My final project will be a device that is able to filter the fumes coming from the soldering of small electronic components.
The device will be suitable for the use in a Fab Lab or at home.
The device could be seen also as a small prototype to test new features I could eventually develop on the filtering machines that I project in my current job. Similarly the device can be seen also as a platform wher I can learn new skills related to machines that filters polluted air or more in general related to machines that do something.
The main parts and systems that I am developing are:
Unfortunately not everything I would have like to experiment will be present in this device, but it could eventually be developed after the 6 months of the Fab Academy:
I wrote the project plan during week 17 and now at week 21 (I should have wite this during week 19 but the final project had the priority over this assigment) I will check what I have done, what remain to do and how I will manage the time to finish.
Week 17
Finish assigment n.15 and n.16 (DONE BUT TO BE COMPLETED)
Do assigment n.17 (DONE)
Week 18
Start with the 3D model of my Final Project. It will be parametric in order to be fast with modifications. (DONE)
Laser cutting to test the connections and measures. Eventually remake laser cutting. (DONE)
Design and print the support for the DC motor. Do assembly of all parts. (DONE)
Week 19
Test the impeller, test the force of the DC motor, test if the air is suctioned through the carbon filter (DONE)
Design and mill a new electronic board to control the DC motor with different speeds. (DONE BUT I STILL HAVE TO WRITE THE C PROGRAM)
Week 20
Finish what is not ready (OK)
Prepare the slide, the video and all the material for the presentation (DONE)
During the present week 21 (I should have write this during week 19) I have almost finish my final project and I have managed to present it at the final presentations. What remain to be completed is the C program for the electronic board that will turn the impeller at three different speeds.
I should also manage my time in the following two weeks before local evaluation in order to complete the following topics:
In order to finish I should ask some days at work where I can work at the Fab Academy also during mornings and not only during afternoons. (REQUEST DENIED)
From now June 19 to the first local evaluation on Jun 28th I have almost 1 week and a half of time. But then I will have at least two weeks more to work at my documentation untill day 19th of July which is the final cutoff (in my understanding).
Week 21 untill local evaluation on 28th of June
Do assigment n.18 and n.19
Complete as many assigments as possible
Organize and check the pages to make them more clear as possible
Week 22 untill global evaluation on 5th of July
Do what the local evaluator have eventually asked to do
Week 23 untill feedback response on 12th of July
Week 24 untill graduation cutoff on 19th of July
Do what the gobal evaluator have eventually asked to do
You can se how I tracked and documented the progress of my final project in the section of the final project on this page.
For the sake of clarity and for convenience I have divided my progress in two main directions, so depending in what you are interested please go to the section relative to Mechanics or Electronics.
I am very happy about my experience at the Fab Academy but there is also something that didn't work as I expected. I have learned many new things that everyone can see along my documentation, but something didn't work properly. I hope that this little part of my documentation will help to emprove the quality of this wonderfull experience.
The teaching philosphy of the Fab Academy is the hands-on method and it is very good: you learn much more when you aplly pratically the things you have studied before. But I had difficulties to complete some of the assigments where my knowledge was scarse, not because I didn't have desire to learn it, but because I didn't receive the basic knowledge to start the assigment and then to continue by my own.
It is true that I worked during the mornings at my job and I had only the afternoons and the weekends for the Fab Academy but I think this is not the point because there were a lot of univerisity students and workers during this Fab Academy that were in similar conditions.
For example I would have liked to do and to learn more for the assigments n.13 Input Devices, n.15 Networking and Comunications and n.16 Interface and Application Programming. If you look at them they are not complete as I would. I tried to do my best, I was deeply motivated learning these topics but being alone, with no or few help from skilled people and with so few time remaining at the end of the Fab Academy I unfortunately couldn't do more.
My Fab lab has very good machines and the people is working in the studio -that is located almost in the same space of the fab lab- are skilled in all the fields of the digital fabrication. But I found not always easy to use my fab lab: it wasn't always available a place where I could work and concentrate. In particular there were often conference calls, meetings or people taking classes around me that didn't allow me to concentrate properly. It wasn't always easy to find the tools that I need to complete my assigments, sometimes the tools weren't present at all or didn't work properly.
To give just one example: I have still not finish my assigment of 3D scanning because the 3D scanner of my fab lab didn't work. I tried to make it work but I couldn't. My collegues had already experience on 3D scanner and they had already such instrumentation in their own labs so they managed to complete this task in their own labs. But I do not have my own lab and I have not previous experience on 3D scanning. Now 3 days before the local evaluation I should choose a software, I should find a tutorial on the internet and I should try to do something quickly and at my home to complete this assigment: I didn't expected this kind of (no) teaching and learning during my enrollment to the Fab Academy.
In my opinion it is simply needed an evaluation process done by the students about the quality of the course, about tutors, professors, about materials, machines, about what is expected form you, etc. as it is already done in every big univeristy around the world. An accademy that found itself on the collaborative spirit should have this evaluation process coming also from the students, and in my opinion it should be visible on the pages of each student. I am sure that this way the quality could only grow.