDraw, I began by creating a large rectangle that shared the same dimensions as my wood plank. I wanted to incorporate a funny pun/cute image into my board, so I searched online for a variety of well-known characters. Once I found a satisfactory image, I uploaded it to remove.bg to remove the background, before importing it into CorelDraw. I did a detailed logo bitmap of the design. I ended up picking gudetama with the words, "Eggcelent cooking," on top in a banner-like fashion (I created this by drawing an ellipse and inserting text along the outside).

April 2, 2023

In class today, I focused on writing my Aspire workflow, which focused on creating vetric designs in Aspire and converting CAD (computer aided design) to CAM (computer aided manufacturing). To do this, I watched an instructional video and took notes along the way.

April 3, 2023

I spent the first half of class completing the workflow from the previous day (after explaining the main concepts of the video, I went back into the "vector design" portion and added details about the interface of the program. Then, with the assistance of Mrs. Morrow, I used the woodworking jointer to flatten the sides of the wood. I firmly applied the push block to the side of the wood while feeding it through the tool. I was required to repeat this process several times on each side.

April 5, 2023

I first used the drum sander (with the help of Mr. Buzichowski, twisting the control to 80. After I turned the sander on, I fed the wood block onto the moving conveyer belt and into the main portion of the sander. After each time, I rotated the drum height adjustment handle, located on the side of the sander, by  1/4 of a turn. Occasionally, I rotated it by 1/8 of a turn. Next, I used the planar, which shaved the wood down. Mrs. Morrow pushed one side of the block into the planar using a scrap piece of wood, and I received it on the other end. We repeated this process a couple of times on each side. With the remaining time in class, I completed the laser test-cut of my deep engraving on cardboard.

April 11, 2023

We had a class discussion today about the basics of the final projects (including an inspiration video, process, etc.), as well as how to develop a schedule for both the cutting board and the resin lamp - which will be completed concurrently. After class, I used the provided calendars to mark up the times/dates of when I would complete different portions of my project (for instance, I will begin the deep engrave the day after tomorrow). This time around, we were tasked with handling and scheduling our own work, rather than working in synchronous.

April 12, 2023

I started working on my second CNC workflow (setting up file + x,y,z axes) during class today, finishing the first ten minute video and beginning the hour-long video. I also prepped my wood block for the resin lamp by running it through the planar outside. The wood was already cut up into slabs, so all we had to do was push it through the planar to smoothen the faces; I completed this with the assistance of Mrs. Morrow. After class, I finished writing my workflow--I ended up using the ten-minute video to create a general set of steps for my workflow, before incoporating the more specific details from the hour-long. 

April 13, 2023

In class today, I used the table saw to cut the sixteen wood chunks for my resin lamp. I first used a ruler to measure the length of the wood, before dividing it in half and drawing a straight line downwards. With the assistance of Mrs. Morrow, I pushed the marked wood through the table saw. After cutting through, we noticed that the wood was not completely square, so we ran it through the table saw again--this time cutting the uneven edge off. I taped my wood together and labeled it with my name. Then, I began drafting ideas for my Aspire file: in CorelDraw, I first created a square with the dimensions of my cutting board. Next, I used the 2-point line and the polyline to create a juice channel (pocket). Additionally, I also added a horizontal hole (cut-through) to serve as a handle. I saved the design to my Google Drive folder.

April 14, 2023

I spent all of the class today using the table saw to cut my wood blocks into sixteen 8"  pieces. There were pre-prepared measurements to ensure the uniformity of each wood piece, so all I had to do was push the slab through the table saw and back. I applied pressure with the push block (pushing the block downwards) with my right hand while holding the block still with my left. The first time I did this, I did not push down hard enough, causing the slab to shake and become uneven. As a result, the rest of the pieces ended up inconsistent--they were often thicker on one end and thinner on the other. I decided to alternate the thick and thin pieces when gluing. To finish, I used two rubber bands to hold the pieces together.

I was absent due to family events; however, I experimented with the neopixel code provided through the instructional website. Because I didn't have access to my microcontroller chip, I used tinkercad to simulate the code.

April 20, 2023

I stripped and soldered three wires (red for power, black for ground, and yellow for data) to the neopixel, ensuring that they are soldered at the base of the arrow. I taped the neopixels down to make this process easier. Next, following a provided article, I imported the blink and RGB example programs into the seeed XIAO-RP2040 chip, connecting the chip to the PC with a USB cord. Finally, using tinkercad and ChatGPT, I modified and simulated a C++ code to alternate colors on a neopixel strip.

April 21, 2023

During class today, I worked on programming and testing the Seeed XIAO-RP2040 chip with the neopixel strip. To begin, I created a basic circuit with the seeed chip, a breadboard, three male-to-male jumper wires (red-power, black-GND, yellow-Data), and three alligator clips with similar corresponding colors. I selected pin D0 as my defined pin, changing the code accordingly. Then, using the USB cable, I plugged it in into the seeed and uploaded my code. It took a couple of tries to light up the neopixels--mainly due to small coding errors. For the rest of class, I assisted one of my classmates in building his circuit.

April 24, 2023

I glued my wood pieces together in rows of four using wood glue, but I was only able to glue two as there weren't enough clamps in total. After ensuring all the pieces were oriented the same way, I applied a thin strip of glue on the side and pressed two blocks together. I repeated the process, using a paper towel to wipe excess glue off, before tightening a clamp on it.

April 25, 2023

I imported my design from CorelDraw file into Aspire as a .svg, before creating two separate profile toolpaths with different bits-- 1) juicer channel cut on the line with a .125" cutting depth 2) cut-through handle on the inside with a .75" cut depth (thickness of the wood board). The first toolpath will use a .5" end mill bit, while the second will use a .25" bit.   I manually added two tabs onto the handle toolpath, before simulating them both on the 3D page.

April 26, 2023

I found that my design in CorelDraw wasn't in hairline, so I made adjustments to my design before importing it into Aspire and redoing my settings (setting up the toolpaths again, dimensions, etc.). I also wasn't able to locate my original board, so I had to re-measure my dimensions before typing them into Aspire - they ended up being 11.875" x 9.0625" x 0.722" (with Nitto tape added on). This time, I decided to run two different jobs with separate toolpaths, rather than keep them on one file - I did this because I had to change the bit in the middle of the job. When all settings were established, I secured the wood onto the bed jib, tightening the surrounding stabilizers to keep it in place. After pulling up the ShopBot application and zero-ing the x,y, and z axes (I did this using J2 - 0,0 and C2), I ran an air cut with a 3D offset. This would show me the exact movement of the CNC machine before I actually cut my wood; I ran this once for each of the toolpaths. Once I was satisfied with the cut, I changed "3D offset" back to "no offset" and ran the jobs, followed by vacuuming the area and unscrewing the stabilizers. I noticed that the handle cut didn't cut all the way through the wood, so I used a variety of chisels (smaller for the rounded edges and bigger for the sides) and a hammer/wooden mallet to manually remove the piece. I received help from Mr. Buzikowski during this process. Finally, I used sandpaper to sand down the rough edges where I chiseled. I stayed after school to collect my previously glued components as well as to finish my last two (see April 24 entry for details).

April 27, 2023

Today, I used the drum sander to sand down my four 1x4 wood components as well as my cutting board with the help of one of my classmates. While I was waiting in line, I updated my digital portfolio. When sanding, I fed the wood into the machine on one end, turning the drum height adjustment handle after each run-through (1/4 turn). I did this on both the top and bottom sides of the cutting board/lamp pieces. Afterward, I completed the deep-engrave into my wood: I inserted the design from engproj into CorelDraw/epilog software, imported the deep-engrave wood material file, and auto-focused the machine with the joystick, before running the job. In order to reach the proper depth, I ran the engrave four times. At the end of the day, I began planning potential ways to utilize resin for this project. 

April 28, 2023

I glued my four wooden components together using wood glue and applied two clamps to keep them tight. Then, I helped one of my classmates with her neopixel soldering and programming by troubleshooting her code.

May 1, 2023

I spent class today running my resin lamp wood through the woodworking jointer. Pressing the push block down and against the tool, we ran each side several times. I particularly spent a lot of time on one side as it contained an uneven rod. After class, I painted the deep engraved portion of my cutting board with resin to prevent bubbles from forming. I applied the resin with a thin paintbrush, and the resin was mixed by Mrs. Morrow.

May 2, 2023

I spent class today determining the water displacement of my deep engraving; I did this by gradually pouring 50 mL of water into the grooves of the cutting board. After pouring, I subtracted the remaining amount from the original value--getting a total of 12 mL (10 mL for black, 2 mL for yellow)

May 3, 2023

I did my first layer of resin pouring today with the "black caviar" dye. I first used the hot glue gun to apply a wall to the cutting board before I poured my resin. I outlined the main body of my design with 2-3 layers before mixing my resin. Then, equipping 10 mL of clear resin, I mixed in a spoonful of black dye, before carefully pouring it over the outline and the words. Mrs. Morrow then blowtorched the resin, before letting it cool for 24 hours.

May 4, 2023

I completed the second half of my resin today with the golden yellow dye. I first removed the hot glue outline from the board, using a flathead screw, before transferring the board to the drum sander. I rotated the handle by a quarter of a turn, running the board through around 4-5 times. Then, I mixed 10 mL of resin with two different dyes to create gold and poured it on top of the cutting board.

May 5, 2023 

I sanded down my cutting board with a drum sander (rotating the handle by 1/8th turn + running the board through twice) and an orbital sander with the 120 grit sandpaper. When using the orbital sander, I applied minimal pressure to preserve the resin. After sanding, I saw that the yellow resin didn't show up, and there were remnants of the hot glue stuck in the cutting board. Additionally, the back of the board started chipping.

May 6, 2023

I created a wood paste with a 1:1 ratio of saw dust and wood glue, applying it generously to the cracks surrounding the handle. I did this with a popsicle stick.

May 7-10, 2023

I revised my daily journal and wrote several portions of my final project page.

May 15, 2023

Today, we continued working on the resin lamps, utilizing the bandsaw and the router to smooth the top, cut the wood block into two, and create a microcontroller groove. Firstly, using calipers in millimeters, I measured the width and length of the wood block and converted them into centimeters (7.45 cm x 6.16 cm). I placed them into a shared spreadsheet. Then, using the bandsaw, I aligned the wood block with the saw, pushing it forward and back to trim off the uneven sections. Mrs. Morrow helped me cut the wood block into two sections: 1/3 and 2/3. Afterwards, I ran the 2/3 block through the router two times to create the neopixel groove. Once I finished the woodworking, I set up a new file in CorelDraw, creating a tri-fold-like frame with custom measurements (reference the image below). I drew a 15 cm x 23.77 cm rectangle, before aligning a 15 cm x 7.45 cm rectangle with its center and drawing a two-point line. The two folding lines in the middle had to be a different color to ensure that the laser cutter would score them. I also added a simple text box with my name to make it easier to identity my frame.

May 16, 2023

I laser-cut my trifold design in CorelDraw today in class. After importing the design from engproj, I defined the color red as "score" and the color black as "cut." After laser cutting, I carefully applied clear tape to the side not containing my name. I flattened it out to prevent bubbles from forming under the tape.

May 17, 2023

I finished taping one part of my cardboard tri-fold frame, before helping a classmate with his laser cut. Afterwards, with the assistance of Mrs. Morrow and Mr. Budzhikowski, I created the neopixel groove on the bottom of my wood, as well as used the drill press to create a hole for the cord. Finally, I re-tested the neopixel circuit, switching the pin from D2 to D0. After school, I came in and used the orbital sander to further sand down my cutting board; I used the 150, 220, 320, and 400 grit sandpaper--switching after sanding the front and back. I wet my board using water afterward. Later, after school, I used the orbital sander again (400 grit) on the front/back and generously applied oil throughout.

-- this marks the end of the "Board to Be Wild" projejct --

May 18, 2023

To begin class today, I fed the neopixel wires through the drill-pressed hole in my wood block, trimming and re-stripping the ends. I used hot-glue to plug the hole on both sides and fasten the neopixel onto the groove. Then, stripping the sides of three male-to-male wires, I twisted them with their corresponding neopixel wire, before soldering them together. I had to apply electrical tape to the areas with solder to prevent contact.

May 19, 2023

I soldered the other end of the male-to-male wires to their respective pins on the seeed (D0, 5V, GND). Once they were relatively soldered on, I tested the neopixel code again, uploading it to the microcontroller through a USB cord. The first time I tested the neopixels, the light flashed on and off, indicating an issue with the soldering. To fix this, I applied more solder around the pin (above and below0, ensuring that the wires were fully secure. I tested the neopixels again, and they worked. Before class ended, I painted the neopixel strip, the large wood block, and the small wood block with clear resin (only 1 side).

May 22, 2023

I ran a box knife along the two scored lines on my frame, folding it into the trifold. I placed the two wood blocks (resin painted sides facing inwards) on the frame and generously applied hot glue to secure it. I ensured that the two blocks were five centimeters apart, and I calculated the volume of resin by multiplying the width x height x length. I mixed purple pigment into the clear resin and poured it over the opening.

May 23, 2023

I spent class today removing the hot-glue and cardboard frame from my resin lamp, using two sizes of chisels (smaller to peel off the hot-glue walls, bigger to pry apart the frame as a whole). I then used blue-masking tape to tape my seeed down onto the one. I noticed that one side of my resin did not dry completely, so it was still extremely tacky. I left the resin lamp outside to let it dry a bit longer. 

May 24, 2023

Despite letting the lamp sit outside, the resin still did not harden, consistently leaving a sticky residue. As a result, I was unable to sand all sides down, as it could have damaged the woodworking jointer. Additionally, the neopixels were not functioning properly---this was likely due to poor electrical connection between the male-to-male jumper wire and the seeded chip. To solve the sticky resin problem, I used a heat gun and a wide chisel to scrape off the clear resin that didn't set.

May 25, 2023

The scraping alleviated the sticky resin issue, so I was able to sand down the sides of my wood using the jointer. Afterwards, I used the orbital sander on all sides of the resin lamp, especially the uneven top---I started at 120, a coarser grit, moving up slowly to 400, a finer grit. Once I finished sanding, I applied mineral oil to the entire lamp, ensuring that the liquid did not come in contact with the seeed. Mrs. Morrow assisted after class in re-soldering the neopixel wires to the seeed. When I tested it again, the lamp worked.