Andy Moats

Hello Page 8/24/22

One design and engineering strength is that I'm pretty willing to revise ideas, try many different tools and materials, and redesign to make my best product. One area of growth in the shops would be getting more familiar with most of the terms that comes with both coding and circuitry, as I haven't had much experience with them.

This year with my documentation in this class, I would like to...

1) Have many clear, well-taken photographs of my working that can be posted to this site. The easier for the reader to follow my work, the better.

2) Be willing to make mistakes, and to learn from them in the process.

3) Be on time with uploading, never feeling rushed to post something last minute before class.

Circuits & Schematics Refresher 8/25/22

Today, we played around with both a parallel circuit and a series circuit. With my classmates' help, I was able to successfully complete both circuits. To the right, here is one series circuit I created, with the one resistor working to be enough for the three lights rather than each LED needing its own resistor.

Getting Started with Eagle 8/30/22

Following the starter worksheet, I was able to complete all 3 parts. The first part was creating a schematic in Eagle. For this circuit we have a battery, a resistor, an LED, and a sliding switch. We then transferred this circuit onto the board, allowing us to see the PCB with all of its parts. After untangling wires and making it into an efficient shape, I exported the design to JLCPCB for a preview.

PCB Design Drawings 8/30/22

Here are my 10 sketches for my group's possible PCB. My favorite designs are the Love Island, congruent triangles, and the Warriors logo. However, in my mind the most likely designs are the muffin or the elephant, as they aren't logos or too out of left field.

PCB Group Project 8/31 - 9/2/2022

For this project, I was grouped with Sebastian and Ella, and collectively we worked on creating our design throughout the whole process. Starting out in rhino, we created the outline for our Lightning McQueen inspired PCB. The next step was creating our circuit schematic in Eagle, where we decided to make a parallel circuit with one resistor to one LED. After transferring our schematic to the board, we imported our Rhino outline, giving our PCB the shape of our car. Using tools such as auto air-wiring, we were able to come up with a finished product we were ready to order.

Amplifier First Designs 9/10/22

These are my first possible designs for my amplifier. Right now, I'm leaning towards either design 4, 12, or 13 (the flat box with design on the front, the dog, or the eggs in the frying pan). I want to use both LEDs and acrylic but I am having problems coming up with a design I think I could reasonably finish in the class time we are given for this project.

Amplifier 3D Model 11/3/22

My design as of now is this panda. It will be made of two different types of wood, and as the model in the back shows, the boxes will be press-fit.

Python Intro Exercises 11/3/22

Today we used these practice challenges as our first exposure to the coding language we will use for our digital project. Our challenge was to have the computer come up with 10 numbers between 1-100, so we decided to use a while loop to complete our task.

Portable PCB 12/15/22

Coming back to complete a previous project, here is my finished portable pcb. It is our attempt at making Lightning McQueen, and I am actually quite pleased with the final product as it's simple but well executed.

Amplifier Circuit 12/15/22

This project has taken a long time to fully come together, and still I had to move on before fully finishing the bluetooth section. I went through several chips, each one more frustrating than the last, but nonetheless we tried our best to get the speakers to work, and in the end they did end up working. Hopefully when I transfer this circuit to my final amplifier PCB it will all work out...

Amplifier Cardboard Prototype

Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of my cardboard prototype (I know I may get some points off for that). I will say here what I learned from the project however, as my biggest takeaway was that my press-fit didn't perfectly work, so I decided to scrap that part and just glue my box together. I also found that I didn't do the drill holes properly on my prototype, so I was able to get that right for my speakers in my final amplifier wood. Sorry I didn't get photos, but I hope this can get some credit...

Final Day Update 12/15/22

As we wrap up this semester & class, here's my final products. A pile of laser-cut wood and a completed working amplifier circuit. I just waited a little too long to start this project (getting caught up on other projects, not coming in during tutorials & free periods and only some lunches, not being 100% efficient w/ my time...), but I am satisfied that my speakers work & work even with the bluetooth, as that was something I didn't really get to see when building this circuit on my previous breadboard. I'll definetely come back next year to assemble all of my pieces though!

Final Day Reflection Questions 12/17/22

1.What did you make?

This semester, I was able to create 1) a working PCB hooked up to my speakers 2) laser-cut wood of all the pieces from rhino to make my "panda" amplifier 3) a Lightning McQueen portable PCB.

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

While there wasn't as much to be satisfied with as I may have hoped, I definitely was satisfied with my rhino model & subsequent design (even though it didn't get to be assembled) & my actual speakers, as they are functional & could be used even without its enclosure.

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

I would definitely be more proactive in any shops class moving forward, as I didn't start coming in during my free blocks & free time until late in the process. This led to me falling behind & not completing my final enclosure even if I did try as hard as I could in class.

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

I would again say to just be more proactive, as that deadline of the end of the semester creeps up on you much quicker than I realized. Luckily for me, I still have the next semester to come back and finish my design, but I would definetely try to keep moving forward & not get cuaght up by a single project (a I did with my original Amplifier circuit on the breadboard).

Thanks so much Mr. Sasson for a great time in this class & have a great break!

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