The design had flaws, including difficulties connecting the wires for a circuit that would make it somewhat sustainable, and the challenging area to maneuver with also brought trouble. The base that created a fence to hold the upper area of my design was made out of wood, sawed, and hot glued together. Though I wanted to attach the motor and switch with the hot glue gun, the engine would stop working due to the inability to spin after being stuck to the wood. This led to tape used to attach the rest of the circuit instead.

However, after working with the project for a while longer, I created a stable circuit. The next step would be to attach a small shield of some sort to capture the wind, as the original idea of plastic seemed to be an unavailable option with the resources given. After observing other materials provided within the design area and thought to create a more aesthetically pleasing design, I settled on using wood, just like what the base was made of.

Popsicle sticks stacked

After creating a wooden box with a drilled hole aligning with the motor, I discovered that my calculations had flaws, and therefore the box could not settle onto the base. The picture on the right explains my solution, which initially was to create smaller pieces of wood slabs, but I found an alternative that worked just as well: the popsicle sticks. This allowed for my project to assemble quite nicely without falling apart.

This created a successful fan-blowing machine; however, the space I’ve made was not susceptible for objects to blow high. My many attempts resulted in particles messing up the system, including string, which was initially tied onto small decorative pieces that could float. Instead, they would just tangle up the fan.

As a result, I had to scratch my original idea and spent half the class searching for alternatives. The solution came only as a thought of confetti, cut up some sticky notes, and put them into the box. To assure that the particles wouldn’t fall out and make a mess, I attached a transparent piece of plastic on top of the box.