Roshan

The day that I tested the lamp was the day we had the presentation of our lamps to Grades 4, 5 and 7. Even then, I had to add a particular change to my lamp. Starting with checking my lamp, I had many criterias. Firstly, I wanted the lamp to be sturdy and not fall off while it is standing. To do this I shook the lamp a bit and checked if it could tilt in different ways. This was a bit risky as the lamp could have fallen apart. However, I trusted that the Epoxy glue would work and it basically did. I had used Epoxy glue to stick the main parts of the lamp like, the bamboo stand to lampshade and the bamboo stand to the base. The second criteria that I wanted to test was the functioning of the light bulb. To do this I basically had to connect the wire of the lamp to a power source and use the remote to switch on and switch off the light bulb. Then, I had to test every button and option on the remote. When I tested the remote, every button worked. Lastly, I needed to test if the materials I used looked natural. To do this I asked everyone in the presentation if it did. Most of  the people said yes. I was able to receive some feedback before the presentation. I received feedback from two of my classmates. From one of my classmates, I received feedback to add a case for the remote. This was the one change that I made on the day of the presentation. Because I did not have time to cut wood, I used scrap pieces of wood and shaped them. Then, I used popsicle sticks also.        

From the first website of Almut Von Wildheim, I took the shape of the lamp for my design. In my design, my lamp was curved. Also, the wire that powered the lamp and the light bulb flowed through the bamboo or the stand of the lamp. It is the same in the lamp in the website of Almut Von Wildheim. This lamp is a standing lamp and even the lamp in my design is a standing lamp. Almost all the features of my design were inspirations from this website. I found it interesting that there were many variations and options of this lamp. You could choose what material you wanted for the lampshade. Secondly, the materials that I used were all from the website of Kenneth Cobonpue. The materials that I used were bamboo, leaves, wood, and a bamboo basket. These materials were very predominant in the different designs of the website of Kenneth Cobonpue. The thing that I found interesting in this particular website was that every single lamp design was creative and had a story to depict. It also looked really natural. 

There are a lot of skills that I learnt during the process of creating my lamp. Firstly, I learnt how to saw wood and bamboo. This includes using a C-clamp, and a saw guide. To set up a saw guide, you have to take the saw guide and clamp it with a C-clamp to the table. To use a C-clamp, you basically tighten the screw-like structure in the clamp to the table. Secondly, I learnt how to assemble a circuit. This includes how to splice Royal Wire, assemble a plug and connect this to a bulb socket. To splice wire you have to use a box cutter and cut the rubber parts of the wire. Then, you have to fit this in a plug by unscrewing it and connecting the copper part of the wire to 2 more screws. To connect this to a bulb socket, you have to splice the other end of the wire and connect the copper part to the bulb socket. Thirdly, I learnt how to drill a hole. This includes drilling a hole in different materials like wood and bamboo. To do this, you have to press the drill hard and not lose control. Lastly, I learnt how to test the light bulb and my lamp. This includes testing the wire connections, flow of electricity and functioning of the light bulb. To do this, I had to open all connections and check if they were ok. Then I had to check all the buttons of the remote for the light bulb. 

There are many ways that I could improve these skills. Firstly, I can improve in sawing wood and bamboo. This is because I still do not know how to cut bamboo in a diagonal position. I need help to do so. Even in the lamp, I needed help to cut the bamboo diagonally. For cutting wood, I do not know how to cut it with a Copping saw. I would like to learn that also. Secondly, I would like to improve in assembling a circuit. The first area I would want to improve is splicing wires. This is because while I was splicing the wire for my lamp, I almost sliced off the copper wire. I would want to be more careful next time. The next area I would like to improve is assembling a plug. This is because, when I assembled the plug myself and checked it, the copper wires were touching each other. This could have caused a massive disaster because if two terminals of wire touch, it could cause a shock circuit and it could be fatal to anyone who touches it. I think I could improve this skill by making sure that simple changes could cause fatality and make sure that I am careful in things related to electricity. Lastly, I would like to improve on testing my lamp. This is because I only checked the main parts of the lamp. Due to this, I did not know that the stand for the remote in my lamp was loose, and someone accidentally broke it on the day of the presentation. I think that I can improve this by being mindful to check every single part of my lamp.

There are a lot of challenges that I faced while making my lamp but, there are only 4 that were a significant drawback while I was making my lamp. Firstly, I found it difficult to do some parts of the lamp without help. The parts that I could not do alone were drilling a hole through the whole bamboo stand, making a hole on the base for the bamboo and using the epoxy glue. This is a challenge because making the lamp with my own skills, using my creative and critical thinking skills to solve a problem is part of my grading. If I did not use these skills properly while making my lamp, my grade would decrease really drastically. Secondly, I faced a challenge in thinking to look for solutions. This was a critical part in making my lamp because I needed to think of solutions for different problems like drilling a hole through the bamboo. The solution to this was using an iron rod to hollow out the insides of the bamboo. Another challenge in which I had to think of solutions was when I had to think of where to add decorations because the bamboo stand could not hold decorations even with hot glue. The solution to this was to add decorations on the lampshades. Thirdly, I had a problem sourcing materials. This was a challenge because I frequently had to change my design and that took a lot of time. For the lampshade, I thought of using coconut fiber and a hay basket. However, this material could not be found and I had to use a bamboo weaved basket. Then, I also had a problem finding decorations. When I created my designs, I thought that I could use shells to decorate my lamps. However, I could not find shells anywhere and did not have the time to buy it. Lastly, I had a problem in completing the lamp on time. I had to complete the lamp around 6 classes before the presentation but, I only had finished my lamp on the morning of the presentation. I still had to glue the stand for the remote on the lamp’s bamboo stand. I used simple available materials so that I did not have to spend time searching for materials.     

My design is a lamp and it is slanted. There are mainly 4 parts to my lamp. The first part is the circuit and the light bulb. The wire would flow through the stand to the light bulb. The second part is the stand. The stand is the part which allows the wire to flow through it. The third part is the lampshade and it is made of bamboo. My light bulb is a multicolored light bulb that has a remote to control it. Using the remote you can control the brightness. There are different modes also. The last part is the base of my lamp. It is basically a block of wood. This is a change that I added while making my lamp. I also added a small stand for the remote on the bamboo stand of the lamp. The money that I would spend for the making of the lamp would be under 500 pesos. This is because I would only need to buy the light bulb for the lamp. This would only cost 159 pesos. The rest of the money would be used as a backup just in case I have to buy something else. The customers of my table lamp, night lamp and study lamp would be the people wishing to sleep with their choice of lighting and environment. My lamp is a table lamp and. It would be used as a night lamp in the night. It could also be used in the day as a study lamp, but people who do not prefer coloured lights can change the color to either white or yellow. Using the remote of my lamp, the brightness of the light can be increased and decreased. People who want dim lights while studying can change the brightness. I think that my lamp is safe for the environment because it uses natural materials. I used natural materials because they have a low carbon footprint and they are sustainable. The materials are particular criteria that have to be maintained. This is because depending on the type of material, the carbon footprint can change. Some materials are sustainable and some are otherwise. If I use unsustainable materials, it removes the whole point of creating the lamp. The materials that I used were wood, popsicle sticks, glue, leaves epoxy glue and bamboo. There are 2 main purposes for my lamp. The first one is to provide lighting of the customer's choice while they are sleeping. This means that my lamp could be used as a night lamp. The second one is to help people study with the lighting of their choice. If they want normal light, they can use that too. This means my lamp could be a study lamp too. The size of my lamp would be around 1.25 ft. I actually planned on making the lamp smaller but I decided that it would be easier to use if the lamp is taller. My lamp is really used as all the wire parts are sealed with glue. Also, the connections are checked at least 3 times before using it. The plug was already tested before it was added into the lamp. I think that my lamp would help the audience because it provides a wide range of colors to choose from. The audience can use it to set up their own sleeping area or bed with their own choice of color of lighting. They can even decrease and increase the brightness according to how they want it. Also, according to (Does the Color of Light Help You with Sleep? A Guide to LED Colors That Help You Sleep Better, 2020), colors close to red in the color scale can boost production of melatonin which is the hormone secreted by the pineal gland (a gland which controls your circadian rhythm). Melatonin helps to sleep and is also a hormone present in milk.

Roshan