Week 1

01. PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES, PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Web Template

At the start of the week had two options.

• Option 1: Creating the website from scratch, writing the html directly on html page.
• Option 2: Download & adapt an existing web template

Benefits of using Web Template

Web templates are great when you have limited experience in html, you benefit from best practices and latest trends in web user experience & user experience (responsive, animations, user path). It is also a source of inspiration, and very importantly it ensures your website has an important degree of consistency in terms of designs from the start.

Drawback of using WebTemplate

What i am now finding is that you spend a lot of time understanding how the website and the corresponding CSS have been developped if ever you need to make a change to the webtemplate. Overall, I would say if you are going to exactly use the section (DIV) and fonts and organisation from the template, template are greats. However if you think you need to make some customisation, I would have preferred to build the website from scratch directly. I think it would actually save time at the end.

Selection the template from bootstrap called "Agency"

Start Bootstrap is a collection of free to download Bootstrap themes and templates. Our themes are open source and you can use them for any purpose, even comercially! I reviewed the various templates and seleted the agency template because I liked the one page template and the way the information were organised on the page. The idea was to use the portfolio section for assignement.

Using a web template: Whate are the steps

1. Dowload the template from Bookstrap link here
2. You will download a number of files that need to be kept in the same foler
3. Open the index html file with bracket
4. Modify the html code in bracket
5. You can use additional font by dowloading them from google link here
6. Save the hmtl
7. I also modified the CSS & save it to reduce file size

CSS Stylesheet

Stylesheet are a great way to ensure consistency in my website design. I have created a couple of additional class in the css sheet to manage Subtitles & section to display code

H4 title

H5 title

Line of code

Image storage

Optimising image space

We need to optimise image size for 2 reasons: we are limited in storage space on the git hub, and the lighter the image/the webpages the quicker it loads. Therefore I did two things. First I optimised pictures in photoshop (save for web as jpeg quality between 20 and 30 depending on how it looks).

Storing images on a external server

Secondly I searched what was the best data storage solution for publishing images on the web. The top recommendation was to use of S3 amazon server to store large images. I therefore used S3 Amazon for storing my images. I need to explore Amazon S3 as it looks like a powerful solution for web hosting. However I was told i might to pay after a year of using Amazon S3, therefore i looked for an alternative solution. I have since transitioned the storage of images to a my own newly created git repository. I have also tried Google drive but it takes longer to display the image on the web (5 steps needed: go to google drive, select the image, make it shareable by right clicking, copy the URL provided, and modified it so it have the following syntax https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=Image-ID".)

web analytics & Search Engine Optimisation

If you create a website you might as well want to promote it. One way to promote is by optimising the presence of your website on search engines. There are several ways to do it and a good start is tol follow the recommendation on How to Get Your New Website or Blog Discovered:.

• Create a Sitemap
• Submit Sitemap to Google Webmaster Tools
• Install Google Analytics
• Submit Website URL to Search Engines
• Create or Update Social Profiles
• Share Your New Website Link

Out of those options, I install google analytics and submitted the Website URL to google. To instally google analytics, visit Google Analytics, sign up with your google id. Go to Admin (bottom left of the home screen) & create a new account.

In the Property section, go to tracking info. You will be able to copy the JavaScript Tracking code lines

Back onto your html page, copy this code at the end of the header section of your webpage. Note you will have to repeat the opeation for each webpage of your site, unless you place directly the code into a webpage template, that is being used by all pages of your site

It was interesting to track the visits per month. However to be more accurate I should exclude my IP address from the tracking.

PRODUCING THE DESIGN WITH THE LASER CUTTING MACHINE

Publishing the site to the web

Setting up the git

"Git is a distributed version control system, which means you can work locally but you can also share or “push” your changes to other servers. Before you can push your changes to a GitLab server you need a secure communication channel for sharing information. GitLab uses Public-key or asymmetric cryptography which encrypts a communication channel by locking it with your “private key”." source here

1. Login/create account to: fablabs.io
2. Go to http://git.fabacademy.org/ and login with your fablabs.io credentials. Once you have your username of fablabs.io
3. Add a ssh-key to your account.

What started as a joke between friends

1. Generate a SSH Key
2. A SSHKey is used to have a secure communication between my computer and the Gitlab
3. In terminal: cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
4. To generate a new SSH key, use the following command: ssh-keygen -t rsa -C “$your_email”
5. Use the command below to show your public key:cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
6. Please copy the complete key starting with ssh-rsa and ending with your username and host. Mac: pbcopy ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
7. Download and install: git

Transfering my files onto the web

1. Open Terminal in MAC
2. Using the "cd" command to locate the folder where my files (html pages, css files, javascript,....) are saved on my laptop. I use the "ls" command to ensure I am in the right folder. cd Desktop/Fablab/fablabbcn/students/48
3. Pull the archive to my computer. Here I am downloading all the files onto my laptopcd pull
4. To know what are the changes since last pullgit status
5. git add.
6. git commit -m "commit message"
7. git push

Project idea

What started as a joke between friends, became a more impregnated idea in my brain. Not only have a toilet seat to weight you was a fun idea to put in practice fab academy learnings, but i also realised there was an actual need for it.

1. Two reasons pushed in that direction.
2. In certain large metropolitan cities housing space is very limited. In paris, where i come from, you often find 20 sqm studio, where the toilet/bathroom is very small, and where its is almost impossible to have a scale in the bathroom. A integrated toilet seat scale would be a solution
3. Man dont weight themselves much. Very often it is not about being agains it, it is just about not thinking about it, not taking the scale out of the cupboard,etc.... The product would encourage the control of your weight.

I then started to look at 3 possible options for the toilet seat scale:

Close Project

Week 2

02. COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN

How to select the right 3D Software for my needs

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS VS EASE OF USE VS COST.

Based on the requirements of my project (3D Toilet and Toilet Seat containing electronics) and limited (none) knowlegde of 3D design, the fact SOLID WORKS is for Windows only, I had to limit myself to 3 tools for a more detailed trials of the tools.

The Tools selected to start with tutorials were Onshape (Free/Limited online 3D), Rhyno (Trial version), Fusion 3D (open source). To facilitate my selection I run 2 tests (or challenges).

THE BOLT 3D TEST

The idea was to test multiple 3D softwares (Onshape, Fusion 360 and Rhynoceros), making use of tutorials, to recreate a bolt in each tool, and see the pro and cons for a newbie

RESULT BOLT 3D TEST

ONSHAPE was probably the easiest and quickest tool out of the 3 to create the tool. Menu options is limited and clearly explained which makes it an ideal tool for beginner. Onshape is very similar to SolidWorks and include feature I really like (constraints for lines, object in relation to each other in the assembly mode). Yet there is an issue of performance with Onshape. As it is online tool, it can slow down from time to time.

RHYNO: surpringly not the easiest tool to create a bolt. The method is similar than Onshape but includes many more steps.

THE WASHROOM TOILET 3D TEST

As part of my final project I will need to create a 3D washoom and 3 seat cover.

RESULT WASHROOM 3D TEST

I initially leaned toward Onshape. Unfortunately Onshape still lacks some 3D features I would need for my project: The method to create sphere to be able to create a toilet bowl is cumbersome. Moreover esthetics of the bowl is very limited in Testing Onshape. Regarding Fusion 3D I unfortunately did not have the time to run the tests with this tool yet.

FINAL TESTS RESULT

I selected Rhino vs Onshape, for two reasons: First Onshape is limited in terms of stylish design. Secondly, I have to admit having some fellow tutors, studens with expertise with Rhino also helped my choice. However i give the possibility to switch to Fusion 360 once i complete the tests with this software

• DELIVERABLES
• Modelled experimental objects/part of a possible project in 2D and 3D software: See pictures above.


• Shown how you did it. As I wanted to have a 3D toilet design with a certaine aesthetics, I opted out for Rhino. I got lucky and found a tutorial on how to make a toilet in a different software (MAYA), but that enable me to see each step of the process, starting with sphere, sphere cut, sphere split, extrusion of tube, joining of objects (water tank, toilet bowl, water evacuation tube), including filleting. I also follow a tuturial on cocoon sofa 3D for Rhyno design which helped with the toilet bowl shape. Finally some fellow students showed me two other methods in rhyno that did greatly improved the style of the water bowl.
• Included your original design files. Download here Rhyno file. >>>
• Try as many 2D/3D softwares you can: all 3D softwares listed above except Solidworks were tested to different degree

2D Design software

Photoshop

I started playing with photoshop after many years. I took this opportunity to create my first gif animation with the help of one more advanced classmate Wim Lanz. The GIF represents how I fell during the first week of the fab academy. It only starts on page load and is NOT on a loop. I realised the major drawback of gif was the size: 180k for a 300*400pixel animation with 4 frames. The can be downloaded here

Gif test>

Inskape/Illustrator

I tried both Illustrator and inskape. Although Illustrator has a better of reputation in terms of features, I found Inskape much easier to start with. In week 3 assignement I have design my sticker with Inskape

Close 3D Assignement

Week 3

03. COMPUTER-CONTROLLED CUTTING.

01. Press-fit construction kit inspired by Valentine week

Inspiration

I went through an extensive brainstorming. Results: many ideas, many attempts. On the positive side I quickly realized when my idea was either not feasible, too complicated or time consuming. Then I remembered Valentine day was coming soon, I also remembered my previous break ups, where my heart was shattered, and I decided to created a object representing each past relationship I got dumped, with the size and number of stabs in my heart varying from one relation to the other. Although this does not sound like a very positive project :), It is not as bad as it sounds and is to be seen more as visual parametric representation of past experiences. I will try to do the same project with past positive experiences :)

A pametric design

In Fusion 360 I made 3 values parametrics (Fusion 360 is not the easiest to use in my opinion but the parametric fonction is easier than rhyno grasshoper).

• Thickness of the materials (cardboard as default 3.5mm) but can be modified in the parametric sheet to change all openings.
• Number of stabs the heart is containing (from 2 to as many as 8).
• Width of the blade corresponding to the pain suffer.

- Improvement for next time: make the size of the heart corresponding to the importance of the relationship parametric as well.

Creating the 3D model in Fusion 360

ExactFlat Online: This is a separate plug in the 3D to 2D solution for Fusion 360. Unfortunately despite many attemps I never managed to make it work for my design to use it for laser cutting. Instead I saved each sketch as dxf directly in Fusion 360.

Rhyno Trial: I also made an attempt to design the same model in Rhynoceros. Unfortunately I did not manage to complete the task. This shows I need to undertand rhyno more

3. Group assignment: Make lasercutter test part(s), varying cutting settings and slot dimensions

I got the chance to the see the LASER CUT - Multicam 2000 in action which is an incredibly accurate laser cutter despite its large size. The way to operate it is different yet similar, so I took many notes. I also saw the LASER CUT - Epilog Legend we have at FabLab Barcelona in action. As it losts power through time, it is now mainly used for engraving.

As group we made some test with the corrugated materials we were going to use for our project. That showed us the kerf (explained below) for the machine, the settings needed for the material, and how this influenced our design when parts need to be inserted into each other.

Another method to find what the kerf is

To test the kerf I designed quickly a 10mm by 10mm square and Rhyno and lazer cut it. It is also a good way to test if the power/speed/resolution are adequate (not too much but sufficient enough) to cut through the materials. You then mesure the size of the square that was cut and see the difference in width (and divide by 2) to have the kerf. You can also find a more accurate method to measure it from James Williamson (that havent tried)- link here

Producing the design with the laser cutting machine

What you need to think about when design for lazer cut

My design comprises heart shapes that need to insert into each other to create a bigger shape. In addition, the "blades" also need to enter the "heart" shape.

When using a lazer, the lazer will burn a portion of the material it cuts through. The exact dimension depends on the machine, materias and settings. It is generally a bit less than 1mm for the corrugated material I am using here. However it is important to test it.

Using the lazer cutter

Click here to see the steps I used for another lazer cut as part of this week

Week 4

04. Electronic Production.

Week 5

3D scanning and Printing.

Group assignment: Testing the design rules for your printer.

No 3D machine is the same. Some parts be the same — but the calibration and alignment of these vital parts can be off by just a fraction of a millimeter, and in turn cause issues with print, according to the online magazine 3Dprint. To overcome this, we must test the printer (known as calibrating process) to see how each part of the printer is performing. All those factors and test conditions can be found here.

Fortunately a person called ville with mutliple years of experience int he 3D industry, created one 3D project that helps to perform all the necessary test in one go, rather than multiple independent test. The file is available free of charge from Thingiverse and pictures from thingiverse can be seen below

This is the test we did as agroup. We first printed a copy of Ville model with black PLA filament, then with white PLA filement to better see the contrast. Both test below were run with the REPRAP. >Full results of the various test conducted can be found in here

What are the factors to play with when 3D printing

1. Choice of the 3D printer: the quality/time to print varies greatly between printers
2. Layer height - this will determine the quality of our printing in height but also the speed (the lower the layer height the longer it will take to print)
3. Choice of filament: PLA, ABS
4. Percentage of infill - Its a factor that plays with the strengh of your model. More infill - Stronger Object - More time to print.
5. Supports - this create some external supports in case we need them to hold any part that couldn't be printed without them

3D Scanning

3D Scanning with Kinect

Meshmixer to create a shape with a meaning

This is the steps I followed to created this shape which is supposed to represent the idea of growing as a person, becoming more defined in a way

• Free transform (white square) to reduce size
• Edit > duplicate to create the duplicate object in a new layer
• Edit > Free Transform to rotate Y, X the object
• Select meshes, > Edit > Reduce the number of mesches percentage for the left part of each face, in order to have a growing pattern (representing the idea of becoming yourself)
• Object > group Layers together.




CURA & 3D Printing

Addictive or Substractive manufacturing

"Additive Manufacturing is actually a synonym for 3D printing and/or any process by which 3D objects are constructed by successively depositing material in layers such that it becomes a predesigned shape. On the other hand Subtractive manufacturing is a process by which 3D objects are constructed by successively cutting material away from a solid block of material. Subtractive manufacturing can be done by manually cutting the material but is most typically done with a CNC Machine." according to creative mechanism (link)

Addictive (3D) for my design

In my case, because of the shape of the heads, where you would to drill from underneath, or from the side, to have the shape under the chin, additive manufacturing, or 3D printing is what I selected in that case.

Cura



After sending the Gcode from Cura to the 3Printer, the print will start when the extruder and bed reach the desired temperature. The temperature is set in cura and heavely depends on the materials being used. This webite gives detaied information on the right extruder temperature for the material used. I am using here

PLA

for my print as this is an economical material that does not require too high temperature likek ABS


The 3D print went well except one of the head fell because I did not use support, which I wanted to avoid. To solve this I used acetenone to melt the missing piece into the general print



Fina Result



Iphone App 3D scanning

I tried Nettelo to scan a body shape. As it is still cold we kept the cloth on, but overall the result was dissapointing



Creating an 3D Printed object

Design

In my free time I built flower frame by adding a flower pot into a wooden frame, using drills & nails. So I wanted to try 3D to see if I could produce the same

I first used Fusion 360 but I really struggled to create a nicely dented frame with volume, so I switched to Rhino, and with the precious help of Cytlali I could create exactly what I wanted

Cura Set up



Using cura to check what was the best way to position the object to print (faster, less support possible), it made me realise I had to modify my object to reduce as much as possible the support.

Avoid support if possible

As you will see in the pictures below, even after reducing the amount of support, I still needed to have some support in my print. What I did not know is how difficult it is to remove the support without damaging the print. I really undertand now why it is so important to take out as much as possible support.

Close Project

Week 6

Electronics Design

Designing the board with Eagle Software

Add the Fab libary in Eagle

First we need to add the Fab Library to Eagle (download from Fab Academy archive here). It includes all the main electronic component we will be using for the Fab Academy assignement. You need to save it in the IBR folder in your eagle program where all the library are stored.

For the board design I used as a basis Neil board from the link here.

Adding a LED to the existing board

The assignement was to redraw the echo hello-world board and add (at least) a button and LED.

Source file here from the FAB Academy class

I decided to add a button and a LED. I learned we need to add a resistance when a adding a led to a circuit, to limit the current going through the LED to a safe value. (More info click here).

We need to know the value of the resistance to add. http://ledcalc.com/is a good tool to help us do so. Below you will see how I calculated the necessary resistance for my LED

Unfortunately, to be on the safer side, i added to the circuit a higher resistance 500ohms instead of the 180ohms recommended . As I will discover at the end of the assignement, this will make the LED light very weark

1. Design the board it the schematic mode in Eagle

Once Eagle was downloaded, and the fab library correctly imported, I added all the components to my schematic view, mainly adding the command line (ADD). I then went to Label & name each of the connection as per the graphic. Initially I started to manually connect each connection using the line symbol, but I swithched to the NET command i was recommended to connect components. The benefit is that you can connect two pins without the schematic being drown under too many lines.

After the schematic is completed change to board view: 2 options autorouter or manual router

After the shematic is completed (at least this is what I though) I switched to eagle board view where you have the possibility auto route manually the connections between the components based on the schematic completed earlier. I run the autorouter to give it a try but I could not picture/understand how the connection were made, so i prefered to make the connection manually.

Drawing the connection manually in Eagle

Tips using eagle

Go to options, grid, and reduce the grid size. I tried with .05 mm, it really helps drawing the trace in the board view.

Problems during the design of the board and how they were fixed

The DRC check see errors in your board design.

Problem solving the board in Eagle

After connecting the componenents on the board view, go to tools, DRC to ensure there are no errors in the board.

For a long time I could not understand my board errors until I went back to the schematic view where I realised I manually created a conneciton within the capacitor. OUGHR ! :)

Next step aClearance check

The clearance check is there to ensure that the milling machine drill wont trace over the components area on the board.

Clearance issue remains even after reducing the trace width in eagle. The concern with reducing trace width in eagle is the potential reduction in electricity conduction.

The board is finally ready in Eagle

I can now export the file as png, that I will open later in photophop

From Eagle to Photoshop to Fabmodule

I used photoshop to get the eagle board as trace and contour png images ready for milling. To do so I had to add an extra 2mm on each side of the board to create the contour. Note I followed instructions and used a high resolution of 500pi to get the best quality for milling. Note that there is often a translation issue of size between Eagle and Photoshop. To solve this I checked canva size in photoshop and reduce to 50% before exporting the Png files to be used in Fabmodules.

In FabModules

In Fab Modules, I created the rml files (traces and contour) for milling the board using a 1/64 mill bit for the traces and a 1/32 bit for the contour

Milling the electronic board

Set up ROllAND SRM-20

I used the X,Y,Z command in rolland to place the mill bit on the bottom left corner of the copper plate. Adjusting X&Y is easier than the Z (depth). Rolland let you adjust the speed in which you move the Z axis, enabling you to go really slowly when reaching clode to the cooper plate. A trick from the instructor Santi that I used is to go as close down as possible and then loosen the screw that holds the mill bit. The bit will "fall" onto the plate, and you can tightenn the mill bit again. It did work for me.

I used Fab Modules to get the files (traces with drill 1/64 (4 offsets) and contour with drill 1/32 (no offsets)) ready for the rolland SRM-20.

I had a few issues with the milling machine. At the end with the help of the instructor we had to set the Z axis by spinning the drill until it touches and the board and we could see the dust generated.

Once rolland machine was on I experienced 2 other issues, one for which I was to blame :). First I forgot to invert the image which meant the machine was milling the cooper out of where my componenents and connections were. Not very useful for an electronic board. Secondly, after i changed it, the surface of the support was not completely flat which meant some parts of the board were not milled.

The 3rd attempt to mill the board was the right one. I then went on soldering the components onto the board, which was must easier than the first time i soldered.

Programming the board

Initially I uploaded the arduino stetch, but I run into some connection issues with my modified Hello board.

Checking the electrical connections

Using a multimeter and the eagle board view I check each connections and apply or remove solders when necessary.

Project Completion

Using the AVR microcontroler, I could see the connections were now ok and I could sucessfully upload my sketch onto my Hello modified board. As a result I could see he light blinking on the board. However the light of the LED was really weak (because I used a resistance that was too high- see above)

Links

Eagle Schematic PNG Traces click here

Eagle Schematic PNG Contour click here

Eagle Board Eagleclick here

Close Project

Week 7

Computer-Controlled Machining

Cactus Holder (3rd project) video

1st "Make Something Big" Project: Paint Easel

• Because I wanted to go out in the countryside, by bicyclem and paint with my friend, I decided to create an easel that could
• Contains 3 canvas
• Have small tables for painting equipement
• Can be fold into a wheel shape

2nd Make Something Big : A Cactus holder

First Milling Project: Paint Easel

3D design

To be able to adjust joints, I went for 3D parametric design with Fusion 360. I attempted for the whole design to be parametric. The benefit is that you just need to change value in the parameters sheet in Fusion360 to modify the design. Unfortunately on a few occasions there were too many contraints for a line to be parametric.

Challenges in Fusion

Using Parameters & Patterns in Fusion 360 was essential for my design. I found the video below the best tutorial to achieve so

For a long time i struggled with this parametric patterns. Most of the 3D design was ok, but I kept getting an error in one of the joint (see picture below). After playing with the settings in the pattern tool in Fusion360 I could sort it out.

Exporting from Fusion360 in DXF to lazer cut. Before milling I wanted to check the joints & the whole structure so I had to lazer cut first. At the time I could not find the way to export from Fusion360 to the lazer machine. As I

Results of the lazer cut with Cardboard

The results of the lazer cut with carboard showed 3 canvas could hold but only small size canvas. Plus I was not sastified in terms of tolerance for the joint.

The results of the lazer cut with carboard was not satisfactory in terms of joints

Results of the lazer cut with plywood 3mm

Back to 3D design, with adjusted joints, I lazer cut with 3mm plywood this time. The joints were fine with 3mm plywood but I was not satistified how was foncitonning the structure. In particular I did not think it would be possible to hold 3 canvas and painting equipement, so I decided this design needed some more work before milling 15mm wood with the CNC.

2nd Project: CACTUS HOLDER CREATION

The difficulty with the design was to ensure the cactus would stand and not fall, that the structure itself would be stable. The biggest challenge was with the joint between the 2 legs and the main platform, as they are not perpendicular but angled joints

How to use RhinoCam Mill

The video below my classmate Trinidad shared with me is the best explanation of how to use RhinoCAM I could find. However note some of the settings and path strategy may change depending on the machine you have at your disposal. Make sure you create bridges to wood bits that have been drilled already dont come flying

Settings RhinoCam

There are a number of settings to enter in Rhynocam. Many are preset depending on the machine and tool, but many depends on the object to mill, on the strategy you want to take, on the finishing you would like, on the joints you have

For feets and speets: for Plywood it is recommended speed of 12000rpm. For the feeds (for instance plunge feed rate is used to control the moves into material during transfer motions when the tool picks up from one area and moves to another before starting to cut and the rest of the feeds rate), we set them at 2000rpm.

whereas when I milled my toilet seat for my final project, which was a much better harder quality wood, we set the speed lower to 6500rpm

Gcode to the CNC

In my case I used the same cutting tool for both cutting strategy (Pocketing & Profiling). Once the Rhinocam file is completed in the shop Bot interface we open the G code (for this procedure we have the help of a fallab coordinator).

Preparing the shopbot

The first time I used the shopbot I had the help of Ricardo. This time he is leaving more in control which is a bit scary.

• Install my plywood (15mm width) on the table that i previously booked from the storage cabinet. The dimensions 70cm*140cm are just enough for my design.
• I then drill the plywood board to the CNC bed so it does not move during the operation
• I set set the X, Y and Z coordinates in the board via the control of the shopbot

• I load the cnc code for the milling strategy for the holes
• I start the shopbot after a safety check
• The Shopbot will drill 8 holes in my cases Where I will place 8 screws to ensure no part of the milling move during the second part of the cut
• I load the the second milling strategy for the shape of my design this time and start the shopbot
• I surpervise the machine during the whole milling for safety reasons
• Once completed I first check the parts have been "cut" and can be separated
• Only then can I remove the screws, take out the different pieces & vacuum the machine

What tolerance did you leave for lace, using fixings, testing joints, adjusting feeds and speeds, depth of cut etc Explain how to prepare the shopbot. How to configure the 0,0,0, some screenshot of the software, etc … standard machine’s workflow

Cactus Holder Results

Getting feedback from Florists

At the end, I painted the cactus holder, inserted cactus plants I bought for the occasion, and went to present the design to florists in Barcelona area. The comments were positive, as this was the first time they saw something like this, and saw it as a nice way to present their cactus plants range. However concerns were shared regarding the effect of inclination of cactus plants on their state, and how easy it would be for shoppers to take the plant from the cactus holder. I also felt I could design a more compact version.

Improvements

If you look at the design you can see the stand and the front structure are at a angle. To take this into account, and for the 2 pieces to slot nicely together, I added 1mm spacing for the hole on each side (for a 15 mm wood panel width) After milling, I realised that the space for was too big. Fortunately it did not affect the stability of the cactus holder.

Close Project

Week 8

08. EMBEDDED PROGRAMMING

Attinity 44 datasheet

I was surprised by the details of information provided in the datasheet .link here.

My main focus was to try to understand the flow of information when the burn loader is run, and a program is run.

Programming the board to do something

Using my FabiSP to program my board= Failed !

I received an error message when trying to run the burnloader, that the FabiSP could not be recognized as a USB.

Using the AVR programmer to program my board= Done !

I used the AVR to program my board. After changing the settings I could run the bootloader without too much difficulty.

First step was to enable Arduino Sketch to program the ATtiny44. To do so I simply needed to add the corresponding board manager for ATtiny44.

Programming the board: first part bootloader. I used the AVR micro controller to program my board. In the Arduino Sketch software, I changed the tool setting to ATtiny44, and selected AVRISP as the programmer. in the same software I then set the clock Mhz as the same one as on my board (20Mhz). As a result I could successfully burned the bootloader sucessfully onto my board.

Making the LED to turn on and off

I used the table showing the correspondance between ATtiny44 and Arduino ports (link here) to adjust an existing Arduino sketch

I could amend an existing Sketch to turn on and off by pushing the button, a blinking LED

.

You can download the link to the IDE Sketch here

Close Project

Week 9

09.Mechanical Design

To acess the the solar Tracker group page, click here

Full documentation of the solar tracker projectclick here

solartracker1.10 from jc thuan on Vimeo.

Explained your individual contribution to this project on your own website

1. I helped the team to select the best suited mechanical design

Because I had no experience in mechanical design, I though the best I could help with is the process to select which of the 3 mechanical (and small scale prototype designs Dom and Isaac came up with) were best for us. For each design we look at feasibility (given timeline), was it a new or existing design, complexity of the design, constraints (weather, wasterproofing, weight of the solar panel)

2. Along with Trinidad, I set up Light sensors set up & program them.

With Trinidad, I worked on the set up of light sensors using Arduino.

To download the Arduino Sketch for a Analog reading of the 4 photocells click here

3. I Program to move the 3 steppers motors

I was involved in making the 3 steppers motors moved using GCode coordinate. This was not without its difficulties, in particular in relation to the GBRL library you need to download for Arduino. There are different ones and not all worked for us. This is the one I recommend using (download here)

Warning: changing baudrate back and forth in arduino made my USB port connection to Arduino from the Mac to stop working (more info on the issue). Installing the FDTI drive from the website solved the issue.

Make the 3 motors move Once the Sketch is loaded (Make sure the Arduino board, CNC Shield are powered with 12V), Open Serial monitor in the sketch and enter coordinate you want the 3 motors to go to "X20.0 Y20.0 Z10.0" & click Send (or enter).

motor for X will go coordinate X, Y to 20, and Z to 10 in this example.

Warning: you may need to adjust potentiometers on the stepper driver for each motor to ensure adequate current is delivered to each motor.

To make the motor move again, change the coordinates to another locaiton, for example "X10.0 Y50.0 Z20.0" or switch off and back on the CNC shield

4. I Program with Trinidadto move 2 steppers motors (X & Y Axis) based on light sensors data

At the end we did not use Gcode for programming but another programming Arduino Sketch that we adapted greatly along with Trini to be able to make the motors work as intended.

To download the full Arduino (2 motors that push the panel in 2 directions to follow the sun (light sensors), and stop if the panel is to close the to holding structure click here.

5. I worked on 3D printing & installing the first set of gears & casing

While other members looked at the most optimized gear using 3D scanning of the teeth, I worked on a set of standartized pulley for testing purposes. For this used a parametric pulley multiple tooth profiles by droftarts licensed under the Creative Commons - Attribution - Share Alike license, link here

I used a desig for casing the stepper motor made by Dom and adapted it a casing in Rhyno for testing.

I found this video very useful when it came to attach the gear to a smooth stepper motor shaft click here.

6. I Install & program a distance sensor

I set up a distance sensor and set it up on the structure so the panel would not crash into the structure if the light sensors indicated the motor should keep moving down or up. After installing the sensors I set up.

7. I Helped with the mechanical assembly

I was assisting Isaac and Dominic in assembling the platform. I learned a lot during this time.

8. I made the video

Finally I made the video using the tool called Replay (link here), using photos and videos I made, as well as the ones from my team members

9. Future development

1. The weight of the solar panel we had at our disposal requires stronger motors or a different gear mechanism to rotate.
2. Better optimised design to protect the motor, electronic from weather
3. Lighter structure than plywood
4. Can the idea of tracking the sun and moving accordingly be used for other ideas?

Close Project

Week 10

Output Devices

First attempt in April 2017: Stepper motor board

Based on the ressources provided by neil (click here to access hello.stepper.bipolar.44.cad I created the board in Eagle.)

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I had to drill 3 board before having a board that was of enough quality to start soldering the components.

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Conclusion: After producing and adding the electronic components to the board, I experienced electric connection issue I could not solve. As I was moving my focus toward the group project, I decided to park this assignement for the time being.

Side note: how to interpret color code of the AVR LED when testing electrical connection and debugging.

To test if the electrical connections are correct between all the component before using the multimeter, plug the AVR ISP to the USB of your laptop, then connect it to the 6 pins containing MOSI, MISO, etc... ensuring the ground of the cable is correctly connected to the ground of the board (otherwise you risk burning some of the components of your board).

Next use a source of power (oscilloscope, arduino) to send current to your board. Here I am using an oscilloscope to provide 5V to the board by connection the VCC and GND pins. After this is done check the LED of the microcontroller. Anything not green (red or blinking orange) let you know you need to check all the connections of your board.

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2nd attempt in September 2017: LCD display board

This time, i am designing a board with a view to enhance my final project. I started from Neil board (Go to LCD section), and look at the learnings from Arsheena & Julia output assignements who also designed a LCD board. Because for my final project completed in June I tested mutliple LCDs/Retro-light-LCD/TouchPad-screen connected to an arduino mini I was pretty familiar with the fonctionning of a LCD screen.

In eagle I used the 2 pins available (5&6) to later connect them to a HX711 (load cell amplifier) SCK and DAT pins or an alternate sensor.

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I then followed the standard process (link here) to produce the board. It is very diffiult for me to get it right the first time when it comes to milling. First, probably due issue with image resolution, my first board has the size of a 20cent coin. Secondly, the text I added to the board did not get milled. I decided I could do without the text for this board.

Below is a picture of the final board, that I then equipped with the necessary electronic components before testing the connections. When the LED of the micro controllet turns red, this is never a good news. As a result I had to check all the connections with the multimeter and resoldered all the connections of the ATtiny44 whch was causing this.

Programming the board

Here I am using the AVR MKII to program the board. There are 2 ways to program the board Santi (the FabLab instructor) explained me. And we tested both.

1st method to program the board

When you read the instructions for the weekly assignement in the FabAcademy global website you will find a link to a C (link here) & Make file. link here

For the first method, download the C file & save it on your computer (remember the location). Open the terminal in your computer and make sure your are located in the right folder by using "cd" & "ls" commands on Mac. Once you are in the right folder where you saved the C file, type the following code

sudo make -f hello.LCD.44.make or make -f hello.LCD.44.make

2nd method to program the board

Open the make file and replace when you read (Project) in lines of code by hello.LCD.44. Then open the terminal (here on my Mac), go the location where the C file has been saved, and enter the following 2 lines of code, that will create the Hex and out files and place the hex into your attiny 44 to program it.

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$hello.LCD.44.make.hex: $hello.LCD.44.make.out This line will create the hex and out file.
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sudo make -f hello.LCD.44.make program-avrisp2 This line will send the hex to the Attinity 44 and program it as a result to perform the function listed in the C file.
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What is in the LCD C code

RESULT: the Hello world text was display on the LCD. As I was using a retroilluminated LCD, the reading was not great.

I connected with wires pin 15 & 16 of the LED to VCC and GND of my board, so the LCD could be retroilluminated.