My First Questions...

• How much time do you have?
  Day, Week, Month, minutes?

• How big do you think you want to make this? Be prepared to talk measurements?

• What materials are you thinking about?

• Have you worked with these materials before? 

• Do you have a concept sketch? Something more than a napkin drawing?

• Are there others that have made something like this before?
  What have they done and how did they do it?
  Share images, links, photos, models

• What can YOU do and design outside the lab so that when you arrive you are focused on action steps and ready to jump into a machine, process, or tool?

• Can you create a proof of concept?
  Sometimes this is a paper or cardboard prototype for size, form, functionality, feasibility.

• Can you break it down into components? If electronics are involved you should be working on this part separately and simultaneously.