Desktop Radial Engine: Reflection
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Ultimately I was very happy with the result of my project. While it had its up and downs, as with any project of this magnitude, the end result was something I was truly proud of. I was able to get much more out of this project than I had initially expected and have found a…
Surreal Stirling Engine Final Report (Part 2)
Looking back on the project, there are a few things that I’ve learned. It turns out that I really enjoy working with clay. It is soothing and relaxing, and being able to see something take shape in 3D is exciting. I also gained a lot more experience with 3D printing, especially with trouble-shooting. I really…
From Fists and Steel to Jungle Bicycle Part 2
I initially set out to make a café racer style bicycle, using among other things the Joe Lewis Detroit fist as my inspiration. After spending quite a bit of time in my friend’s shop trying to perfect my welding skills, I bailed on this idea. I did not feel confident enough welding the thin walled…
Immersion Wheel – Final Report Part II – Why and What next?
Why: This object facilitates a brief immersion into the world of sacred geometry, it hopefully provides inspiration and a momentary escape from reality. For some who have experienced lucid patterns in other states of mind, this may be familiar. For these folks I believe the Immersion Wheel can help validate the connection between the…
Sand Frame: Final Project Report Part 2
I am really happy with how my project turned out. Finally the long hours of prototyping payed off. I think people at the expo liked my project. I am glad I build a wooden frame to go around the glass it really made a difference. What it means? I thought of what this means for a while…
Macro Music Box – What’s Next
Overall, I’m very satisfied how the project turned out, though if I were to do it again I’d definitely do a few things differently. First, I’ll focus on what I think was accomplished in the current version. Functionality The music box plays, and even plays a tune, though not very loudly. I learned…
Mechanical Jewelry Final Report: Part 2
Why this project? My love for art began many years ago when I took my first jewelry class as a freshman in high school. I considered going to art school because I got a full ride scholarship. Because this class offered so much freedom, I knew from the start I wanted to do jewelry. I…
Borderlands Digital Display: Lessons Learned
The journey of designing and manufacturing this digital display was both frustrating and time consuming, but there were a lot of good lessons taken away despite the troubles. Wanting to pursue a cheaper option for manufacturing but also wanting to learn a new fabrication technique, I found tutorials online on how prop makers work their…
Piet Mondrian’s LED dress Final Report 2
Goal My goal for this class was having an integrated project of engineering and aesthetics. This goal was pursed by making a Piet Mondrian inspired LED dress. Piet Mondrian is known for his work that shown in figure 1. The white, red, yellow and blue colors are very attractive and actually were made into dresses as…
Desk Garden Final Report Part 2
The desk garden is currently a nice addition to my desk. I made it because I like plants and wanted to start keeping some. My desk is a little bare, so the desk garden livens it up. Originally, I thought I would use a square footprint and that the planter would have an overhead watering…
LED Orb Final Report Part 2
When I started this project I had a pretty good idea what I wanted my final product to look like and what kind of experience I wanted the viewers to have. It’s supposed to be cool, fun, entrancing, and interactive. At this point in the process I’m sad to say that the product is still…
Honda Cafe Racer Final Report Part 2: Moving Forward
Overall I am extremely pleased with my final design for this class. Building a bike is extremely time consuming though, especially without the proper tools and garage, so I wasn’t able to finish it to my final desire. This was expected though and I believe I did enough to change the overall aesthetic of the…
Swing Bike Final Report Part 2
When I started this project, I knew immediately that I wanted to make a swing bike because I had admired them for the past 8 years when I first saw one. Since you can’t buy them, this project seemed like a good excuse to stop being lazy and actually make it! If you didn’t read…
Wine Knife Final Report pt. 2
During the expo the Wine Knife was displayed, and the comments were generally positive, there were some sharp corners and potentially hazardous edges that will round out with use, as well the material selection for the foil knife was a concern, 6061 aluminum is a bit soft for a blade, however as a prototype the…
Sami’s Final Report Part 2
When I first started this project I had a very strong idea of what experience I wanted the viewer to have. Throughout the process of creating this piece of art, the actual design has changed multiple times, but the original intent has always stayed the same. When I set out on the project I had…
Why Carbon Fiber Short Board and What’s next?
I originally wanted to explore the construction of carbon fiber spoilers and splitters on race cars. I thought a fun way to do this would be to build a skateboard using a similar construction method. This project served to practice my carbon fiber fabrication skills, which I’ll definitley be using more in the future. After…
Neo Parasol – Final Report Part 1
This post summarizes the exact process of how I made this parasol! *Note some parts are copied from previous updates. First I purchase an auto-open cane umbrella that was decently priced on amazon. I removed the original black plastic umbrella fabric and have used it to measure and cut all eight white lace panels needed…
Spider Toy: Final Report #2
Introduction: This is the second part of my final report blog, and it will cover my project summary and lessons learned for students taking Aesthetic of Design. The project summary is a review of the successes, and failures of my wind up spider toy design. The purpose of this part of the report is to…
Final Project Report #1: Wind-UP Spider Toy
INTRODUCTION: This is the first part of my final report blog, and it will cover my inspiration behind the design, explain the aesthetics in greater detail, walk through the dynamic components of the spider toy’s drive train, fabrication of the overall design, and the mishaps that happened along the way. The purpose of this report…
Final Project Report, Part 2: Glass Writing Boards
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…
Useless Box Final Project Report Part 2
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…
Light Up Pearl: Final Design Report Part 2
I believe I accomplished the main intent I was going for with this project, but it didn’t turn out aesthetically exactly how I had envisioned it to. This was due to a combination of lack of skills and money. I had very ambitious goals for this project and wanted to create/design something I had never…
MIDI Drum Pad (aka Koala 1) Final Post – Reflections
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…
Final Report MIDI Drum Pad (aka 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…
Fiber Optic Chandelier Final Post Reflections
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,…
A Few Videos
Here are videos of a few of the class projects presented at the Engineering Design Expo last Saturday, April 23 2016, and at the ATLAS Expo, April 27:
Backlit Panorama Final Report: Part 2
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…
Wind Turbine Final Report Pt. 2
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…
Infinity Mirror Clock Final Report Part 2
I really liked the pace of this project. Whenever I had enough free time I could devote hours to working on this project then set it aside for a while once my other classes started to require the majority of my time. This down time gave me the opportunity to reflect on my current progress…
Run Ralphie Run: A Mechanical Buffalo (Final Report Part 2)
How did it turn out? Overall, I’m pretty ecstatic with how this project turned out. Amazingly, my scope and vision turned out to be nearly identical to my initial idea and conceptual design. However, the way that I executed that vision (internal components) turned out to be quite a challenge and rather unexpected. I ended up…
Update 4/27/2016 LSKD (Lazy Susan Kitchen Device)
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…
Thundercloud Final Report Part 1
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. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYwVQtSiejo Materials Polyfiber pillow stuffing LEDs 100′ 22 AWG White Wire Arduino UNO Mux Shield II Small…
Final project part 1
Project description I decided to make an infinity mirror because it can not only give me some chances to playing with some electronics but also creating some really cool optical effect after finishing this project.Why can the infinity mirror creates “tunnel” effect? The secret is that the infinity mirror actually contains two mirrors with different transmissivity…
Final Report: Ferrofluid Sculpture
First Impression The goal behind the ferrofluid sculpture was to have it capture people’s attention. The way ferrofluid moves around a magnetic field has a certain appeal to the human eye due to its ability to flow and transform shape. Using an all glass case would add a sharp edge to the display by making…
LED Orb Final Report Part 1
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…
Neo Parasol – Final Report
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…
Neo Parasol – Completed Project Update (4/20)
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…
Backlit Panorama Final Report: Part 1
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…
Levitation Audio Visualizer Final Report Part 2
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…
Bladeless Fan Final Report Part 1
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…
Project Reflections
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…
Illuminated Branch Divider (Final Report Pt 1)
The divider wall is complete, and has been installed in the ATLAS Black Box theatre for the production run of Quantified Self. I am pleased. Here is a report of the process. After presenting my initial plan for the construction of this project at our PDR, I set to work on modeling the major wood…
LED iPhone & Apple Watch charging dock progress Update
Sorry for the late update, last week was pretty busy… Last week I went to the ITLL machine shop and did the first stage of manufacturing my project. I cut a U-shape on the wood block and I made another wood block into a much thinner form. I also drilled a hole on the top…
Desk Garden Final Report Part 1
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…
Surreal Stirling Engine Final Report (Part 1)
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…
24 Wrapping Up
Hi. I didn’t hear any screams of protest, so let’s go forward with the final page idea, due Sunday May 1 at 7 pm. Create a Page (not Post) for your work. Title it for your main project. It should have a featured image, a very brief description of the project (< 50 words), your…
Update 4/21/2016 LSKD (Lazy Susan Kitchen Device)
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…
Personal Tattoo Machine – Final Project Report Part I
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…
Road Worn Speaker Guitar (What and How)
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…
Weekly Update – April 20th
For this week, I mainly focused on building the tattoo machine’s circuit, which turned out to be a somewhat insignificant amount of time. With the senior design expo being this week, the vast majority of my time was spent in preparation for the expo. But I was able to design the simple circuit to be…
Macro Music Box – Final Report Part I
Final Music Box After everything, the macro music box turned out pretty well. While the tune doesn’t play as well as its micro counterpart, but aesthetically it turned out almost exactly as I was hoping. I think the theme was captured very well actually, everything is in either dark woods or gold coloring, matching the…
Joseph Yoshimura, Useless Box, What and How (Final Report 1)
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…
Piet Mondrian LED dress 4/20/16
This week I have learned few things: Piet Mondrian LED dress is white- I’ve used a black dress and honestly it did not seem as pretty. Do not sew LED until you settle on the batteries and their voltages and amperages respectively – I have been too reckless and thus had decided to buy a…
Lugged Carbon Frame: What and How
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…
Piet Mondrian LED dress 4/13/16
Greetings! So I’ve decided on the Piet Mondrian dress and bought 40 to 50 3mm LEDs of each of the green, red and yellow colors. The battery is still of a concern but I’ve decided to go ahead and attach the leds according to the design and then calculate voltage and amperage needed. So far I sewed…
Design Report Part 1: Mechanical Jewelry
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…
Sand Frame: Final Project Report Part 1
Introduction: This part 1 of the final blog post, which unwinds the story behind my Sand Frame project from the inspiration to the final build. Even though building the sand frame might be simple and intuitive, roadblocks and challenges were discovered along the way of building the frame. This post will discuss the ups and…
Wine Knife Final Report pt.1
I am quite surprised at how well this project turned out, aside from a few minor flaws of which I am almost certain are in my mind alone. The Wine Knife is designed to operate as a cork remover/ bottle opener tool but with a bit more machismo. I wanted a larger, heavier, more masculine…
Mendocino Motor Final Report | Peter
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…
Final Project Report: Longboard
Final Project Report: Initial idea: I wanted to design and build a custom longboard for my friend out of scratch, including the trucks. After playing with solid works and talking to skate shop owners, I began to understand that it was not realistic and a productive use of my time to build trucks, because…
A Living Room 3D Printer: Final Design Report
Introduction Additive manufacturing very well may be the future of making “things” and the advancement of 3D printers will revolutionize the way that everyday people get parts and products for use in their homes. The most common type of 3D printing on the consumer market currently is Fusion Deposition Modeling (FDM), which basically melts…
Final Report Part 1: Swing Bike
General Description The swing bike is a bicycle meant for fun. Therefore, when a viewer looks at it, that should be the first thing that he/she thinks of. To achieve this, I’ve gone for a way different aesthetic than most bicycles today, which are sleek and polished machines that scream business. Instead, I’ve mashed up…
Immersion Wheel Final Report Part 1 – What and How
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…
Lighting Up Pearl: Final Report Part 1
Introduction: My project has been a long journey that began with my own passions and educational background as well as inspirations found online. This project was a major inspiration for me. Close-up of the design inspiration. My Environmental Design background has led me to become interested in spaces for people from buildings, to parks, to…
Details on Coffee Brewer Build
The build is mostly done! It was quite the process. The previous process can be seen in my other blog here. From the last point where the wood was cut to size, I started by using a hole saw to cut the hole for the jar and valve (pictures below). Once the hole was cut it…
Barn Door Report – Part 1
I set out to create a rustic sliding door that would be utilized to divide the bathroom from the laundry area. While the aesthetic was originally intended to be closer to shabby chic, the end result is something a bit more out of the ordinary. Throughout the design and actual building process, the door…
Levitation Audio Visualizer Final Report Part 1
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…
From Fists and Steel to Jungle Bicycle Part 1
Introduction The project has left me with a beautiful bamboo jungle bicycle I will ride into my next guerrilla warfare endeavor. The following will explain my process and eventually in good time I’ll reveal what it all means. To quickly recap: disappointed in my welding skills I switched from making a steel cafe racer bicycle to…
Carbon Fiber Short Board Report
The goal of this project was to explore the uses of carbon fiber while practicing my fabrication skills. This project turned out to be a great experiment and learning process, while still producing a nicely finished product. I decided to make a carbon fiber skateboard (or short board) using similar construction methods to surfboards and…
Borderlands Digital Display: The Process
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…
