Student Work

Reflection Overall, I believe that the two best things about going through the experience of this project were getting practice at thinking creatively and solving problems. No aspect of this project had an easy answer and it was up to me to find a solution that would work. Sometimes these answers were harder than others…

Blog: Final Project Report Continued: Why and What next? Reflection on the semester. Compare your original project intent to what you ended up with. How did the public react? What did you learn from your project, and from the class? What will you do next with the project? What do you wish you had done…

Functionality Functionally, I’m really happy with how my project turned out.  It syncs up seamlessly with any music software that accepts MIDI ins, and can transmit a variety of easy-to-change MIDI signals.  The response time is also super quick – unnoticeable.  Even when two pads are being struck at the same time, the Koala 1…

Inspiration I really like making music in Ableton Live.  I’ve wanted to buy some MIDI drum pads for a while to use when making music, but I haven’t been able to justify the cost.  So, I decided to make my own (hopefully for a fraction of the cost). When I began work on the MIDI…

Reflections: Simple is better: I really struggled with my Arduino code for a few weeks trying to get the sensor to work. I kept on adding more into the code, running it, and then the problems only seemed to add up. What worked out better was to first take a step away from the project,…

How Did It Turn Out? I am super happy with how this project ended up turning out! While I wasn’t able to implement all of the functionality I wanted to this semester (real-time sync, weather data input and other modes, etc.) I was glad to see that I could have a vision and build something…

Looking back on this semester, I have definitely gained new skills, both technical and analytical.  The main difference I have noticed is my ability to see things differently.  Prior to this semester, I viewed most engineering projects with the mindset of function, rather than form.  Throughout my engineering curriculum, I have been taught to design…

My project was a Modern kitchen appliance; it is supposed to be both functional, and aesthetically pleasing. People should like at it and think that it looks like it would be nice to have in the kitchen not only because it holds spices and paper-towels, but also because it has a Modern look to it; thus…

Introduction I created a thundercloud light fixture. It contains many LEDs that flash randomly like lightning. It is made to hang from a ceiling. I was inspired to create a light fixture that mimicked something in nature.   Materials Polyfiber pillow stuffing LEDs 100′ 22 AWG White Wire Arduino UNO Mux Shield II Small breadboard…

Description The LED Orb is a device that spins three LED’s (one red, one green, one blue) at very high speeds in three different axis with varying flash rates to create a cool light effect.  I was inspired to make this after I saw a video (linked in the references below) of the first LED…

Project Summary The inspiration behind this idea is simply having a beautiful parasol that also poses as an umbrella, and that I love the show RWBY and a character from the show carries a parasol and I wish to make it real! The aesthetic of this parasol is very romantic, feminine, and a bit Victorian, especially due…

Somehow I forgot to post this, so here we go! The last and final update! Now that all of the lace and brown dye have been applied to the parasol, all that is left is painting on the design. However, testing the lace with extra scrape lace showed that I would not be able to…

Introduction This project I chose to do was a backlit panorama. I wanted this project be reminiscent of a static art piece which would slowly over time change lighting in the background. This report serves to discuss the more technical details of this project. Inspirations The inspirations for this project come from a variety of…

Results Despite demoing the project at the design expo, I was unable to get the levitation audio visualizer to work as originally intended. The original idea for the levitation audio visualizer was to read in audio and change the height of levitating ping pong balls/color of lights to visually display the music.  Although I was able to get the audio…

Recap I am building a bladeless fan, similar to the Dyson fans but on a smaller scale and it is wireless and handheld. The whole frame will be 3D printed. The head piece will be removable and different designs will be made. Progress My prints have come completed and I am quite happy with the…

Design Goals After constructing the Mendocino motor, I feel like I successfully achieved the design goals that I set out for myself at the beginning of the class. The project very much achieves a futuristic and levitation aesthetic while still looking very clean. The motor didn’t need a cord and was a standalone piece of…

  I made a desk garden. I wanted to work with water, plants, and light, and while it took me a very long time to settle on something, I finally did. I want a nice looking, modern planter for my desk. Here’s an image of the CAD for my final design. I really didn’t want to make…

I wanted to build a table top stirling engine for my project. I’ve been wanting to make one for a long time, but never got around to making it happen. There is a lot of documentation online on how people have made their own using a variety of designs and materials. My goal was to make…

The CAD went through some minor changes since last time. Here is what it should look like in the end according to the CAD. It is finished and looks similar to this. The CAD does not include a drawing of the bearing since I used a mock bearing from McMaster Carr to fill in my…

Introduction This will be the first installment of a two-part report, chronicling the design and production of my final project for Aesthetics of Design, the Personal Tattoo Machine. Within this post, you can expect to find detailed explanations of the decisions I made over the course of this project, in addition to how I produced several…

I initially set out with the intention of building a speaker into an electric guitar in order to allow the user to have the guitar’s sound amplified to listenable levels without the use of a typical amplifier.  This problem is often solved using mini battery powered amps that can clip to the users belt.  I…

Introduction For those of you who have never heard of a useless box (I didn’t know the name of it before this project), the useless box is primarily a desk toy. It can provide brief periods of entertainment and for those who see it for the first time it can spark curiosity. All that it…

Blog: Final Project Report: What and How. Overall description and photos, then details of what you have made: CAD drawings, fabrication description, costs vs budget, etc.   The frame is finally all assembled. At this point, all the remains before it can be built into a operating bicycle is curing of the epoxy, some finishing…

Introduction I began this project motivated by the love of jewelry and inspiration from a piece I was given my a friend. I dedicated the last month to playing around with different gears, patterns, and cutouts. I have loved this project and the ability to use my love of both mechanics and art. Since my…

Inspiration When I was a little kid, I had a globe that you could place between two magnets and it would be completely suspended in the air. I was always extremely fascinated by it, along with magnets in any form. This is what lead me to making a Mendocino motor for my project. A Mendocino…

What: The project objective was to create a dynamic object, something that changes throughout time. When thinking about something that actually changes, I began questioning if a physical object could actually change, or was change simply an optical illusion? Sure things could be moved around, added or subtracted, but do thing s actually change? Obviously…

Project Description The Levitation Audio Visualizer is a dynamic sculptural-like device that allows a user to interact with music in a new way. Seven ping pong balls are suspended in clear columns using fans, and their suspended height is changed according to filtered frequency bands of input audio. The enclosure is made of opaque white acrylic which is illuminated by high power…

Introduction Upon a first impression, it should strike the viewer as an object that is futuristic and robotic, but there should also be a feeling of being worn and outdated at the same time. If such a thing exists, the design should convey a world where heavy machinery has become automated and robotic. When someone thinks of…

For my final project, I wanted to do a very intricate wooded locket. The inspiration for this locket came from the movie The Illusionist. In this movie, the locket twists from an oval or “pill” shape to a heart shape. While in the heart shape, there are doors that swing open to reveal an opening for…

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…

Introduction: This is a proposal for custom glass writing boards to be installed on the walls in Andrews Hall on the University of Colorado Boulder’s campus. These unique writing boards are student designed and will be student made under the guidance of campus machine shop supervisors, Housing and Dining Facilities employees, and upper-class engineering students.…

For my final project, I wanted to make a piece that could transform into something unexpected.  I wanted to create something that people would never know what it actually was or what it could do until they saw the transformation and interacted with it.  After looking online for some project ideas, I came across the…

Run Ralphie Run – What is it? Run Ralphie Run, otherwise known as the ‘Mechanical Buffalo,’ is an automata toy made from the Colorado Buffaloes logo. This automata is actuated with a small peg that rotates 30 degrees and causes the legs to move. Then, the peg is rotated 30 degrees in the opposite direction…

Because I won’t be at expo, since I am competing in the USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship, here is my virtual presentation! The aesthetic I was going for here was postmodern, clean, and simplistic look, however complexity under the look.   I have been done with my project for about a week now, so it…

Project Background For my final project I knew that I wanted to do something with arrows. I learned how to shoot a bow with my grandfather when I was a child, and since then archery has become a favorite pastime of mine. For the upcycling project I considered using some old broken arrows as a…

I have finally completed my wind turbine! After multiple iterations, much troubleshooting, and plenty of trips to McGuckins, it came together quite well.  As with any design process, I ran into a multitude of issues that set me back a bit, but each one taught me valuable lessons about the turbine.  The process of creating…

After having some troubles with the 3D printer, I’ve finally gotten some critical parts tweaked and finished. I had to make some updates to the fly wheels so account for the screws that I had.   The connecting rods attach much more nicely now with less play. The fly wheels now have a set screw…

Hello all, I doubt that anyone has been following my progress with a great deal of anticipation and attention, but if there is anyone that has been doing so, I apologize for not posting more updates the past few weeks. I have been making progress, but it has been very very slow. However, I do feel…

Unfortunately, I am still very sick with some sort of bacterial infection and have been in bed with a fever for the last two weeks. As a result of my sickness, I have made no progress on my project and have nothing new to show you all. Hopefully within the next couple days these antibiotics…

I had some issues posting (my house internet went out) and then senior design pulled me away for two days, so I’m posting a little late. Sorry! My project is done…ish. Everything is machined and assembled, but the motor doesn’t work. The issue lies within the timing system. Basically, I tried to cut corners to…

I don’t have much to update, other than I have began printing and it will take approximately 30 hours to finish. Once it is complete I can put my parts in to a bath to remove all filler material (which may take a day or two). Afterwards I can finalize the parts with some post…