Hello Post - 8/16/24
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An engineering/design strength that I have is coming up with original ideas and laying out a plan on how to bring the idea to life. An area of growth that has to do with engineering/design is actually building whatever idea I had. I don't have that much experience other than D&T with using tools such as the band saw, table saw, plasma cutter, etc.
Three things that I want to commit to in the documentation of my projects and learning is one, keeping everything organized, two, creating detailed posts with lots of description and images, and three, always being on time with my posts and not missing the due date.
Six PCB Ideas Drawings - 9/4/24
Talia and I both drew three different drawings. I drew a plane, phone, and bodybuilder, and Talia drew a Christmas tree, a candle, and a sun. We both picked our favorite ones out of our own drawings (Mine was the bodybuilder and her's was the sun) and then we flipped a coin to see who's we were going to use because we couldn't decide. I guessed heads and the coin said heads. So we picked the bodybuilder.
Collaborative PCB Design - 9/10/24
During this collaborative PCB design, Talia and I were paired up. We made a PCB design that was supposed to look like a bodybuilder, as seen in the image on the right. We made a parallel circuit with six different LEDs that were spread throughout the design. We also added a switch to turn it on and off. Something I will remember from creating a printed circuit board design is to always check where the wiring goes in the board design. Even though we used the Auto router, it doesn't necessarily mean that it will work. In our case, the auto router worked the first time, but it is important to keep in mind that it may not and if it doesn't, the whole circuit might fail.
Guided Ideation for Speaker Design - 9/12/24
My top three favorite designs are the banana design, the dumbbell design, and the squid design. The banana design seems pretty feasible and practical and I think it would look cool visually if I am able to pull it off. I like the dumbbell too because it would be really easy to hold and lifting weights is something I enjoy doing. And finally, I chose the squid design because I feel like it would look really mysterious and cool and if I am able to stand the squid up on its tentacles I think it would look great.
Feedback on Three Ideas - 9/16/24
I think that the feedback was helpful on narrowing it down to what I'm going to build. I was torn between the squid and the dumbbell design and there were a few people who liked the squid, but most liked the dumbbell. On top of this, there were certain comments on where I would put the circuit board, which I will keep in mind while designing.
Phase 2 of Speaker Drawings - 9/18/24
I believe that this design will meet my learning goals because it is a relatively challenging design to complete and it will have me working with the 3D printer a lot, which I am not very familiar with. On top of this, the curve of the dumbbell may make it hard to make, although hopefully the fact that I am 3D printing it will make it feasible and visually appealing once it is done.
Mostly (80%) Finish and Post Modeled Enclosure Design - 9/30/24
In the left hand picture, my dumbbell design is portrayed in perspective view in rhino. Both enclosures are connected by a cylinder in the middle. They also have holes on each side to fit the speaker through and holes for screws so that the covers of the enclosures can detach. And looking at the right hand picture, we can see that internally there is one bigger hole through the middle of the cylinder and enclosures that will be the hole where the wire goes. There is also two other cylindric holes that end right before the two enclosures openings and there will be two metal rods that will be going through those wholes for stability.
Documentation of Cardboard Design - 10/2/24
My idea is a dumbbell design, entirely 3D printed except for the steel rods internally that will be holding it together. The speakers will be on both sides of the dumbbell as well. In my prototype I learned the actually size my dumbbell speaker will roughly be, which was helpful to visualize it. I think the modification I need to make to my rhino design is including a hole for a charging port and a dile to control the sound.
Breadboard Amplifier Circuit Design
The image to the right is my amplifier circuit design on a breadboard. I found that making this breadboard design was fun and it was cool to come in class, throw on some headphones, and just zone out while building this. After I thought I had finished the breadboarding design and I tried turning it on, one of the speakers worked while the other one made sort of a fuzzy sound. However, Dr. Treviño was able to help me find my issue, which was that one of my resistors was plugged into the wrong row. After fixing the resistors positioning, the circuit worked and I was able to play music through the amplifiers. I also followed the bluetooth part of the tutorial and I was able to install bluetooth on the circuit as well. Something new that I understand about the circuit now that I've prototyped is the importance of being efficient with space. I learned to make the wires, capacitors, etc. short so I can conserve space to make it easier to spot a mistake in the future. One thing that was a mystery to me prior to my google search was the function of capacitors. Through google, I learned that capacitors temporarily store electricity by dividing up the charged particles to create a potential difference.
Documentation of Amp PCB Design and Schematic - 11/7/24
During this project I worked with Lauryn to create our unique schematic and design of the Amp PCB. Our unique feature was our added names on the bottom right portion of the board file screenshot below. Something I learned during this process was that most of the edits to the actual design of the PCB and not the circuitry should be done in the "push to PCB" section and not the schematic section of the design process.
Unsoldered Amplifier PCB 11/19/24
This is Lauryn and I's Amp PCB in real life instead of just on a schematic. As you can see, the customized part of this is the Lauryn and Parker part in the bottom right corner. Everything else was kept similar, making it easier to follow the directions on how to solder all the components in during the future.
Soldered Amplifier PCB 12/5/24
This is my completed Amplifier PCB. I am quite happy with it, although it did take me longer than expected. I thought that because I had already done the breadboard version of this, that it would be really quick, but it wasn't. A challenge that I had with it was the blue ports for the wires that connect to the speakers. I had to get explained on how to actually stick the wires inside them, as the first time I did it, it wasn't working because I stuck the wires in the wrong spot. But after that, it was a pretty free flowing project and I finished it in about 2 to 3 classes.
Plan for Digital Project
For my Digital Project, I plan to make a weather forecast. I know we already had a challenge that was similar to this, but I was thinking that I could 3D print some sort of TV and then stick the digital project inside it. So it is like watching a mini TV that tells the me the weather. I will be using the same microcontroller that we used for prior projects and I probably won't need any additional electronics other than the 3D printer. And this will be a standalone project and won't have anything to do with my speaker.
First Shaped PCB Project (Completed)
During this project, I worked with Talia. Our idea was to create a body builder that was flexing. I am pretty happy with the result, although the color scheme isn't ask realistic as I wish it would've been.
Enclosure Progress
I am definitely on track for finishing my project. I finished soldering and my enclosure and now I just have to put everything together. More specifically, I have to put the circuit board, battery and speakers inside the enclosure and seal it will screws.
Finished Amplifier with Enclosure 12/9/24
This is my finished Amplifier and Enclosure design. It a is a large black dumbbell. After completing this semester and project, I am most satisfied with the fact that I now have a speaker that works that I made. If I were to start over, I would make sure to measure all the components that have to go inside the speaker because I had to reprint a lot of it because things wouldn't fit. Something that I learned that will stick with me for a long time is that not everything is going to work perfect the first time. I have to accept that there are going to be mistakes and I have to keep trying until it works.
Final Digital Project Post
For my digital project I made a mini TV that tells the weather in San Mateo, which is the city that I live in. During this process I learned a lot on attaining API codes and using the actual coordinates of my house to project the correct weather on the TV. Some challenges that I had was actually writing the code, and I got help from Kai since I have little experience with Python.
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