Course Reflection:
Throughout this course I was introduced to the sciences behind a fully functional circuit. Although I was taught how to make a working circuit a long time ago, learning how it actually works made the experience way more interesting. I also learned some simple techniques that could accommodate for the countless mechanical failures that occur while building circuits. Learning things that prevent failure is fun.
A challenge that I’ve overcome was making electricity flow through multiple LEDs effectively. For instance, I had 3 LEDs in my electronic card, and at first only 1 of them worked. I had to stabilize the connection between the LEDs and the coin cell battery. I tried to smooth the tape at first but that didn’t work so well. Here is how I solved the problem: Firstly, I laid down my circuit using copper tape and using enough to cover the whole area where my lights were supposedly located. Then, I applied the LEDs in the correct area and laid another layer of copper tape on top of the LED wires and overlapped the first layer of copper tape. I did this because I remembered that the electricity ran for the top of the copper tape, not the adhesive at the bottom.
A difficulty that I am still facing is that my battery placement is still unstable, for it is a dilemma for me to bend and paper for a more stable battery placement, or have the better aesthetic appeal to my circuit in general. I have tried to overlap the battery in multiple layers of copper tape but resulted in a battery that was too heavy to hang onto the copper tape while idle. I will try to design a way to house the battery in a stable place and have the perfect backside at the same time.
Project Reflection:
My theme for my project was sci-fi in general, and it could be described through a mini ufo that I made with a parallel circuit and 3 multi-color LEDs. My reference is the UFO picture on the right, but unfortunately we were limited to 3 LEDs (I would have required at least 20). I am happy that all of the LEDs are functional and working, because I used a little technique and greatly increased my chance of success with the flow of electricity. Something that I would do differently would be having more detail in the drawing, because currently, it looks like it has been done by a 5-year old and nothing like the one on the right. I wish to continue in making even more complicated circuits and modeling objects in real life and the sci-fi world:)