Inventor Question

My biggest question was how to create a sphere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psbjvl6kaH4

You create a sphere by making a half circle, then revolving it around 360 degrees.

I learned from Jake to how to make a cone; you revolve a right triangle around 360 degrees.

Form Follows Function Reflection

In my forms follows function post thing, I decided to improve the ruler. Shape would be rectangular, length would be 12 inches, and it would be any color you would like-it doesn't really make a difference here. The main difference from the average ruler would be that it would have holes in the corners, in order to stabilize the ruler without using hands. This stemmed from my frustration with having a ruler slip while drawing something, and having to erase it or start all over again. Additionally, the slit in the center has both metric and imperial units on either side, for quick and easy conversion. Although these may be small improvements, when dealing with something so often used as the ruler, any improvement makes a large difference over time.

To make this ruler, you would either 3D print it, cast it from a mold, or laser cut it. Essentially, if you can carve holes and notches into a material, you can make this ruler.

This kind of reminds of me of levels, which have a little gel capsule in the middle. Perhaps the holes to stabilize could also be applied to those. Other than that, it reminds me of a ruler(obviously) and a triangle right angle thing.

If I had time, I could probably build in clamps so that you could clamp the ruler to a piece of wood or the table. However, that would probably make the ruler more complicated to build, and more expensive, so it would be a trade-off.

As you can see in the image below, I got an appraisal for printing my ruler on a 3D printing site called Shapeways. Unfortunately, it is extremely expensive.

Footnote: Sorry I don't have any images of my work in Inventor; I typed this at home. I'll add them when I can.

Puzzle Cube Reflection

This is my cube. As you can probably see, it is three cubes by three cubes. The cubes themselves are roughly 3/4 of an inch, and have been glued together with wood glue. The part drawings I have for each of the parts in the puzzle are enclosed below.

I had four people solve my puzzle, and with the outlier of Chloe, all of the data suggested a solving range in between 60 and 90 minutes. If I have more time, I will collect more data and update this post accordingly.

It was important to model my ideas using multi-view sketches or Inventor before making my final prototype in order to resolve issues that may arise when envisioning the puzzle, such as it being too hard or too easy. To segue into what I liked and what I would change, I both rejoice and lament at the apparent difficulty of the puzzle. Although I feel very happy when people struggle to solve my puzzle, it is frustrating to gather data for time spent solving it.

Puzzle Cube Design Process

Brainstorming: Going through all the possible puzzle pieces with 4, 5, and 6 parts was a long process, but it gave me a sense of how many possibilities there really were. The colored parts on the right are my multi-view sketches, through which I attempted to describe the nature and configuration of each of the parts used in my final design.

Out of both of these designs, I chose the bottom one because it was composed of more interlocking parts, and was much harder to solve(my partner Diana took nearly the entire school day to put it together!).

Afterwards, I created all of my parts in Inventor, which was fairly simple. What is more complicated, though, is fitting them together in an assembly, which I have yet to figure out.

Puzzle Cube Quality Analysis

My data seems to have large statistical variance across 0.74-0.78 inches, as evidenced by my histogram.

Fling Machine

Our fling machine was inconsistent. The data wither was in the 60-100 inch range, or misfired and landed in the -20 to 20 inch range. Working with Jake went well, because we respected our ideas and were able to brainstorm many uses for the materials we were given. 

If we were to optimize the design, we would use a stronger base material to prevent bending, and thicker rubber bands to launch the cotton ball further. I don't think we can improve the effectiveness of the team because our team is simply this good. 

I think given the constraints of the fling machine, the teams solved the problem well for the most part. I think that the quality would improve given more time and more supplies.

Unit Conversion Project

For our presentation, in an attempt to teach unit conversion, we decided to make it in the Major League Gaming(MLG) parody style. Originally, we had lots of animated GIFs, but the sheer quantity crashed the presentation. Unfortunately, this meant the final presentation was more static than the one we originally put together.