For Our team’s aesthetic of design game categories were the modern style aesthetic and LAMPS. The essence of modern style is to use angular, geometric shapes with swooping curves, and simplicity. We know that there are other possible definition, but these were the key aspects of the design that we were trying to capture. The…

I have made a lot of progress this week by building the wind up toy’s skeleton, but there is still a lot more to do before the ITLL Design Expo (4/23/2016)! First I began the week by going to the ITLL machine shop to start the fabrication process of my wind up spider toy and…

Just got back from spring break, and the project is coming along slowly. I went to McGuckins Hardware Store to collect several “solar powered hobby cars” to collect small plastic gears and metal parts to build a prototype of my design, and then salvage the parts for the final design.  I also bought spring steel…

This past week was spent gathering the last of the loose ends before assembly. I purchased all the required fasteners, pipe clamps, fans, tubes, and the remaining electronic components. I was nervous about some components that were shipping from China, but luckily those arrived over the weekend. One of the items I was waiting on was the power…

This past week I have continued to make a good amount of progression the levitation audio visualizer. Up until this point, I had been focusing on the electronics and software required to filter audio, read the ball distance, and control the ping pong ball height. This week I switched to the mechanical side, and put my…

This week I managed to successfully filter input audio using the MSGEQ7 IC. This chip allows you to input the audio signal, and it will assign a value between 0 and 1023 for each filter range: 63Hz, 160Hz, 400Hz, 1kHz, 2.5kHz, 6.25kHz and 16kHz. After some frustrations (poor data sheet and a few mistakes while…

My levitation audio visualizer is off to a good start. I have created a detailed BOM for the build, and I have ordered/received the parts required to prototype and functionally development one column. The remaining items to be purchased are only the ones that will be needed during the assembly of the final unit. As things are still in flux,…

Over the last few days, I have started designing and ordering the dynamic parts for my project. The list below are the top action items, that I need to complete for the success of my final toy. Hydraulic System – The mechanics behind making the spider move are going to be tricky. My idea is to…

Time: It almost doesn’t need to be said, but the primary driving constraint on this project is the time remaining to have an operational product demo at the design expo in April. Cost: As with any non-defense/government project, cost will play a huge role in the components that I select to use. I am currently in…

COOL! That is what I want people to say when they see my final project. My overall goal for the Aesthetics of Design course is to fabricate a toy spider that can walk or jump across a table. I do not want to create a creepy realistic spider, in my mind that is boring. I…

For my final project, I am want to create a dynamic sculptural-like device that allows a user to interact with music in a new way. My initial inspiration for this project came from the original implementation of frequency spectrum audio visualizers. These visualizers break the audio spectrum in to discrete chunks, and adjust bar levels…

“This week, what are you hoping to gain in experience and skills this semester and by graduation?” I just wanna dance the night away! Not really, but I do want to increase my skills in all engineer aspects and be more creative in my designs. This class allows me to look at both the function…

When I first decided to go into mechanical engineering, I had the idea that I would be personally designing, constructing, and assembling hardware on my day to day job. I have since found out that (most) mechanical engineers don’t actually have a large role beyond design and documentation. My dream job would be wearing the hat of…

I come from a mechanical background, so I have decent experience in designing for manufacturing, CAD using SolidWorks, and GD&T drafting/tolerancing for part prints. Additionally, I know how to use most of the tools in the ITLL machine shop, the instron machine, and the laser cutter. In my free time I really enjoy tinkering with electronics, and can…

Every ten or so years, the bucket hat seems to make a come back in fashion and trendy streetwear. With each life cycle, the style is tweaked, and it somehow resumes a completely reinvented aesthetic. If you do not know about this trend, this article does a far better job at explaining the background that I can: http://www.bustle.com/articles/27831-whatever-happened-to-bucket-hats-oh-wait-theyre-back The current trend of…

The Nerd (adjective: nerdy), is a descriptive word to identify a person who is overly intelligent, obsessive, and/or lacking social skills. Typically this individual may spend outrageous amount of time on obscure, unpopular, non-mainstream activities or culture. Also, generally speaking the topics usually have a highly technical theme or relating to fantasy and fiction. A…

For many people, drinking their morning coffee is a ritual needed to kick start the day. Coffee was popularized across Europe in the 17th century, which quickly launched Brazil into becoming the worlds largest bean producer [1]. Today, the average US citizen consumes 7.5lb of beans annually [2]. Recently, coffee has experienced a craft revolution that has popularized micro-roasteries, local coffee shops, espresso drinks,…