Applications and Implications

Week 17

Propose a final project

I'm proposing as a final project to develop an automated structure that generates movements and patterns. The project is inspired by kinetic art and sculpture and also by perpetual movement art projects. My main goal here was to be able to learn and explore electornic integration in art and design. The projec I propose is a bit basic but will use a lot of technics that we learned in the program. More complex versions will be developed later I guess.

Here a first sketch

Here the list of weeks that has been directly connected to the production of my project :

  • Project management - I had to manage my time ! Nothing's better than Trello to do that !
  • Computer aided design - Some of it has been made with Inkscape and the rest with Fusion360. I have to say that I'm very proud to be able to use Fusion 360 because it was one of my goals to learn that specific software.
  • Computer controlled cutting - Most of the pieces will be laser cut.
  • Electronic production - I will solder and produce PCBs using a milling machine.
  • 3D scanning and printing - There will be two shafts and a tool that I'll need to modelize and 3D print because it needs to be costum and very precise.
  • Eletronic design - There will be two PCBs made and design by me !.
  • Embedded programming - Well, those circuits wont program themselves by magic ! And moreover, I read most of the data sheets of the components !
  • Mechanical design - The thing in all the process that I took from that week was to generate a small version that I could run mechanically to test the concept.
  • Output devices - I designed the board that'll control my motors in this week
  • Machine design - To me, this week was all about finishes, a machine is not a prototype, well it can be, but to me, considering my place in the team work flow, it was more about integrating the electronics and think about the casing needs to make it work. I put a special attention to that in my final project based on my experience in this specific week.
  • Input devices - I designed the board and the code for my potentiometers in this week.
  • In the three last weeks, I worked on answering the questions asked in these weeks asked and then think my project on different sides.
  • It's nice to see that I used that much of the program for a project that looks so simple. I very cool I think and then I'll be ready to complexify the designs I make!

    The "Interface and application programming" and "Networking and communications" weeks will be useful in the future. Well, the thing here was that I really wanted to make something that I could make. But I discovered in those week possibilities that I could not think of before. I'll surely make another version of my final project that works with WiFi and with a smartphone app!

    Now, for the rest of questions asked, I think my Notes page was better to place and answer those question. Go to that page to see what they are !