Description: In this project, Ryan, Larry, and I collaborated to create a candy dispenser using Microbits that would dispense 5-10 skittles at a time
Brainstorm: We decided to use a cylindrical design with one flat side for a plexiglass window. A trapdoor in a circle placed in the middle of the cylinder would create a container to hold the skittles, while also allowing an opening to dispense the candy. We used a rectangular piece of wood as the trapdoor and used a Microbit servo to create a turning mechanism. The short side of the wood piece would hinge down to allow a flow of candy before going back up and closing off the exit. We would also use a cup underneath to catch the skittles as they fell and prevent them from getting dirty on the surface below.
Procedure: We first started by laser-cutting the trapdoor design to test the code and the idea itself. It worked, so we proceeded to the next step. We designed the entire build on TinkerCAD and 3D printed it overnight. However, our first design was too small and we forgot to account for extra space to place the Microbit servo. We reprinted the build to be larger, which ended up working, so we glued the Servo down. We then laser-cut a piece of plexiglass and glued it down as well. However, the cylinder was a little too short and the trapdoor kept hitting the cup. So, we printed an extra piece to make the build taller. After this, we added decoration for a "cap" on the build which would keep the skittles inside. We tested a few times and the build ended up working, so we proceeded with this design.
Reflections:
S- The project worked pretty well given the amount of time for the project. I think we are all very satisfied with the result.
O- I think that our group could have been more careful and efficient when creating this project. While we were waiting for our builds to print, we could have spent that time reviewing the design or brainstorming ideas to further optimize the function of the build. Because we didn't budget our time as well, we were also less keen on problems that we could have predicted. We had to reprint a few times because of small issues in the build, but we definitely could have reviewed the design a few more times and caught onto possible problems.
U- This project was extremely useful in refining and reinforcing important design skills. Throughout this project, we encountered many issues that could have been solved through more careful designing. This taught us to work more carefully and review designs before committing time and resources to them. In the future, we would definitely learn from this experience and be more detailed about certain things.
L- Some things that prevented us from having a better build was the limited amount of time. I feel that even thought we might not have budgeted our time the best, the fact that we only had ~3 classes to work on this limited our project's detail and functionality.
WISCR- Throughout this project, I think our team embodied the S and C aspects of WISCR. For S, we were motivated to finish our project and deliver a build that was functional and efficient. We required little to no outside help and were mostly self-motivated. For C, I think our team communicated well throughout the project. We were all familiar with each other and were able to communicate freely to each other, which improved our efficacy. Each of us were clear about how we wanted to approach the project and we were able to smoothly collaborate without much issue