Design class #1 This is a picture of my collection of *starting* materials, including the AAx6 battery pack, electrical rotation motor, suction cups (always kept spares), servo tester, a level switch for testing, and an Arduino in case I needed to code & program. Note that the rotation motor here is black and differed from the blue one; this was the one I began to use first but was later switched to the blue one (see picture below) due to its heavyweight and size.

Design class #1 This is when I collected all the materials and started my first test run of the motor, with the rotation motor (black in the picture but was later changed to blue) connected to the battery with alligator clips. The trial run with the black motor was reasonably successful and the motor functions well. In the meantime, Mr. Costa, a design assistant in the engineering space,  suggested I use a much smaller rotation motor (as can be seen on the left of the servo tester); despite its size, it was particularly potent-even more powerful than the previous black one! Applying the feedback from Mr. Costa, I then changed from my original motor to the blue one; it turned out to be exceptionally useful and provided immense strength. Thanks, Mr. Costa! (The blue motor was tested outside of this picture. Unfortunately, the photo of the blue motor being wired to the system was not taken, but it is essentially the same circuit, only replacing the blue motor with the black.

Design class #2 Here is the “light switcher” I have made from a 12cm long wooden stick and the hard-plastic motor connector piece attached to the front +/- 2cm of the tip by hot glue. This will be attached to the blue rotation motor by placing the connector piece onto the motor attachment place. I have done multiple tests for secureness, and I am definite that the wooden switch will stay in place during the spinning motion.

Here is a demonstration video to observe the motor turn with the wooden switch attached. I have also shown how the servo tester can control the speed at which the motor is turning and its spinning direction. I apologize for the video exceeding the upload file limit on blogs and have shared it in a one-drive folder instead.

See the source image

During design class #3, it was heartbreaking and unfortunate to encounter serious difficulties and errors in my project. It turns out that despite the abundance of power I believed the blue motor had, the power at which the motor is spinning the wooden switcher was, in reality, way too low to even turn the light on. As a result, it would simply hit the surface of the light switch at a fast speed; however, there is not enough force to “click” the switch. This was generally my mistake, and I definitely should have considered this more in-depth into this particular aspect before I did the project. This is an excellent lesson to learn and will be nevertheless reflected upon, and of course, taken into consideration for awareness and changes for future projects.

(This was done outside of class) Moving on from the first idea that was unfortunately unsuccessful, I have made the decision to develop a project based on the previously mentioned idea “electric cup mixer & shaker.” I included a materials list in the picture above. As you can see, I wanted to utilize as many as possible resources that I had already collected in my first idea. That way, it saves me valuable time as I can reuse these same resources. Given its name, my new project was essentially a cup mixer that targeted and aimed to help people making drinks who are in a kitchen area. The machine will be operated under electricity, more powered explicitly by a six AA battery pack connected to a 360-degree rotation motor. The entire project will be set on a 20cm long, 15cm wide, and 15 cm tall foam box, with the motor hidden and inside the box leaving only the wooden cup-holder platform on top, and of course, the switch to control the flow of electricity. I have specifically designed the wooden cup-holder platform to be 8cm by 8cm. Therefore, the 5.5cm popsicle stick panels will *securely* hold the majority of all cups, bottles, and can types. -Every bottle/cup I have seen and tested so far fits perfectly except those Camelbak wide ones. The mixer project can be controlled and used very easily; all the user/audience has to do is cautiously place the cup into the secure panels on the wooden platform and simply turn on the switch. The cup should “slide in” and secure on itself; I have purposely designed an elevated angle for the ease of the user and to prevent errors with the cup sliding out.

One concern I had for this new project was the balance and weight distribution of the base. The quick rotations of the cup when it is “mixing” might cause the entire foam box to flip over or become unstable to the ground. A solution to this would be to increase the weight of the platform and the amount of liquid there is inside of the cup, setting a minimum weight (volume) for the mixer project to work efficiently. This number will be around 40-50 ML as the minimum volume of the liquid in the cup.

I plan to finish my second project by March 7th. A new timeline is as follows:

Design class #4 Match 3rd, work on cup mixer project, and ask for feedback from teachers and design assistants

Design class #5 March 7th, finish up the project and finalize it, must apply the feedback given and make changes

The techniques I will need to learn in my mixer project remain the same; learning the fundamentals of electricity as well as circuits & wiring.

 

Design class #4

This is my sketch of the cup platform. It was then marked on a 1cm thin wood and lasercutted in the fab lab.

Here is the 360-degree rotation motor being tested; it is the yellow rectangular object below the yellow plastic wheel. I used the wheel at first, but it was suggested to me by my table partners and design assistants. My original plan (see picture 4) was to directly attach the cup-holder platform to the motor; however, when it was attached, it caused too many contacts with the foam surface and produced way too much friction for it to run at an appropriate speed. Connecting the wheel allowed space between the foam and the wooden surface and worked much more efficiently. The feedback was instrumental and beneficial in my process of designing.

Here is the 20x15x15 foam box. The inside was slightly different from the planned sketch but did not affect my project in any way. When I first designed the project, I was being extraordinarily foolish and absolutely forgot about the thickness of the foam-upper surface and that the motor’s pivoted axle would not even reach up to the surface, it can be pictured as a turtle trying to extend its head out of its shell but gets stuck midway. From another discussion with the design assistant, I was given feedback and advised to cut the styrofoam so that the motor can extend its “turtle-head out.”  As can be seen in the right-side picture above, I marked the area based on the dimensions of the motor and “dug” out styrofoam, making space for the motor to perfectly fit. This eliminated the error in my plan and was practical, realistic and straight to the point.

 

Design day #5

*Note-The plastic wheel is hot glued to the wooden platform

I originally planned for five popsicle sticks for secureness; however, during my process of making, I realized that an extra would be completely redundant and unnecessary. As I have tested, four wooden panels work much better than five and secure the cup efficiently. Along the process of designing, I also learned the technique of hot gluing. Of course, I have hot glued before, but this time, it was to a much greater extent; I had more practice with the glue gun and was able to better control and use the glue gun effectivity towards the project. In the beginning, I remember constantly overusing/producing glue and having to redo my work. Still, as I obtained more and more practice, I learned the necessary skills of hot gluing and applied that to my project.

Here is when I combined the two components together, not by hot-gluing but by using the “click” mechanism of the wheel to the motor. The motor has a concave indentation that perfectly fits the “ridge” tip of the wheel, making a “crack” sound and locks in, like putting together lego pieces. Note that the switch has not been attached yet and the project still remains on a motor-testing basis. The mixer & platform did spin in the way as planned, and worked very well to my surprise.

Here is an overview of my prototype, it is still in the testing process that’s why I used dual AA batteries instead of six.

 

Weekends non-school workday:

Here is the bottom view of the product, as you can see the switch is in place and connected, I have also made holes in the foam to pass through wires and tape to secure the wires as well. The battery is not attached in the picture but is in this demonstration.