Break It Apart!
Intro
The "Break It Apart" project was really a project on the Reverse Engineering Process. The object was simple, go through the Reverse Engineering Process: take it apart, analyze, redesign, and create. Our project specifically was the reverse engineering an a key fob for a car with our hypothetical redesign
Content
The entirety of this project was about the reverse engineering process. First you must identify the purpose of the object. State what the object is intended to do, in this case, it is meant to lock/unlock a car from a distance. Then you develop a hypothesis, in our case we stated that, "Applying pressure to the buttons on the key’s casing completes the circuit, allowing the flow of electrons through the board and into the radio transmitter component. This radio then sends a signal in all directions, which (if the car is in range) is received by a possible receiver within the car, which unlocks or locks the car depending on which button is pressed." We then were told to disassemble the key fob, in order to obtain a better look at the inner workings of the item. After to disassembly we analyzed the elements, determining the funtionality, understanding the manufacturing, stating the structure, and of course, observing the materials. After the analyzation process, we were able to begin our report detailing each analysis. The next step was intended to be the redesign process, but unfortunately, I was unable to get to that step.
Drawing
Here you can see a detailed analytical drawing of my object. The object I was given to take apart was a charger. It was essentially just a cord you plug into the wall and my analyzation was of the plug itself rather than the charger cord. Once opened, I could see many resistors, a coil, and a few wires, all secured to a circuit board. There were two wires, a red and a black, with each wire connected to a prong. These wires wrapped in one loop and then connected to separate resistors providing power throughout the system. Though it is hard to see, a flow chart was made displaying how the cord functions.
Flow Chart
Electricity through prongs --> Electricity through wires --> Electricity through resistors --> Electricity stored in coil --> Electricity redistributed through resistors --> Electricity output through copper cord into electronic
Reflection
This project was simply intended to prepare us for our larger scale reverse engineering project. However, this project was a great way to ease into the year. It was a very quick project with little instructioin, which is how most of the projects we do will be. A lot of the projects will have minimal guidelines, simply due dates, and it is up to us to manage our time. We are generally given the period to do our work and simply expected to finish it on time, which is great practice for real life. In real world jobs, your boss won't have time hover over you to assure you are completing tasks in a timely fashion, it is on the individual, and that is the way this class operates. Though this project was very quick, I believe it was a great introduction to many things such as analytical drawing and material analysis. The main point of this project was to create detailed drawings, illustrating not only the individual pieces of your object, but how each one funtions and how they interact amongst eachother. This project was really just an introduction to the course, giving us a feel for how the class will operate and what to expect for the rest of the year. Due to this being a two week long, individual project, there is not too much to reflect upon regarding the subjects of collarboation, cultural competence, character, or consciencous learner, but it did focus upon critical thinking and communication. The critical thinking of course came in when analyzing the materials and determining the function. It was a combination of past STEM knowledge as well as the help of internet research that allowed for me to clearly state the function of each piece. The communication was somewhat different than I am used to; rather than communicating ideas through writing, a majority of the ideas in this project were communicated through pictures. The analytical drawings were meant to display the workings and parts of my object, with very few labels to clarify. Because this was the main form of communication, it was very important for the drawings to be clear and concise. Overall, it was a great introduction to the course and I believe it prepared me for what is about to the hardest year of my STEM career.