Frank Ouyang

Introduction

I have been doing art (drawing and painting) for over a decade, so the skills that I've garnered will definitely help me in creating and drawing up designs.

I took an HTML/CSS/JS course during this past summer (2025), so I have a slightly greater understanding of code and engineering than I did previously. However, theres still so much more to learn about the wider range of fields that engineering encompasses, and I'm really excited to do just that!

Here are 3 things I want to commit to in project documentation:

Clear, nicely lit images
Detailed but concise descriptions of what I did, so I can always refer back
Clean flow between objects on this page for easy information retrieval

PCB Designs

Saxophone Cactus Ice cream Peacock House Shrimp

We picked this one!

The left is a picture of our designs. Ryth and I landed on the shrimp because it is unique but also simple enough to design! The right is a picture of where we'll add the lights.

FINAL: Ryth and I made a PCB in the shape of a shrimp. The first LED is the eye of the shrimp. The silkscreen lines along the shrimp divide the shrimp into sections. The rest of the LEDs fill up those sections.

Something that I will remember in PCB design is to make sure that the battery is connected correctly to the + and - of other elements on the board.

Speaker Designs

My 2 favorite designs are (sketch 1) the stove and (sketch 5) the cuckoo clock.

STICKY NOTE FEEDBACK: I have decided to do the cuckoo clock idea. Summary of responses:

Keep the dangling things by allowing the clock to hang or be stood on stilts
Make the dangling things whimsical shapes

Final Speaker Design (Cuckoo Clock)

I believe this is an excellent design to model and build because it doesn't involve any organic shapes (which are hard for me to design), but is also unique enough, with flourishes, a clock, 2 ducks, and dangly things. As of current, it seems both fun to create and to look at. And last but not least, I need a clock in my room :)
This is going to be a challenging project because I will need to design around objects that have fixed dimensions. Also, this project will involve 3D modeling (which is relatively new for me) and learning how to connect the speakers to the power and volume and bluetooth.

98% finished model of...

5 walnut wood panels to laser-cut & press-fit
2 pieces of sheet metal to laser-cut & fold
2 pieces of maroon acrylic to laser-cut & glue onto metal (for this, make scratches in the metal so the glue can have something to hold on to)

Next steps: finish cardboard prototype, check if electronics (clock, speaker, battery, wires, light) can fit inside

Cardboard Prototype

What is your idea?

Cuckoo Clock w/ speakers on the sides and a bird in the nesting area with a sensitive ring-light above

What did you learn from your prototype?

Everything works! (press-fit shapes fit correctly, sizing is all correct)

Does your design need modifications?

Nope!

Breadboarded Amp Circuit

Is there something about the circuit you understand now that you've spent time prototyping it?

The sound energy comes from the audio jack. The electricity from the audio jack passes through some resistors into the microcontroller, which connects it to the volume knob (potentiometer) and the speaker.
I also now understand the importance of using the right resistor strength to make sure the electricity is flowing through the circuit at the right capacity. My prototype only worked when I used 20k resistors instead of 1k :)

Name one part that is a complete mystery to you. Look it up on Google or Generative AI. What does it say the function of that part is?

Ferrite beads act like a resistor. They suppress high-frequency noise, filtering it out, and release the energy as heat.

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