Unit Project (posted in GC):
Keychain Flashlight Project
Parameters:
LED: 5mm ---> Colors: White, Blue, Red, Green
"Battery": CR2032 or AAA
Printer Models:
MakerBot Replicator 2X: We use for ABS Plastic
Bambu P1S: We use for PLA Plastic
Plastic Types
ABS Plastic -- Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene
Higher Temperature Plastic for 3D Printing
HIPS -- High Impact Polystyrene
Dissolvable plastic for rafts, supports, and hollow infills.
Dissolvable in limonene solution
PLA -- Polylactic Acid
Lower Temperature Plastic for 3D Printing
How long does it take to print my item?
The answer can vary depending upon many factors, but here are the 2 major factors:
Infill: How much plastic is being placed into your print?
Accuracy: How accurate are you trying to make your item?
3D printed items can take minutes to hours to even days to print. A small piece can easily take over 30 minutes to print.
Is 3D printing an efficient process for mass production?
No. It takes way too long for ONLY ONE item to be created compared to other modern manufacturing processes.
Where is 3D printing used in industry?
It is used mainly (if not only) in the prototyping stage.
Gives engineers a "rough idea" of what something is going to look like.
Can be used to determine how an item is going to possibly function.
3D Printing Resources
Plastic Injection Molding Machine and Process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4F9jvMBk0Y
Plastic Injection Molding Explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMjtmsr3CqA
Step 1: Identify the problem / need
What is the problem that we need to solve?
Step 2: Investigate past solutions
What has been done in the past to solve this problem?
Can a past solution help us develop a new solution or will the past solution work?
Step 3: Designing a solution
A. Brainstorming Ideas for a Solution
Unstructured: No particular order in which the ideas are brought up
Uncensored: No idea is a bad idea in the brainstorming process
Democratic: No person should be excluded from creating ideas. Ideas come from many different places and everyone should participate.
Feel free to "piggy back" on others' ideas and add to their ideas
B. Develop Constraints and Parameters
Create limitations to follow.
Size, weight, material types, manufacturing capabilities, etc can all be factors to consider when making constraints.
C. Sort through the brainstormed ideas using the constraints and parameters
D. Start designing a rough solution with the remaining ideas
E. Start designing a "final" solution including sizes, materials, etc
Step 4: Evaluate the designed solution
Evaluate if the solution will fit the original need.
Create a prototype (either functional or non-functional) to test or represent a product / solution.
Step 5: Re-Investigate, Re-Design, Re-Evaluate
If Step 4 is a complete success, you may move on to Step 6.
If Step 4 fails, you need to:
Re-investigate possible solutions
Re-Design your solution
Re-Evaluate your design
Step 6: Plan the final design / solution
A. Plan the final design.
B. Plan full scale production.
Plan steps that will be taken to manufacture your design.
Plan tools, machines, facilities, etc.
Plan workforce needed to get the manufacturing done.
Plan how to package and distribute the item(s).
Step 7: Create the item at full scale
A. Create product to proper specifications
Manufacture
Evaluate for exactness
B. Full scale manufacturing is run
Manufacture
Evaluate for exactness
C. Distribution of item(s)
Step 8: Re-Evaluate
A. Evaluate the full scale production
Issues, Fixes, Efficiency, etc
B. Evaluate the product
Bugs, Mechanical issues, etc are brought to light
C. Fix any "bugs" that may have arisen