Self Introduction!

Hi, I'm Sarah, and I am a current junior!

While refining my designs, I am good at considering the limitations of the material I am working in whilst considering project-specific parameters.

Something I would like to improve on is my technical precision. This could mean making the most out of my prototypes by allowing them to draw attention to preventable problems.

In the documentation of my work, I will commit to:

a) Writing concise and informative captions.

b) Clearing space or creating a setup with a blank background so that my final photos will look less cluttered.

c) Taking a variety of photos at benchmark points in the process so that I have options to choose from when I add to this page.

PCB Ideation Sketches

My partner for this project is Quincy L! We want to make brooches/pins and to represent something literal (like an animal, an orange slice, etc.) rather than making an organic shape. The orange dots are where LEDs could be placed, and we are leaning towards one of the penguin designs.

Collaborative PCB Board

For the shape of our final PCB board, Quincy and I settled on the penguin! The hardest part of this process was transferring the board outline from Rhino to Eagle, since the amount of points we used to make the curve took a long time for the program to process. Otherwise, we learned a lot about parallel circuits and troubleshooting Eagle, and I’m very happy about the final product!

PCB Schematic

Ten of my ideas!

Phase 2 Drawings

I chose to develop my music box idea! I'm very excited to explore the possibility of including hardware (like hinges) and to make the amplifier dial look like thee key to a music box. I'm also intrigued by the possibility of making lights turn on once thee lid of the box is open - maybe a light sensor!

Rhino Model

Here is my rhino model! In addition to what I included in my phase two drawing, I added holes for my on/off button and for various other cables to plug in. I also changed the design of the inlay and the key slightly to optimize the building process.

Cardboard prototype

I learned from building my prototype that my lid and speakers both fit in/on the box! I'm considering revisiting the bottom of my speaker, because the prototype made me realize that I forgot that particular part.

Breadboard

These are photos of my finished breadboard. I learned a lot about troubleshooting and how to work with more complex schematics rather than photos. My favorite part of the process was the soldering!

Python Challenge

The python challenge that I decided to do was to print a list of names and then reverse them. I first defined my list, printed it normally, then sorted the list with "thelist.sort(reverse = True)" to make it print backwards.

Amplifier PCB Schematic

This is the schematic for the amplifier board! The red components are all the parts (resistors, switches, etc), and the green lines represent the specific connections between them.

PCB Board Layout

This is the board layout. In this diagram, all the parts are organized inside of a defined border, the physical board itself. I was paired with Quincy Lehane, and we decided to write “my blood sweat and tears” on the board to be able to claim that we put our blood sweat and tears into our amplifiers.

Challenge LED code

This is the challenge LED code that I programmed with Linda. We decided to tackle the randomization of colors and make each rotation around the ring flash a different color of lights. I learned that the randomization of the colors had to fall within the true loop so that the randomization of the colors is constantly refreshed.

Microcontroller Challenge

The entire code could not be contained in one photo, but I worked with Tanish to create a loop that would flash the LEDs around the border of a microcontroller with randomized hues. We only got two sides to work during class, but I'm sure that we can figure out the rest!

Microcontroller Display

Evan and I decided to program a pikachu bmp image onto our microcontroller! For a separate project, we also made a random word appear on screen. The pikachu was my favorite of today’s challenges because it showed the versatility of the microcontroller display.

Digital Project

My idea for the digital project is a light whose brightness will fluxuate based on the volume of my music. I will be using the circuit playground for it, and I'll likely try to put it in the main cavity of the speaker on the top/bottom of the box so that it is least visible. Ideally, thee light will shine through the acrylic cutouts in the walls of the box.

Unsoldered Circuit Board

This is my unsoldered circuit board! As I have begun soldering, it has been a bit of a challenge figuring out what parts go where, but I'm really excited to see if the audio quality of the final speakers is any better than it was before.

Soldered PCB Board

The penguin is finished! It was really rewarding to see all the lights working. I had trouble with soldering the metal battery enclosure onto the board, the surrounding area is a bit burnt, but I'm really happy with how it came out in the end.

Soldered Speaker Board

This is my soldered speaker-circuit-system! Soldering it together was a really fun process, but I accidentally soldered the large part with the microchip on it onto the board. This ended up being alright though, since the speakers thankfully work.

Enclosure Progress

This is what I have of my enclosure so far! Before I finish, I need to print three more small pieces of acrylic and put the top and bottom of the box together. I plan on coming in during lunchtime to make all of this work, but so far I am really pleased with how it's looking so far.

Final Speaker

What did you make?

My final enclosure is a lidded box with acrylic cutouts/inlays, and my digital project, a light that responds to the volume of the speaker’s surroundings/music, is inside of the body of the piece.

Thinking about the work you created, what are you most satisfied with this semester?

I am really satisfied with the work that I did in understanding schematics and the board inside of my speaker. At first, I was really intimidated by re-learning how to breadboard and the speaker schematic looked really challenging, but I am proud that everything came out well!

If you were to start over, knowing what you know, what would I do differently?

If I were to start over, I would cut everything out with a test material/rethink my acrylic inlays. I wasn’t necessarily thinking about which shapes fit inside others, so I reflexively sized up all my pieces of acrylic. This was a mistake, because not every acrylic piece needed to be scaled up - sometimes it was the wood’s dimension that needed to be changed. I really liked my design, I just wish I had thought more about execution.

What is a lesson from this class that you will take with you and use in future projects?

I learned a lot about problem solving and troubleshooting, but practically speaking, I learned a lot about different tools like the laser cutter and how to maximize the effectiveness of hot glue. All the different methods I used taught me that there are a variety of ways to fix/create something, and that flexibility is something I will keep in mind.

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