Journal Entry (option 1): A series of reflections that I noted during the process of the PBL. This includes a multitude of aspects that I wanted to document.
January 22, 2021
Entry 1
In Quarter 3, my POE class was given a PBL project to work on for the spring semester. We were given the option to fo a robotic arm or another build-and-design PBL. I chose to do the robotic arm, with a few reasons in mind behind it. One, there were already a few projects that were posted online with different, yet similar ideas that I could use as reference. Two, this was the first time I have done a building project since the start of the pandemic. By making a robotic arm, I wanted to challenge myself. And three, I think that these types of projects are something I enjoy doing, especially when it comes to considering constraints and unexpected failures during construction.
January 29, 2021
Entry 2
With my decision to pursue the robotic arm project, I started my background research. Under my class’s Schoology page, I looked inside the folder that consisted of all resources for the project. I googled similar projects and read articles on the physics behind hydraulic systems. I watched Youtube videos on cardboard hydraulic arms. After seeing a lot of different ideas, I began to formulate my ideas while still integrating others from online sources. I also researched cheap materials that I could use for my arm. Since this was a home project, some tools were available and I had an adult that helped me when I would need to use the drill.
February 1, 2021
Entry 3
I decided that since I have a good foundation in my background research, I will create the digital portfolio next. I did not expect to run into complications when I made the google site. Online school this year has strained our computers a lot. Today, my computer would glitch and could not save my google site. I initially thought that it was an internet connection issue so I switched to a hot spot. But I noticed that the problem did not fix itself. I consulted my parents and sought another solution.
Update Feb 6: I had to change my internet provider to solve the issue.
February 11, 2021
Entry 4
There were a lot of complications that arose in the making of the project. Ideally, I should’ve prepped all materials before the start. But after constructing the robotic arm using the same materials from an online source, I noticed that there were problems with the overall structure of the arm. The rotating platform was not able to withstand the weight of the arm. Therefore, it was not rotating at all. I suppose it had something to do with the double corrugated cardboard I used. I had to scratch the prototype I made so that I could fix the weight problem.
February 19, 2021
Entry 5
The winter storm recently gave me time off my project. I found a better material for the robotic arm in my garage. The new cardboard was thinner and stiffer, however, I only had two 12 in by 16 in rectangles of the material. My main concern was to prevent any wasted effort on the cardboard. And because of that, I decided to improvise the design a little bit. I removed some parts of the initial design because the cardboard held still in its place despite its thinness. This time, the rotating platform was able to move because of the lightness of the cardboard too.
February 27, 2021
Entry 6
This is a continuation of my complications, once again. There were many difficulties regarding the toothpick holes, syringes, and zip ties. The zip ties I bought were too large to be wrapped tightly around the toothpicks. But in the end, I decided to use hot glue. In small amounts, however, since it would result in a heavier arm and prevent the arm from rotating. Another problem was the tubing. Attaching the tubes to the syringes went smoothly, the problem was gathering the water into the tubes. It was a messy process, a struggling effort to add the water without unlatching the other syringe and splashing more water out of the tubes than storing it inside.
March 2, 2021
Entry 7
I finished building the robotic arm, so I tested the final production of the arm. My rotating platform did rotate but there was not enough pressure to revert into its original position. It was the same problem with the arms. I thought about loosening the toothpicks since it did create resistance. I was stuck so I went back into researching, and found the concept of mechanical advantage was used. So I replaced one end of the four tubes with a smaller volume of 5mL. This was a success, I was able to function the robotic arm without problems.
March 16, 2021
Entry 8
I finalized all the pictures throughout the building project. I grouped them in folders with descriptions to efficiently insert them into the google site later. From there, I brainstormed a possible range of products that could be used as testing trials. I considered a maximum capacity that the arm could withstand. And I found three promising objects and weighed them on a small electric scale. I was told by my teacher to include three different trials with each object to provide consistent and accurate results. It took a few tries to grab each object, but other than that, everything went smoothly.
March 28, 2021
Entry 9
Not much is left to do after the testing and building. I have taken the final picture of the whole project and created a video project on it. All that is left is filling the information into the site. Procedure-wise, there is still a lot to cover. I think that this step was not as time-consuming as construction but it has its difficulty. I decided to structure my time on this project with the actual building first and then the google site later. I believe that after creating the final product, I will have a vivid picture of input on the google site afterward.
April 3, 2021
Entry 10
I made a few more edits on the site otherwise everything looks put together. That said, this project was very interesting. I learned a lot about mechanical systems and the application of different engineering concepts. There were many frustrations during the process, especially since I did the project individually. There were also happy mistakes that created an opportunity for efficiency. I think the main takeaway from this was to gain experience and find a correlation between science and engineering. But to conclude, I had fun creating the robotic arm.