Nick Ortiz

14 posts

Project Report Part II

April 28, 2016

This past semester I really enjoyed building my aesthetics of design project. This was my first clock build, and if I have enough spare time in the future I think it’s a hobby that I could continue to pursue. My original project intent was to make a clock that was visually interesting and displayed the…

Project Report: Fabrication

April 20, 2016

Nick Ortiz

Student Work

This past week I finished up my project and prepared to present it at the expo. Once I had completed the design the first step was to laser cut my pattern on 5mm birch plywood. The laser cutter managed to cut through the wood, but I would estimate that 5mm (.197 in) is close to…

Mechanical Clock Update – 4/12/16

April 12, 2016

Nick Ortiz

Student Work

This past week I’ve been busy fabricating my design. The 3D printed parts take a surprisingly long time to print! This is partially because they need high infill for strength and partially since I’m using the “fine” layer setting (0.2mm) for a nicer surface finish. Yesterday finished, cutting all of the wooden parts I need…

Mechanical Clock – Finalized Design & Fabrication

April 6, 2016

Nick Ortiz

Student Work, Update Weds April 6 2016, ZZ 2016

This week I completed my project design – the clock consists of 4 laser cut sheets of plywood that are held a fixed distance from each other by two bolts and spacers. The gearing is suspended between two plywood sheets and held in place by small bearings. The for simplicity, the gears will be 3-d printed…

Mechanical Clock – Project Progress & Aesthetic Changes

March 30, 2016

Nick Ortiz

Impact of 20th Century design movements plus update Weds March 30 2016, Student Work, ZZ 2016

I’ve made some progress this past with the design of my project – the clock gearing design is finalized and the general aesthetic is taking shape. The next step is to order the hardware that I selected for the design and begin manufacturing the back plate which will be made out of laser cut plywood. The…

Mechanical Clock – Update 3/16

March 16, 2016

Nick Ortiz

Student Work, Update Weds March 16, 2016, ZZ 2016

This week I made significant progress with the mechanical assembly of the clock. Using an online gear maker I’ve begun prototyping the gears. This coming weekend, I’ll have the entire prototype assembly built. That will allow me to test the mechanism before I begin the final assembly with wooden laser cut gears and an aesthetic…

Top Five Project Constraints – Mechanical Clock

March 8, 2016

Nick Ortiz

Student Work, Top 5 Constraints 2016, ZZ 2016

Friction is the number one cause of failure for mechanical clock projects. The clocks weight needs to lift the clock’s hands and move the pendulum. If the friction in the bearing surfaces or between the gears is too great, the clock will be at a standstill. One way to mitigate this is to use roller…

Design Review – Mechanical Clock

February 29, 2016

Nick Ortiz

Main Project Design Review 2016, Student Work

For my main project, I would like to build a mechanical clock that functions primarily as an aesthetic expression and secondarily as a time-telling device. Originally, mechanical clocks functioned as an important tool to measure time. However, due to the proliferation of inexpensive quartz clocks, computers and cellphones mechanical clocks are too inaccurate (+/- 15…

Design Inspiration – Main Project

February 28, 2016

Nick Ortiz

Main Project Inspirations 2016, Student Work

For my final project, I would like to design and build a mechanical clock, or a similar mechanism. Although many clocks have been built before, I think I can apply a unique aesthetic to make the project my own. From a purely utilitarian perspective a clock has been done before, but it if you look…

AesDes goals

February 17, 2016

Nick Ortiz

Student Work

This semester I would like to to gain more experience taking a project from a initial idea to a fully executed design. This involves identifying project objectives, developing a realistic schedule, and staying on track complete a project. At the end of the semester I would like to have a product that is refined enough…

Nick’s Skills

February 9, 2016

Nick Ortiz

Student Work

I excited to begin work on this year’s final projects. Here are a list of skills that I would be happy to my teammates projects: CAD Modeling – I can quickly draw up parts and make drawings 3D Printing – I have my own FDM printer so I can quickly get you parts Electronics –…

Indoor Thermometer & Hygrometer

February 2, 2016

Nick Ortiz

Student Work, Upcycle Project Report 2016, ZZ 2016

First Steps For my upcycing project I decided to make a home weather station from some recycled hardwood flooring and some spare electronics I had around the house. To start I used a DHT11 sensor breakout board to sense the current temperature and humidity. These values are read by an Arduino ProMini ($2 from sparkfun’s annual sale a few years…

Weather Station Progress

January 25, 2016

Nick Ortiz

Student Work, Upcycle Progress 2016, ZZ 2016

For my upcycing project I decided to make a home weather station from some recycled hardwood flooring and some spare electronics I had around the house. To start I used a DHT11 sensor breakout board to sense the current temperature and humidity. These values are read by an arduino pro mini ($2 from sparkfun’s annual sale a few years ago).…

Art Deco

January 20, 2016

Nick Ortiz

Aesthetic Explorations 2016, Student Work, ZZ 2016

Early in the 20th century, the Art Deco visual aesthetic was highly influential in fine art, industrial design and architecture. Art Deco is one of my favorite aesthetics because it radiates an optimism about the future. It alludes to the possibilities of human industry with stately figures and clean symmetric lines. I was reminded of the…