Step Four (Capstone Project)

Evidence of Work 

The main priorities for step four of the capstone project was to create a products life cycle report, infographic and detailed experiments/tests plan and setup report. These assignments were assigned to help us evaluate different criteria, constraints and reliability of our prosthetic. The products life cycle report helped our group gain a better insight into the manufacturing and transportation of our individual materials in our prosthetic. Some materials ended up being more environmentally friendly than others. In order to condense our research from the report we designed an infographic portraying the most important concepts. 

One of the most important assignments to date was the experiments/tests plan and setup report. Creating an experimental plan helped us produce data to serve as the basis for evidence for our design. When designing the experiment, we focused on the accuracy of the data needed to produce reliable measurements and we considered limitations on the precision of the data  (number of trials, cost, risk, time). We ended up testing the functionality/range of motion for our prosthetic by testing different elastic materials. Our youngs modulus data led us to picking the rubber band which would allow the prosthetic to quickly and easily snap back into a locked position once the paw hit the ground. 

Content

Youngs Modulus: a property of the material that tells us how easily it can stretch and deform and is defined as the ratio of tensile stress (σ) to tensile strain (ε). Where stress is the amount of force applied per unit area (σ = F/A) and strain is extension per unit length (ε = dl/l). We used the youngs modulus equation to help us perform an elasticity experiment for our prosthetic. 

Elasticity: the ability of an object or material to resume its normal shape after being stretched or compressed; stretchiness. We used a rubber band in our prosthetic to act as a device to allow the leg to lock back and fourth. 

Experiment: a scientific procedure undertaken to make a discovery, test a hypothesis, or demonstrate a known fact. We ran two experiments on our prosthetic which helped us determine what we needed to improve. 

Infographic: a collection of imagery, data visualizations like pie charts and bar graphs, and minimal text that gives an easy-to-understand overview of a topic.

Life cycle report: analysis for reporting potential environmental loads and resources consumed in each step of a product or service supply chain. In the life cycle report we focused on materials such as pla plastic, rubber silicone liquid and our harness. 

Reflection

My team and I struggled with completing the assignments on time. This is because we were lacking in time management skills. Instead of splitting up the work among team members to different assignments we all worked on one assignment which ended up not being a good decision. By focusing on one assignment we were unable to complete the testing/experiment assignment on time. Moving forward, I think everyone should do a different task to make sure all concepts in the report are complete. 

I struggled coming up with ideas to test our functionality of our prosthetic. My role is more about doing the reports and explanations not engineering. It's hard for me to come up with ideas because I find most ideas to be silly or unattainable. This mindset prevents me from coming up with ideas. In the future, when we do more experiments, i'm going to write any idea that pops in my head down in my notebook. 

During class time and at home I always made sure to communicate with my team members. I made sure to speak up about my concerns with not being able to finish the project on time. By speaking up my team members began to work more efficiently. Since I was busy doing ap exams on thursday and firday I was unable to work on the project in class. However this did not stop me from communicating with my team mates and asking them what I needed to work on at home. 

I collaborated with Keeley by splitting up the work for the plan/testing report. I collaborated with Emma by working on drawing blueprints and sketches for our prosthetic. Mahalia and I both worked on the defense design slideshow together. By collaborating with different people, I was able to learn different things. Without collaboration it's near impossible to create a cohesive report. So it's important that I keep on collaborating with my team mates in order to create an amazing presentation for May 23.