Embedded Files
When Mr. D told us that our next project was going to be a phone stand I was stumped already on ideas to add to my phone stand. I looked online for inspiration on things to do a phone stand on. I didn't find anything I liked so I decided to go traditional and added a letter "D" on the top to etch so when I see it, it reminds me of me. I know it wasn't that creative but I was rushing because we had another project as well to complete.
I went on Inkscape and I made my prototype and I used the node drawing tool to draw my parts to make the stand in general. Before I wasn't that great at designing on Inkscape but now I feel I've gotten a lot better. I used the ruler tool as well to measure the inputs that would fit into the two slots to help prop up the stand. Learning these skills would translate to another project ahead of time.
Now that I finished the design in Inkscape I got ready to laser cut out a cardboard prototype and put it together. I laser cut it out and put it together and it had a nice fit. The only problem was that it was difficult for one of the inputs to have a snug fit so I need to work on my measurements a bit more. After fixing the measurements I'm going to laser cut out the final wood prototype.
In the end, I sadly wasn't able to finish laser cutting out the wood prototype of my phone stand, because I had to start my next project which was going to be a big factor to the FabLab.
1/26/17 - I decided to make the letter "A" , which is part of the word fab lab. The word fab lab is at the top of the fabrication lab. We decided each of us to take a letter and change it making it more suitable to its' location. I chose the letter "A" and started by going online and looking for inspiration on ways to change the letter "A" and make it look cool. I decided that I wanted to etch screwdrivers on the diagonal pieces that make up the sides of the "A". My idea might change, though.
1/27/17 - After inspiration from the internet, I started on working to make the cardboard prototype of my letter. I went on Inkscape and made my pieces and parts to account for the letter "A". I learned to use the ruler tool in Inkscape more effectively to measure my parts. I learned to use the node drawing tool to draw my parts and pieces out. The next class I have planned to laser cut my "A" and pieces out and put it together to form the letter "A". Here I have a picture of the Inkscape file before first laser cut.
2/6/2017 - I finished the cardboard prototype for my letter "A". I had laser cut pieces to glue to the letter "a" and make it look a little 3-D. I used the hot glue gun to glue together my pieces. I worked on my gluing skills and making sure not to over glue in seams that need gluing. On previous projects, my hot glue job hasn't been that great and I've used a lot more glue than I needed to use. This time I tended to use one thick strand of glue to fill a seam and hold it down for a couple seconds to firmly hold and stick together.
2/9/17 - I was sick this day so I wasn't at Design class so I couldn't get anything done.
2/13/2017 - Working on part measurements for the wood prototype of letter "A". In my cardboard prototype, some of my measurements were off so I needed to remeasure them and get them right for the wood prototype. I think my overlapping was fine I can still work on it though. My glue job was a lot better than before but I'm not sure how not using that much glue will work on a wooden structure.
2/15/2017 - I've finished my part measurements for the wood prototype/ final type of letter "A". I added some screwdrivers on the sides of the letter "A" to etch by the laser cutter. I wasn't able to laser cut out the pieces today but I'm gooing to for sure next class.
2/16/2017 - I wanted to laser cut out my letter "A" but we don't have the right size of wood to cut it out of. Mr. D is going to cut the right wood out for me so I can laser cut out my letter and parts. I ad to redo my measurements for the wood prototype of my letter. My measurements were off because the dimensions of my letter were wrong. The generic letter is supposed to be 16 by 11.5 and the problem was that mine was off by an inch on both dimensions.
2/22/2017 - I still haven't gotten the proper measurable wood to laser cut my wooden parts for the letter "A" out of.
3/7/17 - I was pretty behind in class and I needed to cut out my wood parts asap.
3/14/17- I have laser cut out my wood parts and started gluing the pieces together to form the shape of the letter "A".
3/18/17- Some of the pieces I cut out were the wrong measurements, so I had to laser cut them out again.
4/6/17- After spring break, I cut out my new wood pieces with the right measurements.
4/18/17 - After gluing together the pieces, I realized that it was not staying together properly. It kept on falling and I needed to do something about it.
4/23/17- With Mr. D's help I hot glued the cardboard face of the "A" to my wood outer rim to keep it stable. I also made my lips that would support each large wood piece that make up the outer rim of the "A".
4/29/17- I glued everything together and had a stable letter "A". Then, With Mr. D's help we decided to paint the cardboard face and the outer rim black.
5/2/17 - I finished painting everything to look nice and clean. I learned how to effectively paint and make the piece look clean and sharp with each stroke.
5/4/17- This was the last day of the class, and with Mr. D's idea we decided to put random 3D - printed object inside the "A" in such a matter that it looks like the objects were dropped from above the "A" and landed in random positions. I came back to the Lab after school, to finish adding objects to the "A" and the finished product looked very unique and I was very proud of what I had made.
Conclusion:
Overall, this class was good and it was awesome to see all of the intricate designs you could make with the laser cutter machine. I learned a lot of new techniques in woodworking and other things.
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