student Projects BLOG

Truss Tube Telescope

Jack Cencula

Reflection

Jack Cencula - Innovation Studio Final Project Reflection

Summary Report

Creating a Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope

Abstract

Telescopes allow us to peer at distant worlds, learning more about the universe and our place in it. Large telescopes, considered to have an aperture of 8 inches or above, can become extremely heavy and hard to move when a large base or structure is attached. For my Innovation Studio project, I would like to build a portable and lightweight truss tube dobsonian telescope to make it easier to view the night sky.

PiArcade

Adam Dulay (Subpage Link)

Project Overview: The Purpose of this project is to create a machine that replicates the games and memories of the past.  This machine is also made to create an easy way to emulate all of these games in one place, and on one machine.  The third purpose of this machine is to preserve these games on a more accessible platform because many of the games this machine can play are rare, expensive, glitch, and sometimes with aging hardware, no longer working.

Pinhole Camera -
Nathan Miao
Subpage Link  (Oct 10, 2017)

My initial idea for a project was a laser-cut pinhole camera that shoots on 35mm film. As I thought about the design more and as Mr. Digiorgio pointed out, I should have started working on a prototype that shoots on photographic paper instead. The problem with shooting on film was that I had to finish a whole roll in order to see if it worked, while I could take each individual picture on photo paper. At first, I followed guidelines for a pinhole camera that I found online, however after my first three tests, I realized that I would have to expand the dimensions because they were designed for 35mm film. I wish that I originally accounted for the different dimensions, because I had to make a whole new prototype to fit the paper when I already had a working one. The biggest challenge that I faced was figuring out how to make a final prototype light-proof without using any tape on the outside. I eventually solved this problem by adding wooden pieces on the inside of a face to prevent light from entering. I was really happy that I was able to fix this issue before the end of the semester. Throughout the process of this project, I was really able to become comfortable with using the laser-cutters. The final model, cut on 1/8" wood, was glued together with tacky glue and taped on the inside and functions properly.

LED Lamp 

Andrew Bie

Reflection, Summary Report 

Project Abstract: This was the initial project I worked on in my 2023 Innovation Studio class. What began as a project simply to re-acclimate me with digital fabrication and previously acquired design skills has now become an exciting test of creativity in creating an appliance as theoretically simple as a lamp. The frame, originally meant to resemble the blade and handle of a sword but eventually modified into a simple heptagonal design, was designed in Adobe Illustrator and I plan to laser cut it out of wood. The foundation, on which the frame will rest, was created on Tinkercad as a box with a triangular prism roof and two cylinders to additionally support the frame’s weight. It is intended to be 3-D printed. 

Bradley Checkers Board
Oct 11, 2017

In the beginning, my initial idea for my checkers board was for the board to be made out of wood, the pieces to be 3D printed, and for there to be LED lights.  I started off with my project being twice as big as the final ended up being because I realized that the board was just going to be too big.  After I decided on the final dimensions, I printed out the board with its Cleveland theme with the laser cutter, and glued it in such a way that the top of the board only comes off for storage.  I then knew that I had to start making the 3D printed pieces, and these proved to be a difficult challenge.  On the 5th try, I finally printed the pieces the way I wanted them to be: they could stack on top of each other.  Throughout my various failed attempts, the pieces would have dimension issues that prevented them from stacking, and I even completely changed the design of them after the 2nd try.  The pieces took a while to print.

    After all of the pieces were printed, it was too late in the course for me to have my original idea of having there be LED lights in the board.  It took a class or two for me to figure out a new direction for the project, until I decided that I would create piece holders.  Like the pieces themselves, these took multiple prototypes until one finally worked.  I then used that design and printed it onto wood using the laser cutter.  Upon closer inspection though, I did not like the burn marks the laser cutter made, and I wanted to cover them up, leading to me spray painting them black.  The spray painting took the remainder of the course at this time, and I completed my project.  I was happy that I could keep my Cleveland roots in the project design, and it's cool to see that I actually made this using my knowledge from this course.

Nikhil Villa Savoye Model

Oct 13, 2017 : Subpage Link

This project really taught me about the tools that were available to me in the Fab Lab. I originally though about this project when I learned we had a final project in Modernism, and I decided I wanted to build something in the Fab Lab. I decided to build a model, and researched many different buildings like the Chrysler building and the Empire State building. In the end, I decided on Villa Savoye because it was an interesting building that represented Modernism well. I wasn’t sure how to start the project, but Mr. Digorgio helped me figure out I needed to find a PDF of the floor plans. Luckily, I found the Corel files, and from there I managed to build the walls needed to build my model. I felt kind of uncomfortable about gluing my walls with tacky glue, but in the end I used the glue, - and hot glue in the end - and managed to finish my project. I learned a lot along the way, mainly learning how to turn an idea into the final product and how to solve many different challenges. I especially had trouble with making the project look nice and using the spray paint. I managed to spray paint most of it, but I did mess up spray painting the green part. However, I learned the best way to spray paint, and how to make a project look nice. I used many machines, like the laser cutter and band saw, and put everything together to get the final project.

Foosball John Ratino
Oct 10, 2017
Weblink

At the beginning of this project, I set out to make a foosball table. Although I did not finish, I learned a lot about who I am and what my capabilities are when I set my mind out to do . At the beginning, I though that I was just going to make a small scaled mini foosball table as my actual project. But, I decided to make a full size table because I thought it would challenge me more and push my limits. Based off my initial designs I changed my ideas a lot from what I originally thought I was going to do and how it was going to look when it was finished. Exemplified in my blog post I went from a design idea to a completely different design idea using the website makercase in my journey. In order to make the full scale table I had to learn how to use the big Shop Bot machine in order to cut out the big table. I was not excited to do this as the machine is pretty big and uses a lot of settings that you have to get right in order for it to cut correctly. I successfully learned how to use the machine and cut out the letter J with a pocket in it which turned out better than I thought it would. From the beginning of the project I wish I would have used the website makercase and not wasted time while making the original prototype that I tried to do because I could have gotten farther along then I did during the class. But, I did get to see my change of ideas in this which I thought was pretty cool to see how much it did change. In the end during this project I am most proud of not the project itself but what I did during the project. I never gave up even though I had to keep printing out cardboard prototypes and constantly redesigning my prototype.