Skittle candy machine

Project Description : In this project we used two online platforms to help us get the perfect measurement and sizes. In a group of three, we designed and built an automated Skittles dispenser using TinkerCAD, controlled by a Microbit. The Microbit will trigger the dispenser to release 5 - 10 Skittles when prompted. The dispenser itself has to be smaller than 7x 7 x 5 and must have a rotating mechanism powered by a serve motor.

Brainstorming  : Our inspiration for this project was mainly through seeing past students designs. For example, on Ms Trans presentation, it had past videos and images of old students work. We took their layout design and incorporated a more simplistic yet colorful element.  Our design conveys the hardship and hardowork we put into this candy machine. Alot of outside of school effort was put into the project. We used the laser cutting and 3D print to get everything for the design. On the mechanics end, she used the microbit platform to code the mechanism. She then designed the roller on tinkercad and we made the base and layout on tinkerCAD aswell. 

Procedure : First we needed to divide the jobs evenly, and distribute the work. I decided since I am better at tinkerCAD I would design the outline of the box, and help assemble it. I decided we should go for a simple box shape, as it makes it easier to transport. I added a square hole on the bottom so that candy could go through. I then designed the base and the walls which were made to hold the structure in shape. I transported it to a USB where Ms Tran helped me laser cut it.

Soul : 

Strength : I think that something our group did well was painting and designing our box so it is aesthetically pleasing. We used pinterest as an inspiration and painted on a few trees to match the holiday season. The paint was applied with a different technique of brushes to get the perfect design. 

Opportunities :

If I were given the oppurtunity I would give our group more time to work on the support for our mechanism.  Because of reasons I will be talking about in the limtation section, we were unable to get the support finished. This resulted in having to hold the microbit in place while presenting which could've hurt my grade.

Understanding :

In this project I learned that it is very important to not waste a single spare minute. By this I mean that using the time givin wisely and making sure what needs to get done is done. This way it can leave enough time to work on anything that needs to be fixed. Next time I encounter a situation like this, I will be sure to not waste time talking to friends or goofing around.

Limitations :

The biggest Limtation we encountered on this project is on one out of three days, my teamate left our candymachine at home. This pushed our schedules back by one lesson, and by the day of presentation we were rushing. Our team had to come in during lunch to try and catch up to the other projects but by the end, we didnt have enough time to work on supports. 

WISCR :

Self motivated : I chose this part of WISCR because eVen towards the end when we realised we wouldnt have enough time to print the supports, my team and I persisted on. We kept working regardless of the deadline, because this time we had come too far to quit. So my team and I persisted, and even got some help from other teams around us. this way, although we werent able to get it 100% done we still tried our best in the end. 

Critical thinking skills : I chose this part of WISCR because over our project, I had to make sure everything would fit AND look right next to eachother. This required alot of measurements needing to be made. Since I had a limitation of 7 x 7 x 5, I needed to make sure I could laser cut it first try since other people needed to use the laser cutter aswell. An issue that I encounatred was not adding holes on the walls. This made it impossible to add our mechanism. Me and my team put our heads together and came up with the idea of drilling the holes that were needed into the walls. This saved alot of laser cutting time and allowed us to focus on other issues ; such as working on designing the exterior of our machine, adding a tray to our dispencer, and making sure our project works.