Spring Quarter 2024: 4/2 - 6/14

Week 1: 4/2 - 4/5

• first week of class!

• School started on a Tuesday, so we didn't have our first shop period yet (our shop is on Monday).

• We met eachother and learned about Pete's lifestyle and history with sustainable development.

• We started our website!

Week 2: 4/8 - 4/12

• We learned about owning failure, the design process, and lived our first self-interventions.

• We had our first shop section on Monday!

  • We passed our machine shop safety test, now we can get started with construction. 

• We also had our first presentation on Wednesday.

  • We talked about this website and our goals for where the project will head and anticipate transitioning our project to focus on developing a solar dryer after speaking with Salma.

  • Presentation link: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1sGK0WIhfPRqiY5-cYbL23ROWms3mKppjE9v7cCh6dGw/edit#slide=id.g2cac15c3a55_0_0

• We completed our first self-intervention: don't throw anything away for a week.

Week 5: 4/29 - 5/3

• During our shop period on Monday 4/29, we:

  • Last week's concrete slab sample was a great success! There was very minimal cracking where the mesh was placed. 

  • Materials from the CM building (lumber, metal mesh, plywood) were sorted and brought to the lab. 

  • We redesigned our solar dryer project akin to our feedback from our presentation last week and the materials we had available.

  • After determining the dimensions of the prototype, we started constructing the formwork for the thermal conductor area.

  • Additional concrete tests were made with the new metal mesh we acquired and fiberglass fabric.

    • This new mixture includes coarse aggregates, fine aggregates, and cement. 

Week 6: 5/6 - 5/10

• We got started on constructing the heat trap by counting how many cans we collected, then we measured and built the outer frame for that section. 

• Got started setting up the cans for implementation by cutting the tops into fins and sanding the bottom end off. 

• We decided that while the concrete would be a good material for the base of the thermal conduction area, it was not worth the investment of time or resources. Ideally the cans will absorb the heat, leaving none for the concrete to absorb. 

• To help account for a raise in crop production we have decided to make our system modular. By enabling the user to add more heat traps or stack dehydrators our product will be effective in more scenarios. 

• Got our hands on new supplies and a plan for next week; 1 Finish grinding the cans, 2 cut plexi glass to size, 3 glue cans, 4 put it all together and we will have our heat trap all set and ready for testing in the coming week.

Week 7: 5/13 - 5/17

• During shop this week we developed a more efficient strategy to cut and link the cans.

  • We started by caulking the cut and finned aluminum cans together but it was taking a lot of effort, and were cutting through the thick aluminum at the base of the can which was taking a lot of time and effort

  • So, we used the dremmel to cut through the thinner aluminum near the base of the can and were able to link the cans together one by one without glue or caulk.

• We almost finished connecting all of the aluminum cans!

• We also cut the plexiglass to size.

• Next week we can finish the cans and finish building the heat trap and start the frame of the drying rack component.

• We also decided that a good final experiment could be testing the heat potential of different types of heat conductors:

  • aluminum can tubes

  • aluminum shreds

  • rubber shreds

• We also gave another update presentation: https://www.canva.com/design/DAGDTZHUFLE/vFbQTcOYGONt4zIYlYyoZg/edit

Week 8: 5/20 - 5/24

• During shop this week we finished cutting and stacking the cans. (This process took far longer than we expected) 

• We started constructing the frame, we cut the 2x4s to length as well as the sheet of OSB to be used on the base. 

• We also found a thin sheet of wood to add over OSB for a little more strength and better looks.  

• The next step was to paint the cans and frame black to better absorb sunlight, we did this in the paint booth which was neat to learn about. 

• We ran out of time in this lab to finish the heat trap entirely but we will be able to next week. 

• To-do so, we will finish painting, predrill then screw in the plexiglass, and cut holes in base and top 2x4 to let air into the system. 

Week 9: 5/28 - 5/31

• During shop this week we finished the heat trap and redesigned our dehydrator section. 

• The next step was to finish the frame and open up a way for air to get into the system, we tried using a hole saw on a hand drill but it was nowhere near powerful enough, our wood was quite hard.  

• We then went on to use the hole saw on the drill press, this was somewhat tedious but it worked. (Wood did keep getting stuck in the hole saw, which got me a lot more comfortable taking it apart and putting it back together.)

• We were a little worried about the plexiglass cracking so we predrilled, using drywall screws seemed to work out very well for us as well. 

• After getting the heat trap all wrapped up, we noticed a 27 gal. tub that was about the perfect size to be retrofitted into our dehydration chamber, so we redesigned our chamber. 

• Our new design will be almost identical to the previous one, however, the dimensions are a little different for the chamber, and rather than building a door, the lid can be easily removed and reattached to access the fruit.  

• This will also allow us to use a thermocouple to test the heat production in both a plastic tub and the aluminum cans to have an idea of whether our time was well spent. 

(Will add better photos) 

• Goals for week 10: 

Pre-lab: Go to Home Depot to buy a tub, chimney, and more 2x4s.

Lab: Construct dehydrator section 

Week: Test the heat sources with thermocouple and potentially produce as well.

Week 10: 6/3 - 6/7

• This week we finally got to test our heat source, and it was much hotter than we expected!  We expected the model to get to about 120°F, but we got it over 170°F and counting!  With that temperature, we can adequately expect to dehydrate oranges in 4-8 hours.

• We also ran various tests of the heat trap's temperature, details of which can be found in the Results page!

Finals Week: 6/10 - 6/14!

• The dehydrator section was finished up and now we have all the pieces ready to go!