Narrative Essay
In Spring of 2014, I was asked by Electronics teacher to research online until I found a fairly "easy" project. I looked for hours until my instructor advised us try searching through his preferred website. I eventually found a very interesting project called the 4x4x4 LED Cube. Along side it was an even bigger cube called the 8x8x8. I knew the bigger cube would not be a good idea to start off with. So I decided to go back to the smaller 4x4x4 cube.I examined it closer and within five minutes I knew it was the perfect choice for me. After getting approval from my teacher, I started my in-depth research and purchased the parts for a total of about $50 altogether. After receiving the parts I followed the instructions given online to build it. I managed to follow all the instructions within one week. Unfortunately, the cube did not work properly at first. I brought it to my teacher to help me troubleshoot the issue. The programming was done completely through Command Prompt built in the Microsoft Windows computers. After many attempts to try and solve the issue my teacher and I slowly gave up. The LED cube was had become a dust collector in the back of a metal cabinet used for tools and parts. I never again looked at it that year. Although my career passion is electronics and computer hardware engineering, this was a major setback to my confidence in becoming successful later in the future.
The next year was my last year of high school. I still hadn't forgotten the unfortunate failure the previous semester. Within the first few months of Advanced Electronics I had been learning how to program a common compiler known as an Arduino using the language, "C" to program simple circuits. For about two weeks I had been learning very quickly about the programming language. I was able to complete small projects within 20-30 minutes. I eventually found myself very confident once again, not even acknowledging the LED cube from last year. However, with so much time left of the class to spare, I remembered the cube. I found the cube exactly where it had been left from last year. I disconnected all the wires from the cube and placed them into the Arduino. I quickly searched for the old cube code given to me last year on the website. When I uploaded the code, it flashed a sign of life. To my surprise it still worked, but I did not work completely. After a quick flicker of a few LED's, it did nothing more. I research more at home and discovered a special code that considerably easy to understand. Once the code was successfully uploaded the next day, it worked. It was finally doing fascinating animations in just a small 4x4x4. Everyone was impressed with what the cube could actually do. After adding some more animations on my own, I was asked present the cube to several people as a physics demonstration. The LED Cube was by far the most outstanding project due to its flashy animations. The cube was finally fixed and had become a demonstration to the other Electronics classes who needed a little taste of Advanced Electronics.
During this time, my Physics teacher assigned us different unique physics projects that we were going to present at the PBL fair. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I asked him if I may build a full sized 8x8x8 LED Cube. He agreed, and three weeks later I had enough money to purchase all the parts for $150. Once I received my order I searched the cardboard box to ensure I had all the parts. I started the experiment by creating a jig to hold the LED's in place while I soldered them. However, I found numerous problems with the product. The main issue was a misconception about the true size of the 8x8x8 cube. I had hoped for something bigger, but the leads of the LED's were too short. I could only make a smaller jig and make one the size of the old 4x4x4, or I could find thick wire to solder the leads together to form a sort of "backbone" for the cube. I knew from the start this was going to be a challenge. Christmas break was right around the corner. Its was academically one of the most difficult times of the year because of tests and projects to finish. I never got a chance to try and complete the cube after I learned what had happened. There was a sense of laziness that I could not overcome before my trip to New Mexico during the break. After the Christmas break, the PBL fair started to become daunting. I knew I had to finish. At the same time, however, college applications started to put immense pressure on me. In the end, procrastination did get the best of me. I only had one week to finish everything. I started by using the first three days of the week to complete the circuit board construction. I was able to get some assistance from my mother and brother. The next two days was the most difficult by far. The only thing left to do was the cube itself. The cube was going to have to be built using thick wire as a backbone to not only connect the wire, but hold them well. My father decided to help me make this cube a reality. We stayed up until one o'clock trying to finish. We decided to save the rest for the next day. We had already been up to the third layer of LED's. We started to become three times faster than when we first started. Friday night was dreadful. We had gotten no sleep at all. We had successfully finished the project around six o'clock in the morning. We finally finished the project. After the PBL presentation, I finally went home and reflected back on our accomplishment. This project gave me the upmost confidence for becoming an engineer.