Last weekend, we finally reach the point where all our efforts throughout the semester has been leading to, Make-a-Thon 2019. Before heading into the weekend, my team and I had a lot of concerns and uncertainty regarding the event as we felt like we are behind on our schedule and not ready for it. In addition, Samantha and I both had previous commitments that were arranged long before we knew about the dates of Make-a-Thon so we both were going to miss some parts of it.
So, we headed into Make-a-Thon weekend not is our best form but excited for the challenges that lies ahead of us. I had to take a trip to New York mid week and could not return until Saturday afternoon so I missed a day and half of Make-a-Thon. Since, we only had one teammate , Yingyi Wu, participating for the majority of the event, I was worried that the workload would be too much and we would not be able to achieve what we had set for. To my surprise, when I got back in town, Yingyi along with another teammate, Mohammed not only came up with a completely new design but managed to make a model of our product.
In the end, we came with a sandal that has extended wings which would offer Jenna additional balance support when she practices yoga. Overall, I was really proud of what we accomplished and cherish the opportunity and experience. I look forward to continue to improve on our product and continue to design with 3d priniting.
Our team was very happy with the prototype we were able to make last weekend at the make-a-thon. As a member of Team Evinco, we were workign with Arielle to try to increase an athlete’s grip during difficult weather conditions. We went into the make-a-thon with one specific goal however, as the weekend progressed we realized we shouldn’t constraint our design ideas and capabilites by focusing on this specific how can we statement!
The original water resistant materials we ordered were a yoga mat and a bath mat. However, we decided we could incorporate another how can we statement into our design and try to create a cover that could be easily attached before a race. Therefore, our team decided to use snap enclosures on our prototype. However, we quickly realized:
Our materials were too weak for the snap enclosures to work properly
Both materials wore down very fast during our testing session
The materials were too bulky to properly wrap around the ring the way we had imagined.
Image of the yoga mat worn down after our test. To test the material we wet the yoga mat and then mimic the damage caused by racing by rubbing the glove against the yoga mat multiple times. After about 2 or 3 “racing strokes” the yoga mat began to flake off into pieces. Final prototype for the different covers we made for the hand ring. Also tried different wrapping techniques to try to see if we could create an easier, faster process for athlete’s when coating the handring.
Therefore, our team had to get creative and we began borrowing materials from other teams. We even found a dip plastic one of the teams had purchased and decided to coat an aluminum hand ring in this plastic. As a final prototype, we would be interested to see if it would be possible to also coat the rubber on the glove with the dip plastic to improve traction in bad weather conditions. This is because our materials science Professor informed us that the great traction would be created if the material on the glove and the hand ring were the same. We also believe this will significantly reduce the time necessary to wrap the hand ring and make the process easier for athletes!
Aluminum hand ring coated partially with one layer of the dip plastic.
Overall, we got really positive feedback from the athletes who attended the make-a-thon. We learned they had not tried a variety of our ideas and while some did not seem promising they thought certain ideas could actually be really successful! We can’t wait to get more feedback from Arielle and Adam!
Last week, we spent all weekend at the Fab Lab, developing our prototypes. Going into the weekend, I was nervous that my team was not going to be able to finish our design by the end of the weekend. On Friday, my teammate, Trevor, programmed an Arduino to detect pressure and enable force feedback. We planned to attach this to our tread so that prosthetic users could see where they are putting the most pressure on their prosthetic and adjust their gait accordingly.
The pressure sensor that we attached to the tread.
On Saturday, my team examined the materials we had ordered, and realized we didn’t have the materials necessary to create a tread. So, we decided to make a trip to Walmart to pick up a pair of shoes and window caulk. Our plan was to use the bottom of the shoe as our tread and put window caulk (silicone) on the bottom of the tread for increased traction.
When we returned to the Fab Lab with our new materials, we wanted to cut the tread off with a band saw. However, we realize this wasn’t feasible because cutting the rubber would cause a potent odor. So, Brandon from the Fab Lab advised us to create a mold out of the tread and fill the mold with hot glue. When we first tried this, we didn’t put any lubricant on the shoe, so the mold crumbled to pieces.
First attempt at creating the mold.
Failed mold creation.
On our second try (which also had to be our last since we used all of the mold compound), we successfully created a mold for our tread. Jennifer on my team used two hot glue guns to fill the mold. We knew hot glue was a good choice of material because it has good traction, is lightweight, and is flexible.
We used baby powder to lubricate the shoe.
Successful mold.
Jennifer filling the mold with hot glue.
Once the hot glue cooled, we utilized a heat gun to smooth the top surface of the tread. We then attached velcro straps to the tread with more hot glue. We tested the tread on my foot to ensure that the straps were placed well.
Then, by Sunday morning, we attached the pressure sensor to the heel of the tread and finished making our presentation. We then presented to four judges and closed out the weekend we a final ceremony. My favorite part of the ceremony was when the two teams who tied for first place donated the 3D printer prize to DRES.
Later this week, my team met with our mentor, Jenna, to test the prototype. Some feedback we received from her was that she loved the flexibility and traction of the tread. She also mentioned that the tread was very lightweight. One piece of advice was to create two treads, one for each foot, and to make the straps bigger to fit around her shoe. While discussing with Jenna, we realized that another option to improve traction is to put hot glue directly on the bottom of her shoe. That way, the tread is less discreet. Exploring this possibility will be my team’s last steps!
Hi there! I am a Senior studying Marketing and Information Systems/Information Technology. I chose to take this course in order to expand my creative and design thinking skills that I can apply to my future career. I am grateful that we are provided the opportunity to take this course as Business majors.
Last weekend we participated in Make-A-Thon, the “Final Project” of BADM357. Starting from Friday afternoon, we had a meeting together and get to started planning on how we are going to spend the weekend. We didn’t follow our original idea which is the gloves that can hold utensils. Instead, Saloni suggested to focus on John’s concern about the watch band. Due to his disability, he cannot pinch things so that he’s not able to put to regular watch by himself. He tried magnetic watch band. However, the magnetic watch band would stick on his wheelchair when he rolls the wheels. Therefore, we need to come up with an idea that can solve this problem.
To be honest, I thought the watch band idea might be too complicated to accomplish. However, my teammates said that even though this product is more challenging, it really can help someone who has the need. After doing some research, I changed my mind and I determined to work on the new idea. I didn’t come up with lots of ideas on Friday since I was really tired and my brain didn’t function that well. Plus, there was a mandatory event that showed up suddenly from my club, so I had to go and rushed back to Fablab once it’s done. I really appreciate my teammates that they didn’t really get mad at me. After I went back, they told me more about their progress and what problem they were trying to solve. My teammates said John doesn’t like the velcro design on the band because he thought it was not a cool thing to be put on your watch band. Therefore, I did some research online and came up with an idea. I tried to make band that can utilized hooks and loops. Thanks to Team 1 who offered us a elastic strap. I made my band based on the strap they provided us. After that night, we made a prototype that can function perfectly. Since Saloni and Huan kept working on the original prototype, we had two prototypes in total.
On Sunday, we went back in the morning and finished our trip-fold for the presentation. We also asked John to try our new prototypes. The prototypes works perfectly for him and he really likes our ideas. During the presentation, we showed all the judges that how we came up with different ideas and the process of making our prototypes. I think we did a great job in the presentation part, since we have clear demonstration and elaboration. We also answered all the questions from judges perfectly. They seem to be nice people so I thought we all did great.
After presentation, all the teams went back to the meeting room and waited for the announcement of the winner. I never thought about that if we can earn the prize before I went in the meeting room. I did not even think about it. I think all my teammates were just too focusing on our projects so that we didn’t even have the time thinking about if we can win the prize or not. When the professor called our name “Blueprint”, we were all shocked, and obviously we were not prepared for that. At that time I just realized that we made it, our efforts turns into positive results.
In short, I really learned a lot from the first Make-A-Thon. I realize the importance of communication between team members and the importance of collaboration. Even though we might have some different perspectives, if we can sit down and open our heart to talk with each other, everything will work out. I really want to say thank you for everyone who participated the Make-A-Thon. Thank you so much for all the amazing faculties, sponsor companies, TAs, mentors from Fablab. I really appreciate your help and advice. I think Maker-A-Thon is a happy ending of BADM357, but it’s also a brand new start for us to make our dreams come true. I hope there will be the 2nd, 3rd, 10th Make-A-Thon in the future.
Personally, the Makeathon exceeded expectations for me and then some. It was riveting to see so many people putting their minds together to solve problems for others than ourselves. After 3 days of brainstorming, designing, prototyping and iterating, our team completed a pretty holistic solution to the presented challenge of protecting the electrical circuits in power wheelchairs.
We ultimately settled on a clear silicon pullover case which
mimics on a phone cover. This way the cover will never have to be removed so
Ryan or any other user will never have to worry about forgetting it if they are
caught in inclement weather.
During the Makeathon we prototyped this from a clear plastic
material after recreating the arm of a power wheelchair from Styrofoam and
moldable plastic. Additionally, I
created a water sensor to detect leakage during QA and field testing. Our
efforts culminated nicely, as our team co-won the grand prize alongside our
classmates, Movi – and both teams happily donated the 3D printer from Ultimaker
to the DRES facility.
Those 72 hours alone exponentially helped our team swiftly
move from validated idea to prototyped concept, and I can personally say I did
not expect us to take home the grand prize after it was all said and done. I’m
really proud of all the work that was put in during the Makeathon and I’m stoked
to see the culmination of it all over the next 2 weeks.
We finally wrapped up our race to the Make-A-Thon. The Make-A-Thon was overwhelming and a long process. For an entire weekend, we were going from building to building collaborating, making and prototyping. I appreciate all of the funding and effort that was put into making it happen.
I was apart of team Rotam. We essentially went in with a simple plan and design of what we wanted to prototype. We created a sleeve prototype for Ryan’s joystick on his power chair. We created the prototype using plastic and styrofoam. The styrofoam was used to create a mold of the joystick and the plastic was used to create the sleeve. We finished our prototype fairly early which was a relief. However, the process did not go as I expected. One of our prototype ideas was to use a fabric called neoprene however, we weren’t able to get it in time. I also thought that using a heat gun would become handy for fitting the plastic to the mold. Instead, the heat gun did the opposite and even came close to melting the plastic and the styrofoam mold. However, the most exciting part of fabricating for me was finding out that the fab lab had plastic beads that we could heat up and mold with our hands. It was also cool to meet and work with students from other classes. The icing on top was finding out that our team had won prizes.
The only thing left for us to do is to continue to test and develop our prototype. I believe my team will continue to develop our test for detecting water and moisture on our prototype. We will also follow up with Ryan and other power chair users to get their input on the prototype. Other than that we have one class left of the semester. For me, it was a new experience to take a class that was project based. However, taking the class really opened my eyes to what I can get out of my college education.
From Friday, April 12th, 5:00 pm to Sunday, April 14th, 2:00 pm, we participated in a Make-a-thon. Yes, it was a LONG weekend, but I had a lot of fun, not just developing the idea with my team, but also seeing the brilliant ideas that other teams came up with. It felt amazing to be finally turning our ideas into something tangible and demonstrating it to others.
Before heading into the event, my team and I were still exploring a couple of different ideas for the protective cover of a power wheelchair joystick and decided that we would try to develop a prototype for both. One of the ideas was an armadillo-style cover that would function like the cover that is found on baby strollers.
Baby stroller, which inspired us to come up with an armadillo-style cover for a power chair.
On Friday evening, we met with Ryan, our expert user, and shared this idea. He seemed to be interested in the idea but shared a few of his concerns about it, including the visibility of the screen, buttons, and joysticks that would be protected by the cover. After the meeting, my team and I discussed the idea further, wondering whether it would be best if we continue to focus on trying both ideas or dropping this one. While discussing it, we also realized that this armadillo-style may not be as effective if it is used in a windy condition as the rain could still easily get to the electronic parts of the chair. Therefore, although we really liked this idea since it was unique, we decided to focus our efforts on creating a prototype for the other idea throughout the event.
After this decision was made, one of my teammates and I decided to scavenge for materials around the Fablab. Since we decided on the skin idea, similar to that of the phone covers, we were looking for a transparent material that could be wrapped around the arm of a power chair. We were very lucky to find one that perfectly suited for this purpose.
A flexible phone cover that is transparent, which inspired us to come up with a “skin” for the arm of a power chair.
The following day, a fellow student from the Fablab course joined our team to work on the project together for the duration of the event. After we caught him up on our ideas and the progress, we were able to work together extremely well, making progress quickly. From gathering the rest of the materials to designing the prototype, everything progressed smoothly. Using the dimensions of Ryan’s power chair that we measured earlier, we made a copy of the arm using styrofoam. Based on this model, we were able to wrap the transparent material around it to mold and cut it into the shape that we needed it to be.
In addition to the cover, we wanted to provide texture on the part that covers the joystick to allow for a firmer grip for the users. Not only would it allow for easier use for the user, but it would also provide a more secure feeling, which we decided was important to offer with our product. We were able to mold a material around the joystick with grooves of a grip to demonstrate this.
While we were working on this, one of the teammates worked on using Arduino to create a testing device that could detect whether moisture was entering through the cover or not. He was able to code and successfully build a device that would make a beeping noise when it detected moisture. Although we do not think this would be a part of the final product, it is something that we plan on using to test our prototypes in the future to check for its functionality.
Initially, although I was happy that we were able to create a prototype and demonstrate our idea to others, I was not as confident in it. I thought that it did not have enough differentiating factors that made it unique. Fortunately, others did not think that way. From judges to supports, everyone showed their interest in our idea and provided their own inputs for it. Everyone was so supportive that I felt proud to showcase it. I learned the importance of not doubting myself and instead, being proud of the work that my team and I have put in throughout the event. From working in a team environment, providing and receiving feedback, to learning to use different tools, this experience taught me a lot of valuable skills that I will continue to use.
For the rest of the semester, we are hoping to move on from this transparent plastic material that we found and work with silicone instead to create the cover. Now that we have the idea set on how it will look like and how it will be used, we want to create it with the actual material that we are hoping the product to be made with. With silicone, there may be additional adjustments that need to be made on our design, which is why we believe it is critical to create a prototype with it. We are very excited to see how far we can get with the rest of the semester.
Last weekend, we spent three days in the Make-a-thon attempting in getting our first functional prototype. Prior to the Make-a-thon, I was very worried. Most of my teammates will not be there in the Make-a-thon for most of the time. Fortunate enough, our team has another teammate from the Fab lab course who was willing to help out. Our ideas went from out initial 3D modeling of prosthetic replacement to adding supports on the front and back movements to an attachment to the foot instead of the prosthetic replacement with a look of sandals.
Our idea developed from a prosthetic replacement to an attachment was a huge change. This transition of thoughts was a result of many experts cooperation during the Make-a-thon. We went into deep debates between the two ideas and the pros and cons of different ideas. Our biggest concern during the Make-a-thon was still that we could not create something that is actually functional because ideas may have deceptions that we thought the idea would work out but it does not really work out. We were afraid that the final prototype would not provide enough support for Jenna to balance on her prosthetic. However, Jenna, our mentor, was not there during the Make-a-thon. We were unable to find someone to test out our prototype during the Make-a-thon except for ourselves, which was our greatest concern. However, with our muscles on our actual leg, we were unable to actually test how much support would the prototype provide to us. I tested the prototype myself and asked two of our teammates to test out the product. We could feel that the prototype provides some kind of support laterally. However, we were not able to actually test out whether the prototype could give us enough support during yoga poses. This was our greatest limitation during the Make-a-thon. Other than the concerns of the functionality of the prototype, our overall experience was great during the Make-a-thon because it gave us an ability to make our design to actual products and consult with many different experts to develop our idea further.
This weekend, we tested our prototype that we made during the Make-a-thon with Jenna. Her feedback was that the sandal provided additional lateral space that did actually increased a little bit of lateral balance. However, this support was not helpful enough to keep her balanced laterally, especially the body above her ankle did not get the type of support Jenna expected. This means that our idea was proven to be true that it did provide some sort of lateral support. However, this is far not enough for prosthetic users. This means that we have to redesign our prototype to provide more support above the ankle. Our mentor still recommended for a replacement of her prosthetic and with a cone shape that supports the rod to help out in supporting the upper part above her ankle.
After listening to Jenna’s suggestions, we will redesign our prototype and go back to the initial 3D modeling of prosthetic replacement to make changes that way. We expect to have the design modified before Wednesday on FUSION 360 and print the next prototype out. After the prototype is printed out, we will ask Jenna to test out the prototype again.
I am a student who’s currently studying accountancy and management of information systems. I am graduating this year and entering the MAS program at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. I love programming and accountancy as much as I love taking photographs and learning how to play the Rubik’s cube. I love trying out new things and learning new skills. Learning how to make accessible designs utilizing digital making skills is one of the new skills I learned.
This past weekend we had the Make-A-Thon which was the culminating event of our semester in the Digital Making Seminar. Our team had been working hard all semester to prepare for this event and it was exciting to see all our hard work pay off. We started the semester by meeting our mentors and identifying their needs. We then researched their needs more deeply and began to brainstorm potential solutions. After creating a couple of low fidelity prototypes and receiving feedback from our mentor Jenna and Milestone Labs, our team was ready to take on the Make-A-Thon and make our first high fidelity prototype. Unfortunately, I was out of town this week so I wasn’t able to participate directly in the event, but my team did some awesome work and kept me in the loop throughout the entire weekend!
Team Movi looking at the scan of Jenna’s prosthetic leg
Coming into the Make-A-Thon event our team worked hard to make sure we were fully prepared. Since our mentor, Jenna, was out of town that weekend, we met with her to take a 3D scan of her prosthetic leg. We then 3D printed the scan so that we could work with a life-size model to craft our prosthetic cover. The scan was so big that it took 12 hours to print and we had to print it in 3 separate parts for it to fit on the printer. We also brainstormed what materials we would need and researched their properties. We were able to submit all of the materials we intended to purchase for Vishal and he was able to get them all for us in time for the Make-A-Thon
Our team started our prosthetic cover by designing a pattern for the part of the cover that protects the shin. We wanted to create a design that would be aesthetically pleasing so that Jenna would actually want to wear it. We created the design on the software in the Fab Lab and then laser cut the design into a sheet of purple acrylic. Purple is Jenna’s favorite color! After we cut the design we need to fit the mold to cover Jenna’s leg. We used a heat gun and the acrylic heater to warm the acrylic so that we could mold it. We also cut the acrylic down the middle and added a hinge joint to it. We thought that this would make it easier for Jenna to take the prosthetic cover on and off.
Our next part of the process involved creating the padding to protect Jenna’s leg during impact. Movi was very lucky to have Yishou join our team for the Make-A-Thon. Yishou is a Ph.D. student in Engineering and has a lot of knowledge about the various tools in the Fab Lab. He was incredibly helpful for using tools and working on designing our prosthetic. For the inner padding, we used the nylon we had purchased to create a fabric sleeve to surround the padding. Sticking with our original theme, we sewed the fabric cover out of purple nylon. After we made the inner cover, we transitioned to the top cover. We used two small pieces of high-impact foam padding to protect Jenna’s knee in case she fell. Her knee has microprocessing capabilities so it is one of the most important and expensive parts of her leg.
Once we had completed each of the components, it was time to put our prototype together and admire our work. Overall, I thought our final product looked great! Luckily, the judges agreed and our team was awarded a prize for the best prototype for our Digital Making Seminar class. I am so proud of all the hard work that my team mates put in during the Make-A-Thon weekend! Our next step is to meet with Jenna and other potential users to test out the prosthetic leg and gather feedback for our next prototype!
This past weekend, the teams in our class competed in a make-a-thon that joined 3 courses together and many mentors to make designs focused on accessibility. Unfortunately, I had to be out of town this past weekend, so I did not experience the exciting hustle and bustle in person! However, from Professor Sachdev’s many groupme updates and communicating with my own group throughout the weekend, I was able to find some key takeaways and help our team continue to push forward. I was also able to contribute to our prototype creation before the official start of the Makeathon on Friday evening, as 3D printing can take a lot of time we wanted to start early!
Going into the weekend, I had printed a scaled prototype of a Fusion File that our team had created in class that week. This scaled prototype represents a design that would be a replacement for Jenna’s current prosthetic that she could use for doing yoga specifically. This prototype includes a stable lateral joint but a hinge joint in the frontal plane. We did this because Jenna has told us that her difficulty revolves around the lateral balance, as she has no way to control that without the ability to use her ankle to adjust. It also has a tall rod which would be inserted as her current prosthetic is and a circular base which would increase the surface area and give her even balance in all directions.
Fusion File
Separated Pieces
Assembled Pieces
During the Make-a-Thon, our team took another approach. We were introduced to the elderly population during the pre-Makeathon event as a potential user for our product, but understood that a replacement prosthetic would only be applicable to prosthetic users. However, an additive product that would attached to a foot, shoe, or prosthetic base would be able to be used by a wider audience. Our team took this approach throughout the weekend and landed with this very cool design – they did an awesome job!
Base of Additive Design
Back View Additive Design
Aerial View Additive Design
Today, my teammate and I were able to meet up with Jenna as she is back from Boston now! We had her try the additive design prototype and got a lot of great feedback. Overall, it is difficult for an additive design to add the stability that Jenna requires in the lateral motion. She did see our fusion file and scaled model of our replacement design as well, and she was very excited about that concept. She thinks it has a very high probability of working. Overall, she had some feedback on that design as well. She said that the hinge for front-back lateral movement would be unnecessary and potentially more unstable, so she would prefer a set 90* angle of base to rod. She also suggested some amount of webbing between the base and the rod to add stability and durability to the design. We are going to make some changes to our Fusion design this week and send them to her to get her feedback and then hopefully print a full scale version by Friday for her to try on!
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