Tara Manning

Aug. 23, 2023

Hi!

Design/engineering strength:

I can persist through almost any project if I care about it and have a goal/vision for the final product

Design/engineering area for growth:

I don't have a strong grasp of the basics of coding and circuitry

3 documentation commitments:

Updating the site regularly
Taking quality pictures/videos
Maintaining an organized page

PCB Designs

We chose our final design to be a menorah with LEDs where flames would be, resistors along the candlesticks, a switch for every LED/flame, and a battery at the base. We'll put the battery on the other side of the PCB to save space.

I liked the idea of LEDs in the place of lights in an actual structure, so our other choice was a flashlight. Both designs incorporated this concept, so we flipped a coin and the menorah won! Our other designs included a pumpkin, an electric guitar, a penguin, and a flower.

Collaborative PCB

Franklin and I made a PCB inspired by a menorah. It has 9 LEDs and 9 switches that will switch on and off each LED. From this project, I'll remember the process of designing a PCB and why each step is necessary. For example, it's important to make a schematic of the design before laying it out in its actual shape.

Speaker Designs

Favorites: cloud, jewelry holder, caterpillar, snail (Gary)

I'll most likely move forward with the

I have some design concerns about the caterpillar, as

Sept. 13, 2023

Speaker Designs Feedback

Warm feedback:

Cool feedback:

Sept. 18, 2023

More designs!

I didn't feel attached enough to any of my designs to draw them further in detail - instead I drafted up more designs.

Sept. 20, 2023

And more designing...

Final Design

Rhino Design (in progress)

Oct. 12

Cardboard Prototype Progress

Oct. 12

I didn't have time to laser cut the other 2 bubble layers, so hopefully it will have all 3 in the final version. The main box containing the speakers and electronics will be wood and the bubbles will also be wood. Each bubble layer will have multiple identical pieces of wood glued together to make them thicker and to make sure they fill out the depth of the main speaker box.

Amp Circuit Breadboard Progress

Oct. 25

Here is my breadboard so far - I haven't added bluetooth yet but I can play music through the speakers if this is plugged in to my computer! It didn't work at first because I had a wire in the wrong spot, but Mr. Kleindolph helped me fix it. I learned that persistence and patience are both important when making something that needs to be this preceise.

Python Sheets

Oct. 27

Here are the python worksheets I completed with Gavin:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HwSFT_sZjhyk5MCV2GgNxBVe3O5MpwYCgckG2A7rvGY/edit

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zxO2d_fnHY29zGSWEt8QPhS3XpGWCoYSg_Yj_TpqdS0/edit

Collaborative Amp PCB Design

Nov. 1

I worked with Nico on this Amp PCB design. We switched off making connections on different portions of the PCB to split up the work. I learned a lot more about how to make these connections with this PCB project. (waiting for Nico to post the pictures to finish the rest)

Circuit Playground: Temperature

Nov. 2

Code:

Results:

Feather M4: Neopixel

Code:

Results:

Feather ESP32-S2: Weather

Nov. 9

Code:

Results:

Digital Project

Nov. 14

I'm planning to make a stand-alone digital project with the circuit playground that changes lights based on temperature. This is what it'll look like, although I might change the colors.

Circuit Board Design

Nov. 22

Here is the circuit board I designed with Nico! It will connect to the speakers and enable Bluetooth.

Soldered Shaped PCB

Dec. 3

Here is my finished soldered PCB that I designed with Franklin:

Final Soldered Circuit Board

Dec. 11

From this process, I got a lot better at soldering. In previous projects I had done some soldering, but not with as many pieces or as quickly.

Build Process

Dec. 13

Currently I have all the pieces cut for my speaker (and the speakers screwed in) but I need to glue the pieces together to finish assembly.

I also need to complete my digital project which I may or may not include in my speaker

FINAL AMPLIFIER

Dec. 19

I made an amplifier in the shape of a triangular prism! I redid my whole design very last minute, but I'm happy with how it turned out given the circumstances. I'm most satisfied with my circuit board + amplifier because even though I had some challenges with them, I was able to push through and create a solid final product. If I were to take this class again, I would solidify my final amplifier design earlier so that I could start building earlier too. From this class, I became more confident in soldering and laser cutting, skills that will be useful if I take other shops classes.

FINAL DIGITAL PROJECT

Dec. 19

Code link: https://gist.github.com/taramanning/16f23ba64514a5f36dfb9e500743ff2b

My goal with my digital project was to replicate the temperature example with the circuit playground, but I then decided to make a clock with the ESP32. I was a little challenged by time with this project, but I learned how to troubleshoot coding issues.

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