CLARICE KEE
Executive summary/Abstract
During my WOW! experience, I was privileged enough to work in the Digital Fabrication Space and gain hands on experience on building items using laser cutting. I was taught how to use Librecad to design for 2D printing and was tasked to design different products.
Background information of organisation
The department we were assigned to in Science Center was the Digital Fabrication Space (DFS). DFS engages school groups in STEM workshops, through which the students get the opportunity to work with the tools involved in digital fabrication as well as gain corresponding skill sets. They also facilitate vibrant internships (such as ours) as well as purposeful partner-run programmes by Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) and industry. These initiatives dovetail perfectly, enabling the DFS to transcend its functionality as a mere space for activity into an endearing and dynamic gateway to STEM education. By acquiring the STEM Mindset, learners gain the confidence to harness technology and apply that competently in problem solving, prototyping and product development.
The Digital Fabrication Space is located within the Einstein Room on level two of Science Centre Singapore.
Background information of projects & Tasks
Throughout the month, I focused only on laser cutting instead of 3d printing and I had 4 main projects:
1. 3D stack art
2. Infinity mirror
3. Moiré effect illusion
4. Impeller pump
For all of my projects, I had to first design the product (usually in parts) on the computer using Librecad before sending it to the laser cutter to have it cut out. Next, I would have to assemble pieces together to get the finished product and when necessary, I would have to do a trial and error to make more prototypes and improve on the design.
Elaboration of activities done, results and deliverables
1. 3D Stack art
Stack art is essentially many layers of similar patterns stacked upon one another to create a final art piece. Each layer would differ from the next in the angle of rotation and/or size of pattern. This was the first project I embarked on and I struggled a lot in the designing stage since I was new to the software and designing the patterns was rather tedious.
Designing 18 layers
finished product
2. Infinity mirror
when light in between a 100% reflective mirror and a less reflective one bounces back and forth with some light escaping from the less reflective piece each time. This results in less light being reflected towards the mirror and hence progressively dimmer reflections are formed and there is an illusion of infinite reflections.
Firstly, I had to design clips that will help clip an LED strip in place in between the 2 mirrors. I measured the height of the LED strip and thickness of the 2 different mirror and designed the clip such that it would be long enough for the top and bottom to fit through holes in the mirror. This process seemed easy enough but I ran into somedifficulty in the shape of the clip. I had to ensure that the clip would not fall out of the holes in the mirrors easily and hence had to trial and error to design the clips for a perfect tight fit. Every millimetre made a difference in whether the clip would fit nicely or not and so the prototyping process was tedious.
Next, I measured the distance between every LED in the LED strip and designed the outline of the letter K and had to fit in holes to place the clips along the outline. An important consideration was that the LED on the LED strip cannot be bent and hence cannot be along edges. Therefore, I had to do many meticulous calculations during the designing phase as to ensure that the LED strip would bend nicely along the outline of the letter K.
right, from top to bottom: concept of infinity mirror, designing holes for mirror, finished product
3. Moire effect
A Moiré pattern is an interference pattern produced by overlaying similar but slightly offset templates. For the project, i made 4 different illusions and for each, i was to design 2 identical patterns and laser cut them out on paper. I would then have to flip 1 pattern and put in on top of the other and rotate the top layer to create the moving illusion.
For my first design, I started off with a simple one, using only straight lines.
For my next 3 design, i designed the patterns with hexagons but arranged them in different angular patterns - square, triangle and parallelogram.
4. Impeller pump
An impeller is a rotating component of a centrifugal pump which transfers energy from the motor that drives the pump to the fluid being pumped by accelerating the fluid outwards from the center of rotation. Essentially, the shaft of the motor will rotate and since it is connected to the impeller blades, the impeller rotates and forces air outwards.
For my final project, I had to build an impeller pump without any lesson guide but I was given a finished product to analyse. I had to thoroughly examine the product and note down what I had to design and how each and every part would be assembled together. Since I did not have any dimensions and the materials I was given was different from that of the finished product, I had to go through multiple prototypes before coming up with the final design.
box joint
mortise and tenon joint
motor and female barrier jack held in place
finished product!
3 content knowledge / skills learnt
1. Using softwares to design for laser cutting
I struggled a lot when I first started using Librecad even when there were lesson guides with step-by-step tutorials. Throughout the month, I mastered the skill of using Librecad and even made the lesson guides for the moire effect illusion and impeller pump. On the last day of the attachment, the Digital Fabrication Space also hosted an open house and i had to learn how to use another similar software, CorelDraw on the spot and teach others how to design for 2d printing.
2. Prototyping
All of my projects required me to undergo the process of prototyping and this really taught me how to analyse items or situation and point out areas of improvement. Sometimes it is easy to spot how to improve a design, i.e. to alter the dimensions. However, there are cases where the solution is not as obvious i.e. for the impeller pump, the air exiting the outlet was too weak. I initially thought the problem was the motor being too weak, but it was actually because of too much air leakage at the sides and the motor shaft not being fully connected to the impeller. Such scenarios forced me to really think of the multiple possible factors causing the problem and note down the areas for improvement.
3. 2d designing
when i first started off this attachment, i assumed that 2d printing was easy since one only had to design, print and assemble pieces together like a puzzle. however, as the projects became gradually more difficult, i had to pick up the skill of visualising the finished product. i had to consider many details like the thickness and width of the materials i worked with, how every piece would fit in together, which pieces to assemble first etc. This was a great eye-opener and forced me to anticipate for potential problems i would face.
2 interesting aspects of your learning
Every little detail matters
I am not a very detail-oriented person and hence tend to look past tiny details. In this field of constructive work, details matter down to every millimetre since once a single piece is 1 or 2 millimetre off in dimension, the whole product would not even be able to function. This experience enlightened me about the importance of details and taught me to be more careful around tiny details.
How certain items are constructed
This experience allowed me to craft items and even art pieces from scratch and gave me insights on how laser cutting and 3d printing is used to craft other items we see in our everyday lives.
1 takeaway for life
Always try your best and persevere on
when I was first tasked to design and build the impeller pump from scratch without any guidelines, I was quite taken aback and stuck. I thought it would be impossible for me to build it within a week as it was quite complicated. I had to read up on all the physics and the mathematical concepts behind centrifugal pumps and impeller blade and all of it seemed extremely foreign to me. However, i preserved on and tried my best to analyse the product and design it. Soon enough, I understood how the pieces would piece together and how to make adjustments to the original design and improve on it. This experience truly highlighted the importance of persevering and trying my best even when the situation gets tough.