Leo

Engineering Project Blog Post 4: Reflect and Share

March 13, 2022 / Leo / 1 Comment

The way the marble launcher works is you place a marble that has a diameter less than 2cm into the PVC pipe. Once the ball is in, you pull on the two struts poking out of the slots; the farther you pull it down, the farther the ball goes. Once you let go of the struts at the same time, the springs will pull the laser-cut piece forward, and the ball will be pushed out. This is elastic energy converted to kinetic energy, the springs are elastic and the launched marble is kinetic.

I think the most successful part of this product is that the ball can launch out with no problems. The product is also pretty light and self-explanatory.

I need to use stronger glue as the one I used is pretty weak, so the pieces could come off at any moment. I also didn’t have time to make it easier to use like adding a trigger mechanism or connecting it onto a wooden board. Another area I can improve on is the springs as the ones I used were two springs connected together.

The product is fairly environmentally-friendly. PVC pipes are one of the most sustainable products as it requires less energy and fewer resources to manufacture compared to old materials. The product is also beneficial for the consumer as they can learn about elastic energy from a simple toy. They can also figure out that the springs are launching the ball as it is visible to the user.

The marble launcher

Engineering Project Blog Post 3: Create and Improve

March 13, 2022 / Leo / 0 Comments

I was able to get the slots cut into the PVC pipe but the width of it was inconsistent and different on each side. This caused the laser-cut piece to get stuck in certain areas, but the other pieces of the mechanism came out fine. The glue from the hot glue gun also fell off on some parts or didn’t keep the mechanism together. I’m planning on laser-cutting a new piece instead of sanding the slots. For the areas that need to be glued, I’m not sure what other methods there are. Besides those issues, everything else was fine. I couldn’t get any testing done at this point due to the issue with the slots.

Slots on the side of the PVC pipe

The glue keeping the spring and laser-cut piece together

Engineering Project Blog Post 2: Develop and Plan

March 12, 2022 / Leo / 0 Comments

I will need to learn how to add hinges onto the tube and the board if I choose to make everything I drew in the sketch. Whether I make it or not will be decided later on in the process of making the product. The materials I need are all accessible in school.

1st lesson: collecting materials, marking the areas that need to be cut

2nd lesson: cut the marked areas and measure dimensions for the laser-cut components, fixing issues if there are any

3rd lesson: laser-cut components and assemble them, gluing the mechanism together, fixing issues if there are any

4th lesson: assembling components with the PVC pipe, fixing issues if there are any, testing if I finish

5th lesson: fixing issues from testing

Engineering Project Blog Post 1: Define and Inquire

February 21, 2022 / Leo / 0 Comments

The task is to design and create a product (toy, device) that converts/transfers energy.

I’m thinking of making a marble launcher that uses a spring.

Tutorial on marble launcher

What I like about it is that the materials are common and easy to obtain. What I don’t like is some parts of the assembly process may be difficult.

The target audience of the product is anyone that wants a device to launch a ball for a game or towards a target. The main purpose is entertainment.

The pros of them are the design is the materials are easy to get and the mechanism is easy to understand. The cons are the assembly process is a bit difficult and the design may need changes to put the ball into the product.

Lamp

Padlet with inspirations

The padlet helps us put together ideas we found online for inspiration and our user profile so we can go through it was we are designing the light. Some ideas aren’t lamps but some random items from nature or items I think are cool.

Developing Ideas

The ideas were quickly thought up so we could have as many as possible. The ideation matrix was also made to help me come up with more ideas for lamp designs. At this point, I wasn’t set on a certain design yet so I sketched as many as possible. (Forgot to get the drawings on the iPad)

Models

The design is simple and has enough space where the lighting is able to escape. It also looks spacious with the gaps between each layer. I’m not sure where to put the lights in the design or whether I would make it so that you could take off/put on layers. The design of the lamp somewhat resembles a bookshelf.

Cardboard prototype and Affinity design

The cardboard prototype helped me visualize my final design and make any changes that were needed to make the light work. The size and pieces were all the same as my final product so that it is easier to make sure everything fit correctly. The problems weren’t that important as my design could be taken apart or add/take away layers as needed. This also helped me with deciding on my final materials with some feedback from teachers; for example, the frosted acrylic for my top layer.

Final Product

My target user would like my lamp design because it is a simple but also complicated design. The lamp achieves lighting up an area with a unique design. The lamp has layers so that light can go through and so it doesn’t look plain. The layers can be taken apart and changed (adding on or taking away layers).

In the end, the lamp was the way I wanted it to be. I was able to make sure everything fit together. If I made this again, I would change the material because I wasn’t aware how bright it would be with the clear acrylic.

Eyeglasses

November 5, 2021 / Leo / 1 Comment

Padlet with inspirations

The padlet shows inspiration we found online to help us design our glasses. I chose glasses that seemed unique. We also have random inspirations but I chose things that connect to my user. The center column talks about basic information on your user.

Orthographic and Isometric Drawings and mindmap

The Orthographic and Isometric drawings are the two designs that I chose to prototype and possibly make with acrylic. The mindmap helped me with the process to design these glasses as they showed my users characteristics.

Other Drawing Practice and Ideas

These other drawing practices were ideas I had during the process of coming up with designs. There were also drawings to help me with perspective.

Affinity Designer Practice

These Affinity Designer practices helped me with learning how to use the tools on the software to help me design my glasses for the laser cutter.

Cardboard Prototypes

I made cardboard prototypes to fix any issues I had for example the size and fit. Some of the prototypes didn’t come out successfully since I made them too thin. These prototypes can help me fix all the issues before using acrylic to print the final product. I also needed to make design edits over the course of prototyping with cardboard since the shapes made the glasses not fit properly.

Final product and poster

My final product was made with clear acrylic as the material. Some measurements had to be changed because of the change in material from cardboard to acrylic. I wasn’t able to use recycled plastic as my design was too thin.

The Paper Menagerie

October 4, 2021 / Leo / 0 Comments

In Ken Liu’s short story “The Paper Menagerie,” Jack’s identity changes and develops through the use of symbolism, character’s actions, and third-person point of view.

In Ken Liu’s short story “The Paper Menagerie,” the actions of multiple characters emphasizes the reason Jack is struggling when accepting his mother’s culture. In the beginning, Jack’s neighbors said: “That doesn’t sound very Chinesey” (Liu 38) when he told them his name, making it clear that people in the community are stereotypical. The diction in this response guides Jack to think that his Chinese culture is causing him to not fit into the community. Not only are adults using his Chinese culture to comment about him, but it is also shown when Jack’s paper tiger broke Mark’s toy, and in response, Mark punched him then said: “Here’s your stupid cheap Chinese garbage” (55). The tone of Mark’s voice saying “stupid Chinese garbage” emphasizes that people his age are also using his ethnicity as an insult, so it causes Mark to dislike his culture even more in a western community. In addition, Jack’s mother keeps talking to him in Chinese causing him to dislike his mother’s culture even more because he wants to fit into the western community. The repetition of this leads strengthens Jack’s thoughts towards Chinese culture.

Insulation design

September 28, 2021 / Leo / 0 Comments

Design Problem

The MSHS Design Center in ISB is a wonderful space, and we are all appreciative of the ways it enhances our learning of Design, Engineering, and Visual Arts! However, the open plan of the space has created some challenges for teachers and students, and we are looking for creative solutions to the problems of:

acoustic insulation: There is too much disruption caused when multiple classes are being held in the open areas
visual distraction: When multiple groups of students or teachers are active in the area it can be difficult to focus

Process

During the design process, we drew some ideas in our sketchbook. For inspiration, we went through design websites and put links onto a padlet to record designs we found inspiring. We chose our favorite designs (around 3) then but eventually finalized on one. There were different ways to draw the design like perspective or using a grid paper. For a better quality drawing, we used procreate and traced the drawing. We also made a cardboard model to see what our design looked like. There were things we had to include on the drawing like the texture and scale.

Reflection

Drawing my final idea was the most successful part in my opinion as I already knew what it would look like and its functions. However, coming up with ideas was a bit difficult even with the inspiration from the websites. Making the model was also a bit challenging due to the fact that I have no experience with making things like this.

On the Sidewalk Bleeding thesis

September 21, 2021 / Leo / 0 Comments

The main character in Evan Hunter’s short story entitled “On the Sidewalk Bleeding” initially believes that his identity was represented through being in the Royals, but later understands that there is no pride or support being in the group, and being himself is the best option. His changing understanding is revealed through the use of actions of characters, 3rd person point of view (through thoughts), and symbolism.

Actions of characters: “He rolled away from the jacket and lay quite still. breathing heavily, listening to the sound of his breathing and the sounds of the rain and thinking: Rain is sweet, I’m Andy.” The action of him rolling away from the jacket shows that he doesn’t want to be connected to the Royals anymore after getting stabbed.

3rd person point of view (through thoughts): “Even in his pain, there had been some sort of pride in knowing he was a Royal. Now there was no pride at all.” The quote showed the change of Andy’s view towards being in the Royals from having pride to having none.

Symbolism: “if he had not been wearing the jacket, he wouldn’t have been stabbed. The knife had not been plunged in hatred of Andy. The knife hated only the purple jacket. ” The purple jacket symbolized Andy’s choice to join the Royals, also the reason he is stabbed.

Strengths and Weaknesses

September 8, 2021 / Leo / 0 Comments

I think one of my strengths as a learner is that I can submit work on time.

One of my weaknesses is that I don’t speak during class, and if I do I’m quiet.

Leo