Week 9: August 7 - August 11
On Monday, I embarked on my final week at the lab. It was a relatively low-key week as most of the summer projects in the lab were winding down. After finishing up my work with the TCPC and Liver models, David showed me some more tricks with SolidWorks. By the end of the week, I felt really comfortable with using SolidWorks. Even if I didn't know where a specific function was for a certain task, I got pretty good at wielding the basic functions to do most things that I wanted. I designed a multitude of random things, such as a ball bearing, a door hinge, and a system of gears. Moreover, David also gave me insightful tips for using the printers, and on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, he gave me access to use the printers to make whatever I wanted.
Using the Ultimaker Printer
After thinking of things to print that would be both useful to me and also interesting to design in SolidWorks, I decided to make barbell collars (which hold the weights on a barbell in place) for my home gym. The design ended up looking similar to the end of a clamp: two semicircles were connected by a hinge and had a place on the end where they could be attached to each other. The extra "fans" attached to the collars were intended to provide extra surface area for holding the weights in place.
For printing, David recommended using ABS filament on the Ultimaker printer, as this would be the strongest. However, this option entailed a more difficult process for printing the collars as, in comparison to using the Ultimaker PLA filament or the FormLabs printer, it is more likely not to stick to the build plate and thus fail. After trial and error, I learned some techniques for helping the filament stick to the build plate. These included adding a brim of filament around the model to increase the area of contact it had with the plate, raising the temperature of the build plate, decreasing the speed of the nozzle, and using acetone to put a film of ABS on the plate to better help the print adhere to it. Eventually, I was able to successfully 3D-print 2 collars. Unfortunately, when the first collar came out, I realized I had forgotten to include tolerance width between the hinges of the collar to allow them to slide together, so I had to redesign the model for the second collar and use a dremel to shave down some parts in the first.
My Overall Experience
After working in the CVFD lab this summer I am now certain that I want to pursue some sort of engineering in the future. It was incredible to see first hand the creative ideas people in the CVFD lab had in coming up with processes for analyzing fluid dynamics in the cardiovascular system of the human body and using those processes to collect data. On top of this, the CVFD lab members didn't just let me watch, they gave me my own projects to do and work to help out with to ensure I was having a good experience and also learning. Whenever I had a question, they would always answer it; whenever I needed help, they would always assist me.
Even more rewarding was my exposure to real-world science. This wasn't science where people simply performed demonstration labs to display a concept, this was science where people used those concepts to explore groundbreaking research with direct applications to people. I remember doing flow rate tests on the first TCPC model and having the fact that it was a model of an actual person's TCPC sink in. The data I was collecting was going towards helping that person live out a better life. It got me excited to think of the numerous ways in which I can pursue engineering and to end up with a career in which I can make meaningful impacts in the lives of others.