BLOG POST #1- Define and Inquire

Task: This project aims to engineer a device that demonstrates a transformation of energy in 2 weeks. Products would be made for different targets such as education and entertainment relating to energy transfer.

Audience: The product I am aiming to make is a helicopter. The target client for this product is children in elementary school; it’s a safe and easily controlled toy without any remote control needed.

Precedents & Ideas:

-idea #1: Do It Yourself Toy- Rubberband Car

The energy transfer of this toy is elastic to kinetic energy. This product is a car with a wooden body with bottle cap wheels that moves with the elastic energy of the rubber band. I like this idea because the materials used are not hard to gather; however, the making process is a bit challenging because the steps of cutting the popsicles and making holes (in the bottle caps&woods) are not accessible.

Pros- Easily controlled toy / safe for children

Cons- Lack of materials for the clients at home / complicated to make / tiring to play / too common

 

OR (idea for car)

I can use a motor (with battery pack) and connect a gear (take a straw; put a skewer in the straw, and bottle caps on the two sides; make the motor touch the gear which touches the bottle cap) with a similar design.

-idea #2: Do It Yourself Toy- Coin Bank

The coin bank keeps the coin from turning the handle of the moving object that holds the coin, using kinetic energy. I like the product’s design, but it is a bit complicated to make the product by a child alone. The bank is made out of paper, cardboard, and wooden stick.

Pros- The usefulness of the product / the design that is attractive to children / and the materials are easy to find / can use for an extended period of time

Cons- Hard to cut the cardboard pieces / complicated steps for a child to make / need to use hand to operate the product

 

-idea #3: Do It Yourself Toy- Coke dispenser

The energy transfer of this coke dispenser is from electric energy to kinetic energy. The product uses a switch to dispense the beverage. A sensor turns the light on when the card is inserted (the energy conversion is from the electric energy in the battery to light energy). I like how there is two energy transfer in this toy.

Pros- Professional looking toy / Can use in real life / Can be an educational toy by teaching a child (client) about how the machine works / Different aspects included

Cons- Little amount of beverage comes out / need to hold for the drink to dispense / Possible for not having enough time for creating this product.

 

-idea #4: Do It Yourself Toy- Helicopter

The energy transfer of this helicopter is from electric energy to kinetic energy. The helicopter’s body is made out of a card pack, and it moves by a motor (connected to a battery pack by wires). I like how it has a simple design, and it uses a switch to turn the engine off and on.

Pros- Light / Uses switch for control

Cons- Does not fly / Might be dangerous for kids to play with helicopters

–> from watching this video, I have decided to make a DIY helicopter using a motor and plastic bottle.

 

-precedent #1 for helicopter:

This is a DIY helicopter that also uses a card pack for the central part that holds the helicopter’s motor. It uses a motor, connects to a battery by wires, and connects the wire and engine to a switch. For the blades, it uses a plastic stick and crosses them over. This video inspired me to operate a motor and connect it to a battery for the movement of the blade, hiding the motor in the card pack/bottles.

Pro- It has an excellent design: a motor spinning at the edge of the helicopter that children might like / Can make in a few classes

Con- Does not fly / Could be dangerous because of the blade

-precedent #2:

This helicopter uses four batteries and sticks the motor on top, and connects a blade of a long popsicle with a circle tool. In this video, I focused on how to make the propeller with a motor, and it gave me an idea of how I should make a propeller out of wood.

Pros- Most of the materials are easy to find (the propeller is a popsicle) / Cool design by painting the sides of the blade / Won’t take too long to do this project

Cons- Uses a helicopter part instead of making a stand / the batteries may heat up quickly because there are too many for one motor / the switch is near the propeller, which might hurt the client using it.

 

BLOG POST #2- Develop and Plan 

Bigger Version

This is my final plan for the DIY helicopter toy. I decided to use the motor and the battery pack for the primary energy input; I wanted to make something entertaining for children and a safe toy.

I have researched how much the length should be, and the bottle had to be half of the whole helicopter, so I decided to find the smallest water bottle and measure the size. I also had a few ideas of how to connect the propeller and the motor specifically:

The first is to drill a hole on top of the helicopter, stick the motor inside, and put the spinning part into the hole. The second one was to attach the battery pack to the bottom of the bottle and glue the motor on top of the bottle. Then, I combined these ideas and came up with the third one. At the last stage, I decided to hide the motor inside and use a bottle cap for it to spin.

For making this helicopter, I would need to learn different techniques. The techniques I would use during the construction are connecting the wire of the battery pack to the motor, attaching the propeller, and making a propeller. I would get help to cut the holes in the bottle but get ideas from the internet (videos, images) to learn how to connect a motor and make a propeller.

For the motor- I learned that the positive is the red wire and the negative is the black wire, and I have to connect those two to the motor (roll the wire to make it stay tight). I got feedback from the teacher to try solder for the wire to stay- and I noted it to try it next time in the improvement stage. I searched on Youtube for the propeller and saw that a long wooden stick propeller would work fine, so I decided to use two –cm popsicles and glue them together. Then, I would make a hole in a bottle cap and the wooden stick and attach it to the spinning part of the motor. However, I am not sure if the propeller would be fast enough at this stage.

Schedule:

Day #1- Gather materials

Day #2- Missed class

Day #3- Start building; finish cutting and measuring the popsicles and the main water bottle

Day #4- Continue building: finish sticking the motor; making a stand; making a propeller

Day #5- Finalize; improve

Materials:

• the smallest size of bottle that I can find
• 3 drinking straws for the stand
• 2 bottle cap for connecting the propeller to the motor
• 1 round wooden stick to connect the popsicles and the propeller
• 4 big popsicles + 2 small popsicles for the body
• 1 motor + 1 battery pack for it to fly
• hot glue gun (to glue all together)

Success criteria:

1. The helicopter flies
2. The propeller moves fast enough
3. Converts electric energy (from the battery pack) to kinetic energy
4. The design looks like a toy and would entertain a child

The main expectation for my project is that the helicopter would fly, or at least move, and the client would find the helicopter interesting.

BLOG POST #3- Create and Improve 

In the first class, I improved my sketch through the teacher’s feedback, and once I got approved, I started to gather all the materials I needed. However, I missed the second class, so I did not make a prototype and started making the final product due to time constraints.

I got feedback and changed one part: using a smaller recycled bottle than a water bottle because it is easier to work (glue) on a smooth surface. So I decided to use a pill container.

I made the product step by step, following the schedule I made; however, I have faced a few minor challenges and managed to figure them out during the process.

Process & Problems:

In the beginning, the first minor problem was that it was hard to stick the motor inside the bottle without cutting any part to place my hand in, so I decided to glue the motor on top and the battery on the bottom. In this stage,  I thought of an idea, drilled a hole next to the battery, and placed the wire inside the bottle for an appealing design and convenience.

(motor) (wire)

The biggest problem during the creation process was the blade. At the very beginning, I chose to use a wooden stick propeller; however, due to the change of the location of the motor and with the feedback that wood would not be a suitable propeller (slow, heavy), I had to change my plan a bit. So I decided to test out the propellers in school and chose the fastest one.

-> From the testing, I noticed the blue one was the fastest. The blue propeller made the helicopter move, and the blade spinning is not visible because of the speed. The other two were too slow that they did not even move; the propellers were too big for a single motor.

The final problem I had was the stand of the helicopter. The straw stand was too weak and light that it did not stand. Also, the location to glue the stand was very curved, but the stand I made was not long enough to be glued tilted. I moved the battery pack to the left for the stand-in this stage for better gluing.

 

As a result, I changed the stand into a thicker wood stand by gluing two popsicles with four columns to make it easier to balance. I had to measure the columns precisely in the same length to stand without tilting. However, after changing, the helicopter started to fall because of the heaviness of the battery.

Therefore, I stuck the battery everywhere and found the best part: the top. The weight was added to the center so the helicopter did not fall. However, it was inconvenient to touch the battery next to the blade, so I moved it to the bottom of the bottle.

 

Feedback:

The first feedback I got was to connect a switch to stop the energy waste. From this stage, I learned how to connect a switch to a motor and how to find the correct input and output of the energy,

The second feedback was to make an RC remote control helicopter blade because the small propeller did not make the helicopter fly. Yet, due to time constraints, I could not make another blade. As a result, I researched a remote control helicopter and found a video that gave me an idea/guide of the blade I should make if there is next time.

This is an RC remote control helicopter that uses a coke can. The body and the wings are made out of a coke can at the end. However, it uses a factory-made blade with a  remote-controlled, which gives me inspiration for what form, style (two plastic that widens), and material (plastic) I should use for the blade. Also, it teaches me how to connect a remote control system in the helicopter instead of a motor, which would increase the possibility of flying.

BLOG POST #4- Reflect and Share 

My final product looks different from the first design because I had to change the plan when solving the challenges. Unfortunately, the final product does not work- does not fly because:

1. the propeller did not spin fast enough: The energy input was not enough for the motor to move fast enough;
2. The helicopter was too heavy. The heavier weight of the helicopter was stronger than the force that the propeller produced.
3. the propeller was too small

However, the helicopter still moved around because:

1. The propeller’s spinning of the propeller made the wind downwards, which gave them energy and force to move. –> this produced wind like a fan, too
2. Enough energy boosted the speed of the motor to move the helicopter around: by the energy, the battery produced to the motor which spun the propeller.

I am still proud of the project I made, and the success of making the helicopter was that:

-moves around

-the design (propeller, stand) looked more incredible than the plan

-successfully shown energy transfer of electric to kinetic

From this project, I learned how a helicopter moved, how the propeller moved, how the electrical energy from the battery converted into kinetic energy. I experienced how to connect the wires and correct in/outputs by making the helicopter. The most significant improvement I want to make is in the improvement stage: I would have changed the propeller into more like an RC remote control helicopter type or made a remote control helicopter. Also, I would have researched and inquired more about using gear to make the propeller spin faster (success criteria 2) and paint or decorate for the client’s entertainment (success criteria 4).

Lastly, the project has minimal environmental harm because it does not create any waste but uses recycled products such as bottles and straws. However, I used some popsicles, so the materials such as hot glue and the popsicles might pollute the ocean if they are thrown away. The potential client was elementary children for their entertainment and learning about energy transfer. The energy transfer shown by the battery, wire, and motor was successful; however, the helicopter’s design could improve by painting and using the hot glue more clearly.