Doug Carroll’s Rapid Prototype Design Portfolio
Toy
Destruction Activity: In this
activity we (groups of 3) were given a toy and asked to try to figure out how
it worked without taking it apart.
After we had recorded our theory on how the toy worked we took the toy
apart and examined the actual mechanism.
Things that I learned and concepts
that were reinforced:
· It’s what’s inside that
counts!!
· Simple designs are always
better than complex designs
· Team communication is very
important (we had some trouble talking about the toy and didn’t get our ideas
across very well)
· Taking apart toys is fun
Project 1: In this project I was asked to come up with
3 concepts for toys based upon a physical principle. We didn’t really have to design anything buildable but it got
those creative juices flowing!! Here’s
what I came up with…I especially like the glider.
Things
that I learned and concepts that were reinforced:
· Ideas are just that,
ideas…they don’t have to be viable in the long run to be a good idea…they can
always be modified later
Design/Build
Activity: In this activity we
(groups of 3) were asked to design a frame of a structure that could fit all of
our group members. The design was to be
made with 10 sheets of newspaper for each group member and a roll of masking
tape. Structural stability, minimal use
of materials, and overall teamwork were emphasized.
Picture
of our structure when built
Picture
of us building another teams structure (we did a good job didn’t we!)
Picture
of us testing an experimental newspaper joining technique
Things that I learned and concepts
that were reinforced:
· As I said, teamwork was very
important in this activity so communication and the ability to brainstorm were
very important
· Prototypes are a very useful
part of the design process. Prototypes
help you test the feasibility of ideas before the idea must be tested in the
manufacturing stage
· Degrees of freedom in
designs is a very important consideration.
(Most teams; including ours had trouble with this)
Role Mole’s
Glasses Exercise: Each member of
the class was asked to design and build a device that would allow a mole to
stop losing his glasses and remember to take his glasses with him.
Things that I learned and concepts that were
reinforced:
· Sometimes a working
prototype may be necessary on very short notice. We must be prepared to be able to respond to a request when it is
asked of us. (That’s why rapid prototype manufacturing processes are so
popular)
· Designs often need not only
be functional but fashionable as well
· It’s hard to come up with a prototype
when your materials are limited. Often,
you must get by with a material that is less than ideal.
Project 2: Rapid Prototype Processes: Manufactured
Assemblies: This project is
designed to give us hands-on experience using rapid prototype technology and to
learn the pros and cons of using these processes.
Things that I learned and concepts
that were reinforced:
· Working in teams can be very
frustrating. Getting everybody to a
meeting (especially when everybody is busy and doesn’t really want to come) is
extremely hard. Dividing work can only
be done successfully when everybody is prepared to contribute and properly
communicates with each other.
· Getting a part made using
rapid prototype methods is easier said than done. Many complications can arise that must be addressed properly in
order to obtain a functional part.
· Designing parts that
interact mechanically can be very difficult and tolerances, as well as
materials selection, in all parts that are involved is crucial.
·
Getting
ProE to cut the part out using CNC is quite difficult. You really need someone who is experienced
in using ProE to be able to program the CNC machine to cut out your part
Garfield’s
Picnic Beverage Holder Exercise: In
this exercise we were asked to design a cardboard only holder for 6 soda cans
for a picnic
Things that I learned and concepts that were
reinforced:
· Simple designs often work
best
· Creativity and trying new
things can be very fruitful
· Presenting your ideas in a
good way is very important for them to be received well
Egg Drop: In this exercise we were to build a
protective capsule for a raw egg to travel inside so that it would not break
when dropped from the classroom window
Our
Unsuccessful Capsule After
the Drop
Things that I learned and concepts that were
reinforced:
· Egg drops usually end in a
lot of broken eggs
· It is hard to construct a
capsule that will protect an egg regardless of the position the capsule hits
the ground
· Parachutes can retard velocity
but sacrifice accuracy…especially in high winds
Design/Build
Take 2: This exercise was designed
to remove the loopholes that were utilized in the original Design/Build and
give us another shot at building legitimate freestanding newspaper structures. This time around a restriction was put on
the use of tape so the structures had to be made of newspaper. No tape could be attached to the floor, walls
or the ceiling and tape could not be a structural part of the design.
Things that I learned and concepts that were
reinforced:
·
Our
rolling method is awesome!!
·
Once
a good design has been found it is hard to justify the effort to innovate further.
·
Construction
is always harder than the designers think
Project 3: This project required a team to design an
engineering outreach activity that could captivate a class of elementary or
middle school students as well as teach them something about what engineers do. This was the capstone project for the class
and, luckily, my favorite group to work with.
This project gave us a chance to use what we had learned from previous
activities in a constructive way.
Things that I learned and concepts that were
reinforced:
·
Working
with children increases the difficulty by a large margin
·
Materials
selection in design is very important.
·
Simplicity
is good J
·
Getting
representatives of your targeted audience to test your design really brings out
the flaws nicely
·
Anyone
outside of your targeted age group gets very bored by a ramp and a Nantucket nectars
bottle cap
Making
Presentations: Making presentations to
the group were a major part of this class.
Several presentations were made of various formality levels. As the class went on my presentation skills
improved very much. Watching the final video,
this improvement was very clear.
Watching my presentations enabled me to see first hand what I was doing
and how I could improve my presentations.
The self critiques were helpful in remembering your faults before your
next presentation (which was usually a few weeks after the last presentation)
Making
Web Pages: Before this class I had
never attempted to make a web page before.
I thought you needed to learn html in order to make even the simplest of
web pages. I had no clue that word
could be used to make webpages (although pagemaker makes it much easier) My web pages became much better after
getting a little practice (although this one doesn’t really count since I didn’t
put much into the artistic side of it)
