This is my Develop and Plan Blog Post created for the Science project: Grade 9 Energy Transfer Engineering. In this post, I will explain how I reached my final concept, my plans for my concept, and my success criteria.
Arriving at This Iteration of My Design:
I decided to use the laser cutter because that will give me accurate cuts and measurements. Furthermore, the laser cutter can be used easily and efficiently, and the material it uses is durable. Since I know my cutting skills are subpar, I figured the laser cutter would be more suitable to reach the goal of a good-looking design. I decided to design the car so it is nail-less, making sure there are no parts sticking out and potentially dangerous, sharp nails. Originally, I wanted to use “wind power” to power and push my car, but I changed it to battery-powered since it was easier to use in regards to a 6-year-old intended user. This would also make sure the toy could be easily repaired if it broke, and the pieces would be easier to use as it consists of a switch rather than a not-so-durable sail.
I used the method of the idea matrix to combine my original idea of a car with different types of potential energy. Since I know cars transfer potential energy to kinetic energy in order to move, I thought it would be suitable to create an idea matrix listing the potential energy that could be used to move the car. Below is the list I came up with, and I used it to test keywords such as “car wind energy” in google to find precedents. Following this, I was able to find suitable precedents to base my product off of and use as inspiration to create my design.
Sharing My Design Concept:
My design concept is the aforementioned battery-powered car. These are the sketches I created originally to plan my initial ideas and combine them into one concept. My design concept uses the laser-cutter (5mm cardboard) to create the base of my vehicle. Additionally, to connect the pieces together, I will use hot glue to make sure it holds in place, creating a solid, durable product. Finally, I will solder the battery onto the base, connecting the wheels to the pulley so it can rotate with ease. This is not a four-wheel-drive toy car, so the front two wheels will rotate using the battery pack and the back wheels will use the force of the front wheels to be pulled along, rotating as it moves rather than moving via rotation.
These are my more detailed sketches including measurements of the pieces that will be needed to be cut out and used in my toy car.
Using my detailed sketches, I was able to use the laser cutter program “Lightburn” to create stencils to laser cut the pieces to create the base of my toy. I used the measurements in my sketches in order to create the stencil in Lightburn. After the printing of these pieces, I will be able to glue the pieces together. I designed this to be printed on 5mm material, using the teeth to be slightly less than 5mm so they can fit and be attached together with ease.
Detailed Plan and Success Criteria:
My plan is to spend one class designing my product using the LightBurn laser cutter program on my computer. I will use my sketches as a reference to understand the necessary measurements. After, I will laser-cut my design and use hot glue to glue the pieces together to create a box-like shape. Then, I will work on the wheels and create a pulley system that will allow the car to move using the battery and rubber band (similar to my precedent), following this, I will attach the wheels and pulley system onto the car base. Finally, I will solder the battery pack, on/off switch and pulley, as well as attach these all to the wooden base.
Success Criteria:
- Moves smoothly across the surface
- Durable and holds shape (isn’t falling apart when moving and is able to move around in bags/on surfaces without breaking)
- can move in a straight line (10 m)
- Easy to use (turning on and off)
I will use prototypes (out of 5mm cardboard) to adjust and understand the first iteration of my concept. After this, I will use the feedback given by my peers to reflect and notice what I could possibly do in future iterations to improve my product (shared in the create and improve blog post).