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Ideation
Ideation
Tell us about your assignment's idea for this week. Why do you care about this idea? What inspired you? (Please include images or links to sources of inspiration)
Tell us about your assignment's idea for this week. Why do you care about this idea? What inspired you? (Please include images or links to sources of inspiration)
My idea is inspired by my favourite novel, To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, which accompanied me three years ago in one of the saddest years of my life.
I decided to create a cardboard model for a moving lighthouse, using a motor to make it rotate (DC motor), and an RGB LED to adjust the light and get a shade of my own.
After double-checking the previous models of similar ideas, I made sure that no one thought of prototyping a cardboard lighthouse.
Coincidentally, someone had thought about through insrtructables, using two outputs which were the LED lights and a speaker, but mine shall output light and motion.
Tool Chain
Tool Chain
Which software/machines/materials did you use in the assignment? Why?
Which software/machines/materials did you use in the assignment? Why?
Software Online Simulation:
Using one of Autodesk software (Tinkercad), provides nearly all the electric and electronic components to be simulated online before actual electric connections using real components and electric supplies.
Electric Components:
Using a DC motor, resistors, connecting wires, RGB LED, switches, crocodile clip wires, a breadboard, and a 9V DC adaptor.
Enclosure:
Using cardboard, glue gun, straws, white papers, colors, glue sticks, scissor, cutter, and straws.
Preparation Process
Preparation Process
Explain the design and/or preparation process of your assignment. How did you use the tool or software to design and/or prepare your assignment before fabrication/implementation?
Explain the design and/or preparation process of your assignment. How did you use the tool or software to design and/or prepare your assignment before fabrication/implementation?
Tinkering
Connecting both main components in parallel each with a switch on a breadboard, through Tinker cad, the DC motor is meant to be controlled by a potentiometer to manage its speed, and the RGB LED is intended to show an orange color, but through simulation, it showed a yellow color.
The used resistors are 1kΩ as I used a 9V adaptor, and to protect the RGB LED it required two resistors of such a value.
The used potentiometer was also of 1kΩ, but it didn't need fixed resistors as it is suitable for the DC motor to be powered by 9V.
Development/Implementation Process
Development/Implementation Process
Explain the development/implementation process of your assignment. How did you use the machine/tool to manufacture or implement the design of your assignment?
Explain the development/implementation process of your assignment. How did you use the machine/tool to manufacture or implement the design of your assignment?
Wiring took a bit longer time, as I connected the switches to the RGB LED using two crocodile clip wires, and the same went for the DC motor, as those crocodile wires are connected to other two jumpers for each on the breadboard in parallel to the power source.
I extended the wires for the RGB LED using extra female-female jumper wires, as they should be used for a tall cardboard lighthouse.
As the RGB LED is connected to the extended wires on the breadboard, 3 resistors of 1kΩ for each wire connected to each RGB terminal, but the ground terminal (cathode) is not connected to a resistor. The blue and the red terminals (pins) are connected to the circuit, disregarding the green pin to get the purple color as an output.
The wires were connected to the power source in parallel using the breadboard as each component is connected independently on the same connecting pins to the power source.
Mounting was most likely a ruining point that made me change the whole cardboard design, as the straws were not rigid enough to hold the circular cardboard part.
Overcoming Challenges
Overcoming Challenges
When you got stuck, what/who did you turn to? At what point did you have to pause to research or learn more before moving on? What are some mistakes, pitfalls, or challenges that others can avoid if they were doing this assignment?
When you got stuck, what/who did you turn to? At what point did you have to pause to research or learn more before moving on? What are some mistakes, pitfalls, or challenges that others can avoid if they were doing this assignment?
The RGB LED gave off a light that tended to be closer to green than yellow, so I switched the wires to make the output light a purple one instead.
Changing the whole cardboard design to create the happy lamp instead was my plan B to implement two different outputs (rotational/vibrational motion by the DC motor and light output by the RGB LED)
There will be a place where the DC motor is meant to move the foam tiny balls to let the user find a paper message from within, as the happy lamp doesn't only light up, but it gives the user a motivational message to read.
Two potentiometers got burned, so I used a DC motor without any potentiometers and I used it without the idea of changing its speed and it wouldn't be a necessary feature for the Happy Lamp idea.
Final Project
Final Project
How can you use the skills and knowledge that you've acquired this week in your final project?
How can you use the skills and knowledge that you've acquired this week in your final project?
Assembling the electric components is a crucial part for starting the final project. I will desperately use every single skill we learned this week.
Links and files
Links and files
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