1. Reflect on your prototype. What were some strengths? What needs refinement?

Our prototype mostly relied on the blueprint from the previous blog post, but it did not actually completely fits in with it. Firstly, the disc holder (that literally holds a lot of discs) that was purposed to be carved out of plastic was replaced to a card box since I could not found plastic that fitted with the size of the disc. Another change we made from the blueprint was the number of wood plates. To make a space for the disc to stay stable, I needed 2 wood plates per one set of the disc launcher. Again, I could not find two same wood plates, and even there was one, I could not cut the wood to drop the disc in. That way, I decided to cut out the top part of the disc launcher by using card box.

STRENGTHS:

Velocity: One strength of our first prototype was that the rubber band held a lot of elasticity. Since the rubber band was attached on two popsicle sticks, it could maintain huge weights and hit the disc with a high speed.

Durability: The only reason I planned to make the main part of this module was to increase its durability. While we was attaching the top part(Card box) and the bottom part( Wood), the box part was too fragile. However, after it was attached with a glue gun, it became harder.

Safety:

To emphasize the safety of the module, as discussed from the previous blog posts, I changed the plastic discs to a card board disc.  Even though this disc launcher only used to shoot targets, just in case, I took care about safety.

WEAKNESSES

Accuracy: One weakness that was made from the first prototype was the accuracy of the disc. It is not the problem of the disc but the length of the popsicle stick and the area of the space created from the width of the wood plate. That way, the popsicle stick wavered around the disc and could not hit the disc well. Additionally, there were some cases where the disc was jammed inside the module because it was hit on the wrong direction.

Effectiveness:

What I mean by the effectiveness is how many energy to I have to plug in to create single action. For our prototype, it was very difficult to pull three launchers simultaneously because it needed a lot of force. That way, it took a long time to shoot and reload and thus it was very laborious.

Design: Finally, last minor weakness that this module have is design.  Although it converts energy well, it does not seem like a toy. However, this is only a small weakness that other prototype holds too.

2.Outline the feedback you received from peers. Share some changes you will make as a result of this feedback.

As discussed from the last question, when the prototype was tested by other peers, one person mentioned that the disc is very difficult to aim, so it can hit the target accurately. That way, what I am trying to do is to block the empty space of the popsicle stick by glueing another popsicle stick. As can be seen from the photo below, the popsicle stick is now fixed and able to shoot.

Additionally, another problem I found by testing to the peer was that the disc does not launch simultaneously. I would fix this problem by changing the last handle to more durable one so that it is not fragile and can swiftly pull three rubber bands at once.

3. Include photos of your prototype and details of the feedbacks received.

(I could not take photos while I was designing this prototype)

 

 

The black circles were refinements we made after we tested with our peers. We cut small pieces of popsicle sticks and stick it to the side of the big popsicle sticks. That way, we could shoot the disc more swiftly and easily since the big popsicle stick did not budged a little.