My Final Project Semester 2

Today, I used the Miter Saw to cut out a piece of wood for my cutting board, and I also researched my Useless Machine Final Project. I found this Instructables project to help me understand all components of this project: https://www.instructables.com/How-to-build-another-useless-machine-easy-to-make-/. To use the Miter Saw, the first step is to create a jig that ensures that the material will always be in the same position when cut. Then, after loading the material into place, I click the safety button, turn on the saw, and pull back, down, forward, then up to cut the wood. Pushing all the way forward toward the end of the cut minimizes kickback because the material is cut all of the way through.

Today, I started to design my box using Fusion 360. I am not going to be 3D-printing all of the parts, but having a CAD model is still important to the design process. I also found another example of a useless machine from Instructables.com that I can use to help find certain electrical components: https://www.instructables.com/Useless-Box-4/.

Today, simulated the circuit for my useless machine in TinkerCAD. I am still in the process of debugging, but a picture of the circuit so far is below.

Today, I added more features to the software side of my project. The servo motor has different "animations" that it randomly selects using a switch statement (a switch statement is a more concise way of writing many linked if statements). Below is a copy of the code and a video of the animations.

Today, I used the CNC machine to cut out my handle (I have not done the juicer yet). First, I put the cutting board in the jig on the CNC machine (an apparatus that holds the wood in place). Then, I configured the CNC machine via a software on a computer that it was hooked up to. I used the JZ 4 command to life up the Z axis so that the machine can move without hitting anything. Then I calibrated the Z axis and moved the X and Y to right over the board using the J2 X,Y command. Then I told everyone that the machine was moving (for safety purposes) and set it to cut. I made sure to keep a finger over the space bar (to pause) and the emergency stop button (for stopping in case of an error). After the process was done, I used the J2 20,20 command to move the machine away from the wood, took it out of the jig, and used a chisel and hammer to cut out the tabs (pieces of wood that the CNC machines doesn't cut out so that chips don't fly around the room). In the future, I will sand out the area around the cut to smooth out the wood.

Today, I accomplished several things:

1] I decided on a method for creating the box of my useless machine. I am going to use what we learned at the beginning of the year (with designing tabbed boxes) to CNC a tabbed, wooden box, and the top hinges are going to be designed in such a way that the box will be able to open for the hand to come out and turn on/off the switch.

2] I helped two of my classmates with Aspire. When I first designed my toolpath for CNC machining the handle to my cutting board, I received an error about not being able to cut the toolpath. I eventually determined that the turns were too sharp, so I created two circles, joined them with tangent lines, and used the "virtual segment delete" tool to delete any unnecessary lines left over. Then, after exporting as an SVG and importing the file into Aspire and calculating the cut, it worked perfectly.

3] I started to sand the cut-out handle of my cutting board using sandpaper.

4] I tried to create a toolpath out of the bulldog design for my cutting board so that I can CNC it as well, but the design is too intricate for the 1/4" bit. Therefore, I have decided to deep laser cut instead. Also, sanding out the wood afterwards will eliminate any burn marks that have been created, solving all problems with this design.

Today, I continued to work on my cutting board. First, I tested laser cutting my design on a piece of cardboard, but it turned out I had forgotten to remove the path for the handle. After correcting this, I tried again, and it worked perfectly. Then, I put the cutting board in the big laser cutter, selected deep engraving for wood, focused the laser cutter, and ran the deep engrave twice (this would ensure that the cut is deep enough to fill with resin. Following this, I ran the board through the planer so that the burn marks would be removed. Next, I created the resin by mixing together two different liquids and adding the brown color for the bulldog. Because I want to color the dog and the words in two different colors (brown and white respectively), I covered up the words with tape for now. Then, after mixing for 5 minutes, I poured the mixture onto the dog, used the blowtorch to remove any air bubbles, and put it in the oven. Tomorrow, I will continue working on this process.

Today, I caught up on my digital portfolio and continued working on my cutting board project. The resin I poured previously had worked well, and I took the tape I placed over the words last time off. Also, some of the resin dripped into the handle which I will have to chisel off at a later date. I decided to color the words white, unlike the brown bulldog. Therefore, I mixed the resin and hardener together and stirred it for 5 minutes. I learned that you need to stir folding the mixture instead of just stirring in circles to make the resin more effective. Then, I poured the resin into the cutting board and continued to let it sit. This worked fairly well, and I will continue to work on it during future class periods.

Today, I checked on the resin for my cutting board, which had finished drying. Some of the resin spilled into the handle of the board, so I used a chisel to remove it. Even so, there was still some around the edges, so I will remove this during a future class. Then, I helped Will use a planar to remove the spillover from the resin on his board, and then I planed mine as well. At first, all of the debris from the cutting would spill out the front of the machine, but then I realized that the debris removal system was clogged. Then, I unclogged it and it worked perfectly. Then because there were a couple of parallel lines on the board from the planning, I used sandpaper (180p) to sand the board down my hand. Then, I used the electric sander to accomplish the same task. A picture of the result is pictured below.

Today, I started to work on my resin-lamp final project. I used the saw stop to cut sixteen equally sizes pieces out of wood. I used a jig to ensure that all pieces were the same size. In a future lesson, I will glue the pieces together and continue working on the lamp. One important thing I learned about the saw stop is that it is very important to step into the saw as you are cutting as opposed to leaning over to reach it.

Today, I worked on my resin-lamp final project. I took the 16 pieces of wood that I had previously cut and glued them together in groups of four. I put glue on the bigger side of one piece of wood, rubbed the two in a circular fashion to coat the entire two faces with glue, and repeat until I have four groups of four. Then, I put a vice around each group of four and put tape with my name on them, as well. Finally I let them harden over night. Below are pictures of the final result.

Today, I worked to understand how current plays into the amount of NeoPixels that an Arduino can power without an external power source. First, I used the NeoPixel Effect Generator website (linked in a previously day's log) to create an effect that is easier for TinkerCAD to render. A copy of the code is shown below. Before hooking an Arduino up to as many NeoPixels an I could find, I tried to calculate the number of NeoPixels that it could supply effectively. After some online research, I learned that the 5V pin of an Arduino can supply up to 500mA of current, and each individual NeoPixel draws 60mA of current. Because 500/60 ~ 8.33..., I concluded that an Arduino should be able to safely power up to 8 NeoPixels. In order to test this hypothesis, I opened my TinkerCAD simulation I created previously and copied the new code from the NeoPixel Code Generator. TinkerCAD has virtual versions of NeoPixel strips that have 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, or 20 pixels, and you can connect the ports at the ends of different strips to combine them into a longer strip. Below are pictures of the Arduino trying to power 4, 8, 10, and 60 long NeoPixel strips, but I learned that TinkerCAD doesn't account for the lack of current supplied by the Arduino. This taught me an important distinction between simulations and pragmatic, real-life test: a simulation can provide an idea of whether a design is effective, although you will never truly know if something will function correctly until you actually build it. Although the TinkerCAD simulation did not provide satisfactory results, I did more research and learned that my original hypothesis was, indeed, correct: the Arduino can consistently power up to 8 NeoPixels (https://www.arduinoplatform.com/led-strips/controlling-and-powering-neopixels-with-arduino/#:~:text=Connecting%20more%20than%208%20NeoPixels,milliamps%20a%20maximum%20brightness%20white).

#include <Adafruit_NeoPixel.h>

class Strip

{

public:

uint8_t effect;

uint8_t effects;

uint16_t effStep;

unsigned long effStart;

Adafruit_NeoPixel strip;

Strip(uint16_t leds, uint8_t pin, uint8_t toteffects, uint16_t striptype) : strip(leds, pin, striptype) {

effect = -1;

effects = toteffects;

Reset();

}

void Reset(){

effStep = 0;

effect = (effect + 1) % effects;

effStart = millis();

}

};

struct Loop

{

uint8_t currentChild;

uint8_t childs;

bool timeBased;

uint16_t cycles;

uint16_t currentTime;

Loop(uint8_t totchilds, bool timebased, uint16_t tottime) {currentTime=0;currentChild=0;childs=totchilds;timeBased=timebased;cycles=tottime;}

};

Strip strip_0(60, 8, 60, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800);

struct Loop strip0loop0(1, false, 1);

//[GLOBAL_VARIABLES]

void setup() {

//Your setup here:

strip_0.strip.begin();

}

void loop() {

//Your code here:

strips_loop();

}

void strips_loop() {

if(strip0_loop0() & 0x01)

strip_0.strip.show();

}

uint8_t strip0_loop0() {

uint8_t ret = 0x00;

switch(strip0loop0.currentChild) {

case 0:

ret = strip0_loop0_eff0();break;

}

if(ret & 0x02) {

ret &= 0xfd;

if(strip0loop0.currentChild + 1 >= strip0loop0.childs) {

strip0loop0.currentChild = 0;

if(++strip0loop0.currentTime >= strip0loop0.cycles) {strip0loop0.currentTime = 0; ret |= 0x02;}

}

else {

strip0loop0.currentChild++;

}

};

return ret;

}

uint8_t strip0_loop0_eff0() {

// Strip ID: 0 - Effect: Blink - LEDS: 60

// Steps: 48 - Delay: 5

// Colors: 2 (192.106.37, 255.255.255)

// Options: timeBegin=110, timeToOn=10, timeOn=10, timeToOff=10, timeOver=100, every=1,

if(millis() - strip_0.effStart < 5 * (strip_0.effStep)) return 0x00;

uint8_t e,r,g,b;

if(strip_0.effStep < 22) {

for(uint16_t j=0;j<60;j++)

strip_0.strip.setPixelColor(j, 192, 106, 37);

}

else if(strip_0.effStep < 24) {

e = (strip_0.effStep * 5) - 110;

r = 255 * ( e / 10 ) + 192 * ( 1.0 - e / 10 );

g = 255 * ( e / 10 ) + 106 * ( 1.0 - e / 10 );

b = 255 * ( e / 10 ) + 37 * ( 1.0 - e / 10 );

for(uint16_t j=0;j<60;j++)

if((j%1)==0) strip_0.strip.setPixelColor(j, r, g, b);

else strip_0.strip.setPixelColor(j, 192, 106, 37);

}

else if(strip_0.effStep < 26) {

for(uint16_t j=0;j<60;j++)

if((j%1)==0) strip_0.strip.setPixelColor(j, 255, 255, 255);

else strip_0.strip.setPixelColor(j, 192, 106, 37);

}

else if(strip_0.effStep < 28) {

e = (strip_0.effStep * 5) - 130;

r = 192 * ( e / 10 ) + 255 * ( 1.0 - e / 10 );

g = 106 * ( e / 10 ) + 255 * ( 1.0 - e / 10 );

b = 37 * ( e / 10 ) + 255 * ( 1.0 - e / 10 );

for(uint16_t j=0;j<60;j++)

if((j%1)==0) strip_0.strip.setPixelColor(j, r, g, b);

else strip_0.strip.setPixelColor(j, 192, 106, 37);

}

else {

for(uint16_t j=0;j<60;j++)

strip_0.strip.setPixelColor(j, 192, 106, 37);

}

if(strip_0.effStep >= 48) {strip_0.Reset(); return 0x03; }

else strip_0.effStep++;

return 0x01;

}

Today, the first task I worked towards was creating a list with other people in my class of what steps we need to take to finish this project. After we complete this, a teacher will help us revise the list so we have a detailed plan of what needs to be accomplished. Next, I used the band saw to cut the unfinished faces off of my block of wood for my resin lamp. I set up the jig then cut off the right amount so that the faces became flat. Afterwards, I learned that, to most effectively sand wood, you have to take a larger piece of sand paper, tape it to or hold it against a table, and move the wood back and forth; this ensures a flat, even, smooth result. Then you can just rotate the wood to sand edges and corners. Following this, I measured the width of the wood, divided it by three, and made a pencil mark that far in from one of the small faces. I then drew a perpendicular line at this point and, once again, used the band saw to cut along that line. Finally, I repeated the above sanding process for the newly-created edges and faces. Pictures of the finished, hand-sanded result are below.

Today, I used Cutting Board Oil to give my cutting board a nice, shiny, finished look. I first poured some of the oil on one side of the board, used my hand to spread it around the surface, and repeated for the other side. Then, I also coated the edges of the board and the inside of the handle with the same oil. I will let this dry for the rest of the period, and I will come back during Activity Period today to do another coat and check on the status of my board. Below are pictures just after applying the first coat.

Today, I started by checking on my 3D print for my Arduino Nano case. Not only was it far too large, but the print itself also failed. A picture is shown below. After the failed print, resolved to make my own design from scratch. I started by laying out my ideas on the white board, thinking of all the requirements for this design to be successful: wires from the Arduino's pins had to be accessible from a whole in the very sides of the design, snugly hold the Arduino in place, and fit in a channel that I will make with the router during a future class period. I then recreated the designed I drew on the white board in Fusion 360, exported as OBJ file into PrusaSlicer, and send it to the 3D printer. I cleaned off the bed again and tried once more, and the print worked successfully. The only problem is that the case is slightly too narrow for the Arduino Nano to fit inside of, so I will continue to improve upon this design in future lessons. Also, I the design required supports which are very difficult to remove, so I re-printed the case standing up and the curved roof was able to print without supports.

Today, I both 3D printed a new version of my Arduino Nano case and used a router to create a channel for the NeoPixels in the block of wood (the 2/3 piece) I will be using for my resin lamp. I adjusted my design to where the top is open (and little flaps hold the Arduino in place). This way, the USB port from the Arduino Nano will fit and all of the wires connecting to the Arduino's pins will be easily accessible. I, once again, am printing this design standing up so that supports are not required. Then, I used the router to cut a channel in my block of wood (picture below). To use the router, I push the block of wood into a spinning bit (with the help of a jig to keep the block steady). Afterwards, I did a little bit of hand sanding to smooth out some of the edges, although this part of the wood will be covered in resin so the sanding is not completely necessary. In a future class period, I will use a different bit in the router to make a larger hold on the other side of the block that the Arduino Nano case will fit inside of, and the wires from the Arduino Nano will connect to the NeoPixels, activating the lamp.

Today, I both used the router to cut a channel for my Arduino Nano case in my block of wood for my lamp and designed a mold in CorelDRAW for when I pour the resin for my lamp. When I used the router to cut the channel, I had to measure the width of the wood and divide it by two. The bit I am using is 3mm smaller than the desired hole size, so I made two passes, one 1.5mm~2mm more that the width/2 and another one 1.5mm~2mm less than the width/2. The resulting cut is shown below. Then, using the width I measured, I modified a template of a mold I will use when pouring the resin into my lamp, and a picture of the resulting CorelDRAW (.CDR FILE) design is shown below. I will cut this design out in cardboard during a future lesson (the red lines represent scoring where the cardboard is slightly cut, allowing bends without a full separation).

Today, I started off by correcting the cardboard mold by modifying my CorelDRAW design. Then, I laser cut my design, placed clear tape over the entire surface of the cardboard that will touch the resin so that the resin will not stick to the cardboard, causing it to peel, placed the two pieces of wood (2/3 and 1/3 pieces) in the mold so that they were 5cm apart. Then, I hot-glued the mold in place, used tape to secure the top, mixed resin with hardener and blue coloring, and poured it into the mold. After the weekend, it will have dried completely.

Today, I used the electric sander to smooth out all sides of my lamp from 180p all the way gradually up to 3000p. Then, I used a wet paper towel to remove any leftover dust. This water will make the lamp very rough again. Next class I will sand it again, then I will 'buff' it to finish it. Also, I soldered the Arduino Nano to the wires coming out of the bottom of the lamp. A picture of the result is below.

Today, I almost finished my resin lamp project. The oil has dried, so I programmed the Arduino and NeoPixels. I plugged the Arduino Nano into the computer, used a NeoPixel Code Generator to lay the basis for what I wanted to accomplish, and fine tuned the program in the Arduino IDE. I also had to change the pin parameter from 8 to 2, since that was the pin I soldered to earlier in the process. Below is a video of the result. The only step left is to 3D print a case for the Arduino Nano, and I set it to print during class. When it finished, I came back, inserted the Arduino Nano, and stuck it in the channel in the bottom of the lamp. Now the project is finished!