Category: e-portfolio

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Semester full of Digital Making !

Wow the semester has flew by. I remember taking my disability design course and being heavily encouraged to take this course from my professor Dr Deana McDonagh. I heard countless success stories and instantly got interested. I remember the entire process  of sending a resume and asking access from the instructor. It made the course feel even more official and selective. I wanted to take the course because it could present even more fabrication resources and help me in product development in my startup.

Expectations…

Initially I didn’t necessarily know what to expect. From the course description I thought maybe the the class would be very hands on and explore various methods of fabrication. Even with these little to no expectations the course don’t over promise anything. The course itself wasn’t perfect but it was an overall great experience. It challenged us to think outside the box and look at what we usually consider problems as areas of opportunity for innovation. The structure of the course prompted us to use the parameters set and essentially work through things, which allowed us to learn even more. This style of teaching could go one of two ways. The class could be way to lose, which causes confusion and lack of understanding of expectations. Or it could be how this course went and really give students the opportunity to explore, fail, plan, and execute on an idea.

This course further enhanced some fabrication skills I already have and taught me some fairly new ones as well. As an industrial designer I’m constantly doing project and solving problems. Design thinking, user centered design, empathic design are all things this course subtly hinted in throughout the semester. The workshops enabled us to gain new skills and learn processes. Many of, if not all the guest speakers, provided meaningful insight throughout the semester as well. There are so many takeaways from this class.

Solestice

I was partnered with two bright young women from the college of business. I couldn’t have asked for a better team. We had a great dynamic and right away knew what we wanted to do for the remainder of the semester project.Through the many conducted interviews and mentors stories we gravitated towards Jenna. She shared with us the story of a time where she slipped on ice immediately after exiting her car. This happened all because she can’t wear boots due to the heavy nature of them. This prevents users like Jenna  and other prosthetic users from wearing them as their residual limbs are not strong enough to carry the amount of weight the boot has. This is where Solstice was birthed. We aimed to figure out a way for Jenna to increase traction without adding adding additional weight to her shoes. Our main goal was To create an attachable, lightweight shoe tread that can be used to travel in a variety of terrains.

Low Fidelity Prototype

My group and I brainstormed countless times trying to figure out how to make this idea into a real thing. We’d sketch  ideas and somehow came up with the thought of incorporating spikes ( like in track shoes) it would help with traction. Unfortunately after creating a low fidelity we realized that our user may be required to take said device off when walking indoors. We also wanted to make it as easy to use as possible, while providing a comfortable fit we thought to use velcro. This set us up perfectly to further ideate on this idea and create our very own functioning prototype at the makeathon.

At the Make-a-thon itself team Solstice focused on three main components of creating this product:  Arduino, molding, and attaching. The arduino portion was super cool and challenging. It was my first time coding and working with circuitry. Essentially this would add a unique tech factor to our tread that would allow users to have a sense of force feedback. From research we found prosthetic users have issues shifting weight which can lead to gaits abnormalities. This small pressure sensor would give them that data and in term help prevent this from happening. The design itself was fairly simple. We coded an Arduino Uno to illuminate LED lights that indicated pressure being applied. To create the pressure sensor, we sandwiched a piece of foam with two pieces of copper. Ideally, we wanted for there to be three lights, each indicating where the user is putting pressure on the tread. This would enable the user to ensure they are putting enough weight on their prosthetic to maximize stability.

In terms of creating the tread it we wanted to use a molding compound. This would allow for a lightweight thread, but ensure a grip tread form that resembles that of your regular high traction shoe. We created a mold of a shoe outsole. During this process, we coated the shoe in baby powder and mixed the molding compound to a viscosity similar to pancake mix. We held the shoe down until the mold dried. Following, we used a hot glue gun to fill in the mold with thermoplastic material. After the mold was completely filled, we used a heat gun to smooth the top of the sole, making sure the edges were slightly taller than the inside of the sole. The thermoplastic material we used was similar to silicone and, per our research, is a material that creates enough friction to prevent falling on ice.

For the sake of time and resources we opted to utilize velcro for our attaching method. It wasn’t the worst choice but also wasn’t the best as it came with its own constraints.

Overall I really did enjoy this course. From the challenging nature of it to its looseness it was a great experience. I got to learn new and exciting skills. I got to meet some amazing people. Most of all I got to make something with newly found campus wide resources. I’ve really grown as a individual because of this course. I find myself a better teammate. The collaborative portion of this course really ties teams together and promotes all hands. Hopefully you’ll see a team Solstice sole on the market. We really did nurture this product and can’t wait to see it reach its full potential. Never stop making!


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Goodbye – Final Reflection

As the semester comes to the close this is a summary of what I’ve gained and learned from the Digital Making Class. For me, it was a different experience taking a class that is project based. However, it was nice to have a change of environment and pace for a change. In the next couple of paragraphs, I will highlight what I expected from the class and what I actually got out of it.

I was introduced to this class through an instructor. In high school, I volunteered at the Museum of Science and Industry in their Fabrication Laboratory. I love to learn through experimenting, so I thought the class was a great opportunity to get back into fabrication. I did not know anyone who took the class at the time, so I skimmed through a couple of the blog posts and saw interesting topics such as Arduino learning and 3d printing. Therefore, going into the course I expected it to be a hands-on, interactive space to explore various topic connected with fabrication. Looking back some of my expectations were met but not necessarily all. Most of the class time was spent learning about other people’s stories and completing brainstorming exercises. However, I came to realize that it was good that we were doing a lot of reflection. I remember a quote from the beginning of the semester that stressed the importance of analyzing the problem instead of being quick to come up with a solution. Although the class was not quite as I expected, I still felt challenged by the prompt which was to design assistive tech.

What I learned:

Technical Skills:

Throughout the semester we completed a couple of hands-on workshops in the Fab Lab. One of those workshops involved building a watch for physical therapy patients from scratch. As a result of this workshop, we learned how to use and code an Arduino, sew, laser cut, and use a software program called Inkscape. This workshop took us about three class days to complete. Before coming to college, I learned how to use a laser cutter and Inkscape. I’ve also worked with a Raspberry Pi before which is similar to an Arduino and had previous experience with sewing. The individual workshops were helpful I talked about all of them in some of my blog posts here.

Earlier in the semester we also had another technical workshop hosted by Autodesk. A representative from Autodesk taught us the basics of Fusion 360. In the workshop we designed a phone case stand, I talked about the experience in this blog post here. To my surprise Fusion 360 is fairly easy to use. Although for my team’s project we did not utilize fusion, I still found the tutorial to be beneficial.

In general, the technical workshops were my favorite part of the course. I am a hands-on learner, so it was exciting to actually fabricate. However, I wished the course was comprised of a variety of workshops that happened more than a couple of class days.

Creative Skills:

The course also encouraged the building of what I like to call creative skills. This happened when we spent class time in our groups brainstorming. Since we had a fixed prompt it was essential that we all collaborated. Being in a team with business and design students made that collaboration easier. Throughout the semester we had brainstorming exercises such as writing important ideas on post-its and designing prototypes. The most memorable was coming up with designs. Knowing what we wanted to create we essentially had to figure out what design would accomplish our goal. We came up with nearly impossible designs and designs that we could implement in a couple of hours. I talk more about this exercise and others in these blog posts here. The area in which creative skills were essential was the interview we had to conduct with our mentor. Going into the interview we did not exactly know what it was that we wanted to create. The interview questions that we asked had to be constructed with a lot of curiosity and creativity. With simple questions such as, “what is your dream car” we were able to gain a more personal perspective of our mentor Ryan. These creative skills that we gained were not only very helpful but also applicable to everyday life.

In conclusion, this course was not exactly what I expected it to be. However, I am glad that I went outside of my comfort zone to learn in a different way.

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Samantha McClary Portfolio

Course Experience

Overall, I did not know what to expect from this course. Speaking to students who had taken it before, it did not have the same accessibility design focus as it did this semester. I was excited to learn how to design and 3D print, and I didn’t know what else the semester would bring! While I thought some of the coursework and assignments distracted from our main opportunity and goal to create a product that Jenna could use during yoga to increase balance, overall I learned a lot. I was very happy at the end when presented Jenna with a prototype that she was genuinely very excited about. I hope if nothing else that Jenna uses our prototype when she does yoga to get better at her practice!

What I Learned

This course brought a lot of different topics together and I learned a lot of both technical and soft skills throughout the weeks.

In Week 2, I was introduced to the mentors for the first time. I learned how to interview, how to prompt others to tell their stories, and how to listen to hear the opportunities in various situations. We also discussed designing with empathy in mind, which comes very naturally when you are able to listen closely and truly hear the opportunities!

In Week 3, things were a bit unorthodox when Champaign was hit with incredibly low temperatures. However, we were still able to hear from Milestone Studio Labs about how they approach designing. I think one big takeaway from this presentation was that sometimes the simplest designs still make a huge impact. This definitely came into play during our design process, as we started overcomplicating rather than creating a helpful solution.

In Week 4, we learned the basics of Fusion 360 design and how to print on the 3D printers. This was the first time I had ever printed anything and it was a very cool technical skill to learn. I think additive creation methods are really awesome to bring your ideas to life quickly. Later in Week 6 we had a more advanced presentation on Fusion 360 from an AutoDesk representative. This was great as we thought 3D printing would be best to allow others outside this class to recreate our design for themselves.

Backtracking a little, in Week 5 we honed our project focus and chose the opportunity wanted to address. Using the sticky note activity we were able to lay out exactly why this opportunity to help with yoga spoke to us and how we could help. When we met with her to discuss working on this opportunity, she was really excited about our choice which confirmed our direction.

Weeks 7, 8, and 9 were spent in the FabLab learning about the tools available to us while creating a motion-sensing watch. This was a great experience because we were able to make a fun product while learning a variety of different tools. We learned how to use the lasers to raster and vector our watch faces. We learned how to use basic programming to program an arduino with tilt sensors. Lastly, we learned how to sew and how all of these different techniques can be used to create a plethora of different products and prototypes.

During these 3 weeks, we also continued work on our opportunity with Jenna. We were able to interview a yoga instructor and the founder of Yoga for Amputees, attend a yoga class, and create low-fidelity prototypes to have critiqued by Milestone Labs.

Weeks 10 and 11 were spend preparing for the Make-a-thon. We met the other two classes who would be participating in the Make-a-thon with us alongside their faculty sponsors. We also continued sketching and ideating using feedback from Jenna along the way to make sure we were creating an effective design. We received help from Fusion experts in starting our 3D CAD file. I learned how to design files so that dimensions can be editable later which was very helpful for our final Instructable.

Finally, the Make-a-thon took place. Unfortunately I was not able to participate but I definitely learned through the experience of my teammates and our preparation. During a Make-a-thon, time is essential. Since 3D printing takes so long, the team used a different approach that would be applicable to more users. Although our final design did not use this approach, it was good to explore multiple avenues and they came out with an awesome prototype shown in Week 13.

Lastly, we created our final prototype! I could not be more proud of everything I learned in Fusion360 that helped me create this design and have the know-how to explain it to others as well. Jenna was really happy with our final prototype and I hope she is able to take it to a yoga class soon to really put it to the test!

  • First 3D print during Week 4
  • Understanding our project vision in Week 5
  • Learning more details of Fusion360 in Week 6
  • Going to the FabLab with class for the first time in Week 7
  • Creating low-fidelity prototypes in Week 8
  • Finishing our arduinos and watches in Week 9
  • Iterating designs in Weeks 10-12
  • Iterating designs in Weeks 10-12
  • Iterating designs in Weeks 10-12
  • Creating a prototype during the Make-a-thon with a new approach
  • Having Jenna test our final prototype!
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E-Porfolio: Course Reflection

Early Expectations

I remember when I first saw the introduction e-mail on this course, I was very intrigued as it was very different from the typical accounting classes I would take. Most of the classes I took do not require me to use my creativity so I thought that this class would be a great opportunity to test it as well as learning about design thinking and other additional skills. So, I went into class looking to be inspired to create and learning to use software to design products to be 3D printed.

Now, after completing the course. I can say that most of my expectations are met. The instructor, Vishal Sachdev, along with the TAs, Charlotte and Mehmet, provided me with an unforgettable learning experience. I am glad that they designed the class to be user-centric so that we are actually designing for someone rather than having us graded base on pre-determined assignments. From the course, I learned how to use tools and resources that I had no previous knowledge of. I also learned to work with people with different skillsets to create a product through design thinking process.

Week 2 Reflection
Week 3 Reflection

Resources and People

One of my favorited aspect of the course is the people. I not only enjoyed working with my fellow teammates, Samantha McClary and Yingyi Wu, but also the mentors, instructors, and TAs in the course. It was great to be able to create a network among us that goes beyond the scope of the University as we were able to invite many outside speakers and experts to the course. Through my experience working with them, I was able to learn new skills and gain experiences. For example, I had never been to the dress facility prior to taking this course. The course allowed me to not only to visit the facility but work with the individuals there. I have also never been to the FabLab and it was great opportunity to be introduced to the facility as well as the resources. Everyone in the course had a unique set of skills and working style and by having the opportunity to work with them was a pleasure and a great learning experience.

Week 4-The Importance of Failure
A Trip to the Fab Lab
Fab Lab Part 2
Endgame

3D Printing Skills

To be able to learn and use 3D printing technology was the primary reason that I chose to sign up for this course. Now, after completing the class, I have to say that I was definitely not disappointed as I was not only able to get my hands-on 3D printers but actually learn how to model 3D prints with software such as Fusion360. It was an awesome to be able to see your ideas get printed as turn into physical products.

Week 6 The Magic of Fusion 360
Final Preparations

Learning to Make

I think for me this was probably the most challenging aspects of the course as I was never asked to “make” something in my previous classes in college. However, I did enjoy the process as it did challenge me to step out of my comfort zone and to develop new skills. I enjoyed how this class encouraged and allowed us to “fail” as it allowed us to refine our ideas/solution and continued to improve our skills. There was no one correct answer as we had to come up with our own solutions and that could even fail at times. It was definitely the most fun but challenging part of the course and I really value the experience of it. I believe that I will be able to use this skill in my professional career in the future as there will be situations were there are no definite solutions and I will have to “make” one.

Week 5 Reflection
Assembling the Pieces
Back to Work

Key Takeaways from the Digital Making Seminar

After one full semester in BADM 357, I have more takeaways then I previously expected. It is one of the most memorable courses in my academic career and not only we did not have the usual examination to grade our learning process, but we were also provided food regularly as we deplete our energy and brain power for design thinking. My first takeaway is that we should not be afraid of failing as each fail brings up closer to success and give us an edge over everyone else. Secondly, I learned that people are the most valuable resource as each person has their own strength and weaknesses and together, we can accomplish objectives that are impossible to an individual. Lastly, I learned that it is important to keep up technology as it is an essential tool in the business world today.

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The Journey Continues…

Thinking back to the time when I was applying to be a part of the course, I realized how far I have come since then. I remember being excited yet nervous about taking the course. As someone who lacked self-confidence in my own technical abilities, I was looking forward to learning different skills, such as using a 3D designing tool and 3D printing a product. However, I was nervous that I would fall behind. You can see how nervous I was from the post I wrote in the past. Little did I know then that I would be spending hours taking a lead in cleaning up 3D scans and printing them for the team by the end of the semester.

Before the course began, I didn’t know what to expect from it. All I wanted was to gain more technical skills that I can continue to use even when the course wrapped up. However, I quickly came to realize that the course provided far more than the hard, technical skills.

Upon hearing the stories of the mentors, I realized that the course is very unique in the sense that it has many opportunities to leave an impact on society. That’s when I began to develop my desire to do something more than simply developing technical skills. Even if I could not complete an idea by the end of the semester, I wanted to leave an idea behind that other people can be inspired by.

Since the course had a main focus on developing ideas around the subject of accessibility, it was critical for us to understand the process of designing and developing prototypes. This was when I learned about the term “design thinking” or “human-centered design.” I realized that this idea can be applied to everywhere in any profession, not just in the space of designing. By constantly keeping the customers/clients in mind and being open to their feedback, you have the best chance of providing something for their needs. This is one of the most valuable ideas that I learned from the course.

As we continued to learn about different skills and qualities necessary to be successful at developing ideas, such as failing early and often, we began to learn the technical skills that I was looking to learn as well. Unlike my worries, I was able to absorb the information quickly and even take a step beyond what was taught in the course.

I remember the first time watching the 3D printers at work in awe as my work on the computer came to life in a tangible form. Although I have always wanted to try it before, due to the lack of confidence, I kept on convincing myself that I don’t know how to do it, so I never have until this point. This class allowed me to break the barrier and become comfortable with the idea of exploring the unknown.

In addition to the 3D designing and printing programs such as Fusion 360 and Ultimaker Cura, I also learned other skills that I did not expect, such as using Inkspace, laser cutting, sewing machine, and Arduino. I also discovered Fablab and its resources, which I am interested in exploring further in the future. I did not realize that we had access to such resources nearby and I am grateful to have met even more amazing people who are ready to help with anything within their capabilities.

The real fun began when I was able to apply these skills to develop my own idea with the team. We faced many challenges throughout the semester from trying to figure out the opportunity we wanted to pursue to making advances in the prototypes. However, we continued to push through and persevered in the end.

Through the Make-a-thon and a couple of weeks after the event, we were able to develop on the prototypes rapidly. It was amazing to see how quickly we were able to make advancements during these three weeks. I was even more surprised to discover how much I could do with Fusion 360 and Meshmixer to 3D print the scan. This experience built my confidence in my abilities to learn and apply the technical skills.

Wrapping up the project, I cannot believe how much I learned from the course. Not only have I gained more technical skills than I expected, but I also learned about different ways to interact with people of varying needs and mindsets. It was also very exciting to be able to see other people’s passion and to watch their ideas become tangible products. I never considered myself an innovator and did not think that I would have an opportunity to work with people of varying backgrounds to develop on a new idea, but this experience demonstrated to me that I have what it takes and I just need to dive into it, past the self-doubt stage. This course has really allowed me to build the self-confidence and passion that I need to pursue after different opportunities beyond my comfort zone. Not only am I excited to see where this experience will lead me to, but I am also looking forward to seeing everyone else continue to grow and reach their dreams!

Thanks everyone for such a wonderful semester! Also a big shoutout to the mentors and judges who provided so much valuable inputs and feedback!
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E-Portfolio Reflection

Early Expectations

Coming into this class I really had no idea what to expect. I knew that the class involved 3D printing and design, but I wasn’t aware of how close we would be working with mentors to develop a real product that could be used in their everyday life. In this class, I was hoping to get more experience with 3D modeling and printing and learn more about the industry in general. I wanted to be familiar enough with the technology that I could use my knowledge after I graduated to understand how 3D printing will continue to disrupt the business world.

Overall, I would say that the class met most of my expectations and gave me great experiences that I wasn’t expecting to get going into the class. The nature of the class led us to focus much more on user-centered design and I gained very valuable experience on how to design for end-users during the product development process. I had some experienced with user-centered design in the past, (https://digitalmaking.web.illinois.edu/spring2019/week-2-recap-inspiration-ideation-and-implementation/) but this semester taught me so much more. From a personal standpoint, this course taught me how to collaborate with people with very different work styles and how to split up work to play to the strengths of everyone on the team. The whole semester was a team effort and I definitely could not have accomplished everything without the help of my amazing teammates, Ryan Kane and Jay Lee.

Resources and People

One of my biggest takeaways from the semester was just how awesome the University of Illinois network is. Vishal was able to do a great job bringing in speakers and resources for our class that helped make the experiential learning process easier. I want to thank Milestone Labs, John Hornick, Dan Banach, and Jeff Ginger for coming in and sharing their wisdom with our class. We were also able to seek advice on our project from two professors: Matthew Goodman (Material Science) and Deana McDonagh (Industrial Design). Both of these professors added helpful insight into the material make-up and aesthetic design of our prototype.

I am also thankful for Adam who introduced us to our mentors at DRES. Before this semester, I had no idea that DRES existed and it was so cool to see all the amazing services the facility provides and the awesome people who work and train there. Specifically, our mentor Jenna was incredible to work with and inspired us to keep on persisting through the design process.

In addition to these wonderful people, we were given access to a lot or resources at the college. I had very little interaction with the Fab Lab and the Makerlab before this semester, but I really enjoyed learning about and utilizing all of the resources they provide. As a Senior, I wish I had learned about these great facilities earlier so I could have used them more often throughout my college career.

https://digitalmaking.web.illinois.edu/spring2019/digging-deeper-into-our-ideas-week-3-reflection/
https://digitalmaking.web.illinois.edu/spring2019/democratization-of-innovation/
https://digitalmaking.web.illinois.edu/spring2019/preparing-for-the-make-a-thon-3/
https://digitalmaking.web.illinois.edu/spring2019/make-a-thon-preparation/

3D Printing Skills

One of my expectations coming into this course was that I would learn more about how to 3D print and model. Using Fusion 360, a 3D printing software, Dan Banach was able to teach us how to design our own custom phone holder. When I first saw the design we were going to create I was pretty overwhelmed, but by the end of the process, I realized how easy it was to design and model on Fusion 360. Learning how to 3D model was one of my favorite parts of the class and it was great to see my design come to life both on the screen and then on the 3D printer itself. 3D printing still fascinates me and I am hopeful that I will continue to have access to 3D printers where I can keep on designing and creating.

https://digitalmaking.web.illinois.edu/spring2019/moving-forward/
https://digitalmaking.web.illinois.edu/spring2019/week-6-learning-the-ropes/

Learning to Make

The most important thing I learned this semester was how to make. I know that this sounds pretty straightforward and a little bit vague, but for me “making” is all about being creative and unafraid to try new things. In business, there is a lot of structure and preparation and there is usually a “right way” and a “wrong way” to do things. However, when it comes to “making” there are so many different ways to achieve your end goal and there is no structure because you are creating something that hasn’t been created before. While at first I was intimidated by this process, by the end I found myself enjoying the ambiguity and creativity needed to succeed. My time at the Fab Lab and prototyping on our project showed me that there are so many ways to be creative and build new things. I hope that when I graduate I can take this new mindset with me and continue to make and create!

https://digitalmaking.web.illinois.edu/spring2019/creation-station-week-7/
https://digitalmaking.web.illinois.edu/spring2019/return-to-the-fab-lab-week-8/
https://digitalmaking.web.illinois.edu/spring2019/watches-and-storyboarding-week-9/
https://digitalmaking.web.illinois.edu/spring2019/make-a-thon-recap-and-next-steps/

Key Takeaways from the Digital Making Seminar

  1. The University of Illinois has amazing resources
  2. The University of Illinois has amazing people
  3. Design thinking is all about what the user needs
  4. Failure is part of the innovation process
  5. 3D printing is changing the world
  6. Making things is fun!
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Course Culmination: An Inflation of Expectation

                Warning: this course completely defied my expectations and was not at all what I expected it to be after reading the course description and past testimonials – and that’s a good thing! When I registered for this course in early January I was looking for a way to get out of my R class. 357 looked enticing and I had thoroughly enjoyed my time with Vishal when I took BADM352 last spring. I sent him a brief email with why some of the concepts we planned to cover this semester enticed me and viola, I was enrolled.

                My initial thoughts were that this class was going to be like other small business classes I had taken in the past. Each student pitches an idea, and then 6 or 7 teams are formed and for the rest of the semester that group of initial ideas grew whilst everyone else’s ideas were tucked away. Instead, Vishal partnered with the Adam Bleakney and the rest of the DRES community to be our mentors for the semester.

                I personally found this scope a lot more fulfilling and impactful than yet another semester long class which goes nowhere after the course is over. Each team ended up with tangible prototypes of solutions to opportunities within our mentors’ lives. Our team worked with Ryan Wilson, a recent Illinois graduate and power wheelchair user.

                Our group’s initial ideas became centered around personalization and identity, but we quickly came to realization that we were trying to personalize through design and not utility. After speaking further with Ryan, he highlighted the fact that he stills uses a Ziploc bag to protect the electronics on the arm of his chair from water damage. Ryan even told that he has gotten stuck in the rain during a storm and he had to wait for someone else to assist him under cover, so his electronics could dry off and power on his chair.

                We then conducted a search for other products which were designed to solve this problem. And to our astonishment we found very little out there. The most common product was a bag like cover which was a pullover and had to be attached and detached each time it was to be used. Other products included canopy-like covers for the entire chair, and attachable umbrellas.

                Throughout this search process we realized two key things: each of the other solutions had to be attached and detached; and nothing could be personalized. Everything had kind of come full circle, except that we were now solving a relevant problem alongside the value-add of personalization.

                After spring break, we regrouped yet again with a concrete focus: We had the goal of creating a prototype during the Makeathon which was held in early April. We knew we wanted a product which did not have to be taken on and off, we wanted it to be a permanent part of the chair. Our team drew immediate inspiration from silicone phone cases. They were also permanent solutions which were made from a waterproof-material that was tight fit. The ridges for the volume and home buttons featured in the silicone cases gave us validation that Ryan would still be able to use the buttons through the silicone case. Additionally, to ensure Ryan could see his screen, we decided that our silicone casing would be clear.

The Makeathon weekend culminated nicely, as our group shared 1st place. After the Makeathon, our teammate Matthew made a phenomenal 3D printed injection silicone mold based on a 3D scan of Ryan’s chair. During further market research we also discovering that there were only 21 wheelchair manufacturers in the United States (IBIS World). By simply creating 1 3D printed injection mold, we have theoretically catered to nearly 5% of the power wheelchair market, a $4B industry in 2018. As a business student I found the intersection of utilitarian design and economic opportunity utterly fascinating.

I enrolled in this class with some expectations that were altered quickly as soon as we were introduced to the scope of the course. It did not give me as much individual freedom as I had expected, but the partnerships and vision made it all worth it. After meeting the other professors, we became one big family at the Makeathon, all united through a mission to improve the lives of others – and that is something that is greater than any individual can be.

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e-Portfolio Reflection

My intentions for taking Digital Making was to better understand digital making and to become more fluent within the skill. As an industrial designer I have been able to to acquire skills in “making”, however I was looking to refine my skill set as well as learn more. Thanks to this course, the MakerLab and the community Fab Lab I have learned so much about digital making this semester!

What I learned and the people I met: 

Visiting DRES

DRES

Visiting DRES was a great experience. I thought it was really interesting to see the progression of the racing wheelchairs over time. Especially as an industrial designer, I found it inspiring to see the amount of opportunity there is within this field. While we were in the basement we also had the chance to see four athletes training on racing wheelchair rollers. This really put a lot into perspective for me, forcing me to think about the stigmas there is surrounding people who use wheelchairs in relation to exercise. 

I really appreciated the people we met during our visit for giving us some their time and sharing their stories. As a designer in this situation it is easy to think just of the wheelchair and design innovation vs. the person and their life experiences. It was extremely valuable to sit down at a table and listen to their stories. In design it is very structure oriented, and having the opportunity to listen to real life experience gave me a lot more insight than I would have jumping into this project with strictly online research. Everybody had such interesting and unique story to share. 

Milestone Labs

Milestone Labs come to campus during the coldest days in the midwest so unfortunately we were only able to speak to them through Skype.

Talking to two members of the Milestone Labs team was a great opportunity for student​s to learn about the design process or refine what has been taught to some already. Particularly they helped us figure out our “Opportunity Statement”. I love we refer to this as the opportunity statement rather than problem statement which is typically what it has been referred to in the past 4 years in my college career. Opportunity statement makes things more general and instills more open ended-ness not simply one solution to a “problem”. 

This last class was a pinnacle point for my team in terms of brainstorming. The worksheet really helped bring everyone’s voices forward, although we were not sitting in the classroom face to face we were able to discuss through video chat and bounce ideas off each other in our google document.

Michael Hansen “fail early, fail often”

We had the opportunity to listen to Mike Hansen who now is a part of the EarthSense startup.EarthSense is revolutionary for the agricultural business. They are creating new possibilities in crop breeding, agricultural product development, product testing, crop research, and field scouting by improving the quantity, accuracy, cost, and speed of in-field plant trait data collection and analytics. (https://www.earthsense.co/home)

Mike stressed the theory of trial and error. SolidWorks and 3D printing lend themselves to learning from failures since both are relatively young practices. The only true way of learning how to use either platform one must try things they will most likely fail at. Mike’s story about constructing the case for the camera is a great example of failure leading to innovation. Trying something that no one has done before is a risk, however, if risks aren’t being made, progress isn’t being made either. 

Guest Speakers

Three guests came to our class to share their insights. These guests included a member of the Illini Service Dog, John Hornick, and Jeff Ginger. We started by talking about possible opportunities for design within the service dog experience, then learned a lot about advancements within the 3D printing world, were exposed to the amazing network of Fab Labs, and finally met up with our teams for a brainstorm activity.

A few opportunities the Illini Service Dogs were presenting our class were redesigns of collar and leashes, a better way of connecting leashes to wheelchairs, FOB attachments to carabiners to open and close cabinets, better designed problem collar so it is easer to take on and off, and finally an easier clasp for the vests the dogs have to wear. As for research opportunities, we were encouraged to talk to occupational therapists, physical therapists, personal assistants and expert users. 

John Hornick was extremely well versed on the history/progress of the 3D printing world. He shared a lot of interesting information. My biggest takeaways were democratization and customization. 3D printing allows people and patients to physically see ailments in the 3-dimensional world giving a lot more people access to information that wasn’t able to be expressed before. John also talked about the customization 3D printing is capable of. There is great strength within 3D printing. These technological advancements have aided in facial reconstruction, implants as well as 3D printing of skin! Wake Forest University’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine is 3D printing cartilage, organ tissue and even skin for the U.S army. 

Our final speaker for the day was Jeff Ginger who works at the UIUC Community Fab Lab. He is an expert problem solver and critical thinker. Jeff introduced us to his world of Fab Lab. Fab Lab actually is a network of fabrication labs across the world who hold conferences and offer easier/cheaper access to extremely expensive tools to the general public. 

AutoDesk Fusion 360 Basics

Dan Banach from AutoDesk lead a workshop on Fusion 360. We learned the basics of 3D modeling as well as shortcut keys. Prior to our class meeting in the basement of the Psych building we were assigned the task of downloading Fusion 360 and following a tutorial of how to make a basic rectangular box. We used methods like sketching, extruding (both adding and subtracting material), and filleting. 

Although I have taken a course on SolidWorks (another 3D modeling program) it was nice to have a basic tutorial to show how to use fusion 360. I downloaded Fusion 360 last year when I found out about the FREE program. I tried to teach myself, and when I first download the program it was little overwhelming. However, once I started watching specific tutorials for what I wanted to accomplish it started to become for familiar. 

Dan Banach’s workshop was very helpful! I saw people who had never used Fusion or a 3D modeling program create in 3D space for the first time. The phone dock we created wasn’t the simplest design either. I learned short cuts I had not known before as well as the possibility of inserting a decal on a surface. I would love to take another AutoDesk workshop for Fusion, there are other “environments” I would love to learn about. Specifically I would love to learn how to use the sculpt tool.

Fab Lab Part 1

Champaign-Urbana Community Fab Lab

We were taught how to use Inkspace to design templates to laser cut surfaces, and the basics of lighting a small LED light bulb with a simple electrical circuit. 

Using a multimeter we measured the voltage the battery carried as well as the strength of the resistors. Depending on what level of strength your resistor was the brightness of your LED light bulb changed. The higher the resistance the lower the light would be.

We ended our class session we split off into our project groups. In these groups, we had an extensive brainstorming activity.  This was the biggest brainstorming session for our group since we have had a breakthrough in our direction after our successful and highly informative interview with Ryan. 

In this brainstorm activity, we were told to think about solving the problem at hand wearing many different hats. During one round of brainstorming were told not to think about cost in another we were told to think about solving the problem for someone very young. It was interesting to look at the problem through so many different lenses. 

Fab Lab Part II

We learned how to use the laser engraving and cutting software Inkscape, then we learned how to use the Fab Labs high tech sewing machines. 

This was my first time using the program Inkscape, however, I am very familiar with changing regular files to vector files. I work for a screen printing company on campus where it is a similar process for preparing files for production. In order to get the best image resolution, all artwork files must be converted to vector format. Once a file is converted to vector format the design can be enlarged to any size and keep its resolution (it will never get pixelated). It is very similar for laser cutting, these lines must tell the machine exactly what to do, either raster or vector. Vector will cut straight through while raster will engrave . 

The second portion of the class we were taught how to sew our watch bands! We started with a cloth where we were told to follow a zig-zag line to practice with the pedal and changing directions while sewing. I love to sew so it was awesome to have an opportunity to!

Fab Lab Part III

It was awesome to see out watches finally come together. In the last class we laser cut the watch parts as well as designed the watch face. During this class we learned how to code an Arduino Uno board to count the number of curls/twists through a tilt sensor. We were directed how to assemble the final parts as well as test out the software. This was my first time ever coding! I have had an amazing time at the Fab Lab learning all sorts of new skillsets. I will be coming back to use the resources and staff! 

Take Aways:

This course opened up the world of digital making and the communities we have to support digital making on campus and surrounding campus. 

Taking Dr. Mcdonaghs’s ARTD 420 course really encouraged me to take this course as my next step. Both Professor Vishal and Dr. Mcdonagh have taught me to conduct more empathic research within my designs which has been the first time I have practiced more emotional design within my department. Being able to partake in something like the Makerthon was something I would never think id be able to do and being able to work with my team members so successfully and win was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had in a course! 



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A Designed Journey

EXPECTATIONS.

In terms of expectations for the course, I thought that there would be a lot more tool training and 3D printing involved. Instead, our time was split evenly between team prototyping and tool training. While I knew about the prototyping project, it was both less structured than I expected and more involved than I thought it was going to be. On one hand, we were given the guiding information and assignments to go about prototyping our ideas, but on the other hand, a lot of the initiative was left to our own self to start conducting outside research and interviews, start tool practice and learning, and start networking and testing our prototype.  I had honestly expected the course to “hold our hands” a little bit more than they did, but I am very glad that it did not. In the end, I was able to learn more about the way that I tackle large projects without much guidance as well as learn more about design thinking and the prototyping process. Before, startups were a bit of a mystery to me, a buzzword many people use in business talks, but going through the prototyping process helped me truly understand what a startup does and how difficult that process is.

Another aspect I had not expected was how closely we worked with DRES. I had expected a course about digital making, especially a course housed within the Gies College of Business, to be more bottom line focused in their innovation themes, but the accessibility work and disabilities focus we had in class was a nice surprise. Having done some disabilities advocacy – albeit more on the mental health side rather than the physical disabilities side – before, being able to work in this field put me a little more at ease. It was incredible to see the real impact that our prototypes had on real people at the end of the course.

Group Interview at DRES with our mentors

To see a more in-depth break-down of what the first few weeks of class were like, read the following blog posts:

COMMUNITY + OPEN SOURCE RESOURCES.

It was really cool to be able to learn how to use a multitude of new programs within this class; the program I was most excited about learning was Autodesk’s Fusion 360. My brother took a 3D printing class our senior year of high school, and I was always fascinated by the projects he brought home to show our family. As a result, I was both anxiously anticipating and incredibly excited to work with 3D modelling for the first time during this seminar. Upon completing Lars Christensen’s Fusion 360 tutorial that we used to familiarize ourselves with the Fusion 360 program, I felt really accomplished and inspired to explore 3D modelling further.

Left: 3D printed phone holder, Right, from top to bottom: Fusion 360 file for phone holder, 3D printed box from Lars Christensen’s tutorial, 3D printing in process of Solestice logo

It was around the completion of our introduction to Fusion 360 that we were introduced to a community resource on campus: the Champaign-Urbana Community Fab Lab. For such a compact space, the amount of resources available there was incredible! I was so surprised that we had so many resources available to us as members of the Champaign-Urbana community, and yet, not many people knew of these resources. One of my goals after this class is definitely to let more people know about the plethora of resources we have available to us here in CU. During our three weeks at the CU Fab Lab, we completed a culmination project which taught us how to use Inkscape, an open source vector program similar to Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, to create laser engraving files; create code and build Arduino programs and other electrical configurations; and use a sewing machine on various types of textiles. Overall, it was a really cool experience that allowed me to familiarize myself with new tools and gain new ideas on what types of innovation could be used to help me create my prototype.

Upper row, from left to right: Sewn watch strap, laser cut & engraved watch face, in-progress watch assembling, Arduino electrical component; Lower row, from left to right: Arduino code, finished exercise watch

For more detail on what the tool training experience was like for me, feel free to reference the following blog posts:

PROTOTYPING.

As part of the prototyping process, we went through many different concepts related to design thinking. First, we learned about human centered design and empathetic design, which really appealed to me. Before, I thought that innovation and prototyping design was only for the random moments of inspiration where someone looks at a problem and is struck by the inspiration to find a solution to it in order to make money. However, we were taught that wording is another important aspect of designing and that we should think of our prototypes not as “solutions to problems” but “ideas for to fill an opportunity,” something that we can use to help people with. We also learned about diverging during the brainstorming process and then converging back upon a decided path to take a prototype idea. Through this process, I was confronted with my indecisive nature. Although I had subconsciously known this, I had not realized why I was so indecisive. Yet, during the prototyping process, I realized that I was indecisive because I feared the failure of arriving at the wrong answer. I disliked choosing a path, preferring inaction over actively choosing wrong. Taking this course has really helped me realize that about myself, and I now try to challenge myself in my daily living to make quicker decisions, to choose a path rather than being crippled into inaction. I am learning to trust my instincts and gut feelings a little more than I did before.

One example of this was the iterations that lead to the drastic changed between our (Team Solestice’s) low fidelity prototype, our Make-a-thon prototype, and our post-testing prototype. In the first prototype, we were thinking of using metal spikes as a source of traction, and we committed to the idea. However, upon further research, before we even got to the Make-a-thon event, we realized that it was not feasible, that it would be even more of a problem for a user to have to take the tread off and put it back on every time they switched between walking outdoors to indoors and vice versa. And here we thought we had the correct idea. Yet, after we tested our prototype with a prosthetic leg user, post-Make-a-thon, we realized once again an opportunity for change. We realized that the tread was too heavy and the Velcro too visible. So, we switched gears once again to look at being able to apply the tread directly to a shoe. So, it was through this course, our prototyping project specifically, that I understood an opportunity for myself to learn to face failure head on, to learn to be okay with the fear of failure, and to keep working, regardless.

Left: Post-Testing Prototype (3rd), Upper Right, Low Fidelity Prototype (1st), Lower Right: Make-a-thon Prototype (2nd)

For more details about the preparation I undertook with my team for the Make-a-thon event, take a look at the following blog posts:

This course has taught me so much, not only about the different innovation tools available in the market right now, but also about myself. I have grown not just in marketable skills, but also as a person, and for that, I am incredibly thankful that I took a chance, braced myself for failure, and applied to be a part of this course.