Category: Week7

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Week 7 Reflection –Dive Deep with Design

This week, we had a fun and interactive session at Fab lab.

At the first half of the class, we were divided into two groups: one group learned laser cutting, and the other group worked with the circuit. Next week, the two groups are going to switch so that every student can study all the skills. I joined the circuit group for this week. Although I have some experience with the circuit in my high school, I haven’t touched it since my freshman year, so it was a relearning process for me. Previously, when I connected items, I always used soldering. This time, the process was less messy; we used electrical insulation paper instead. The output was pretty cool; when the orientation shifted between horizontal and vertical, the lightbulb would turn on and off.

The circuit

In the second half of the session, we were broken into research groups and developed further with our ideation. Since we have come across three themes from the last class, we drew our ideas down visually in this week’s lesson. While we brainstormed, the TA instructed us to consider different situations and how our designs would be altered depending on the circumstances. I regarded this as a handy reflection tool. Before I thought about various users and various occasions, I was envisioning very generally, and this exercise helped me to think of extreme users and consider ways to make the ideas applicable to more users. For instance, for the idea of designing something to assist people in grabbing objects, I initially drew a ring for people’s middle finger to cross. After rethinking how seniors and children would interact with the design, I shifted the model to look like a glove so that it could accommodate people with less strength and they wouldn’t need much physical or mental power to control.

My ideas

After the brainstorming, our group focused on working on one prototype: how to enable people to see what’s behind them. We thought of an object that could stick to the arms of the wheelchair so it could be stable, and then this object could be expanded and adjusted to different heights based on the users’ preferences. When users don’t need it, it could be folded easily to minimize the space it occupies. On top of the object, the users could attach mirrors, phones or tablets to it based on their preferences, and this could let them be able to see what’s behind them.

The prototype for vision

On Sunday, we had an interview with a PA at Beckwith and shared our ideas on different themes and our prototype. He gave us much feedback on how the topics that we discovered were impacting people’s lifes currently, how people were dealing with them, and how he perceived those ideas would apply to the students. We altered our design based on his comments. For instance, for the model to assist people in grabbing objects, he mentioned how some people don’t have strength in their fingers or the fingers may be shaped differently. Thus, we decided to make the glove only cover the palm part of the hand. Also, we realized that the traditional look of the glove might be hard for people to wear themselves. As a result, we designed it to be open at the side with the zipper.

The prototype for grabbing objects

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Designing Our Prototype

Visiting the Fab Lab

This week we once again adventured out of the cramped Maker Lab to discover what else the University of Illinois campus has in store for us. This week, our journey took us the the Fabrication Laboratory, also known as the Fab Lab. The lab offers access to a variety of different soft and hard ware devices that can create almost any type of product. 3D printers, laser circuit board cutters, and sewing machines were just a few of the available machines that allow workers to create innovative products. The most interesting product I saw throughout out Fab Lab tour was the 3D printed object onto a mesh fabric, which gave the plastic print the ability to flow past each of its pieces without falling apart. this concept is interesting for the fashion industry, but also made me think how it could be applied to my own personal group project, removable handrails. I took this thought with me as I moved into the brainstorming session of the day.

This textured 3D print was printed onto a mesh fabric, combining 3D printing and textiles into one design.

Brainstorming Session

While brainstorming with my team, we were given two large pieces of paper, sharpies, and difficult prompts to guide us through our design process. Initially, we were just asked to sketch what we think could work in order to solve our opportunity statement. But, as the session went on, we were given more prompts that challenged our original way to think of a problem. For example, at one point we were asked how we would design the same product but for the elderly. At first we were unsure how to approach this problem, but sat to think, “What additional challenges do elderly people face that young athletes do not?” When approaching problems from different angles we had the opportunity to broaden our initial scope of the project and explore the variety of solutions that may be possible. To solve the prompt for the elderly, we thought of creating a glove that helps support their wrists (similar to a brace) in case of arthritis or any other potential bone and joint issues. Although this will not be our solution for our semester long project, questioning my thinking process proved to be beneficial; even if some of my team’s ideas were crazy throughout the sketching phase, we came up with several options that could be feasible, efficient, and cheap. Moving forward, we will be exploring these rough drafts in hopes of formulating a product that is best made for the opportunity at hand.

Several of the sketches we created during our brainstorming session. Three of which were labeled as most feasible, most efficient and cheapest by each group member.
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Week 7: Fablab Reflection

Last week, we went to Fablab and learned some technical skills in designing and laser cutting. I was impressed by the Fablab, since it has so many different materials and machines for people to design their products. They also have fabrics product which is really cool. They first showed us some products they made on the desk an then led us take a tour of the Fablab.

Some stuff the instrutors made in Fablab
Our instructor showed us the Laser Cutting Machine

After the tour, we’re separated into two groups. I was assigned in a group designing a watch. The other group was doing something related to circuit I think. Then our instructor teach us step by step in how to design in the face of the watch. The software is kind of professional. I got lost a few times throughout the whole process.

The design of the watch’s face

After finishing the design, we continued to do our TA’s statement. This time is designing our products. He asked us to draw down our ideas related to our desired products. I first thought it’s hard to come up with one. After doing some sketch on the paper, I then started getting into the brainstorming mode. My teammates are also really creative. Based on our designs, I found out that we all focused on the holder we talked about in our project. The main point is to help people hold something.

My team’s design ideas
Voting for the design

We had different ideas related to different situation: design for kids, design for elderly, design with lots of budgets and limited budgets. Instead of thinning about getting a backup camera for our target customers, using a holder which can hold a mirror would be more efficient and affordable. After the voting, at last we all agreed on a foldable holder attached on the wheelchair which have multiple uses such as hold a mirror, hold a cup, hold a phone, and so on, since this idea is the most affordable and the most feasible one. Saloni mentioned that there is one material that we can utilize but I forgot what it is. Anyway, we found that material in Fablab and use them did two small sample models for our design.

The “Prototypes” of our product

On Friday, I spent some of my free time going back to the Fablab and laser-cut my design for the watch. I got some help from the people who worked there. I really appreciate their patience, since I knew nothing about the machine. They showed me each preparing steps for the machine. Finally, I got my watch face cut out from a wood board.

My watch’s face design

Hopefully, we can learn more technical skills in next week. I realize the Fablab is a really great place for us to explore the designing world. More importantly, we can make our products come to real with the help of those fantastic machines in the Fablab.

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A Lab that is truly Fab(ulous)

This week in class we visited the Fab Lab! I had been to the Fab Lab once before for my work with Illinois Enactus. I was on a project called Grounds for Growth. Our project created an upcycled soap bar with coffee grounds from the shops on campus. We also started using the coffee grounds to make lavender, vanilla and coconut scented scrubs. We used to use the machines at the Fab Lab to print stickers for our coffee scrub jars and soap bars! However, even though I had been to the Fab Lab before, I didn’t even realize how big the Fab Lab is and I had no idea there were multiple floors. I also did not realize the large variety of tools and resources the Fab Lab provides.

We first took a tour of the Fab Lab and learned about the different tools. It was really interesting to see the different applications and uses people had come up with for all the tools. For example, we saw a mask, LED light screen, trophy and camera that people had designed (see in the picture below).

(Picture is sideways)

Next, we split up into groups and worked on two separate projects. I was in the group learning about circuits and LEDs. In my T&M minor, we took an ECE class last year and we learned about circuits, LEDs and Arduino. However, the refresher we received at the Fab Lab was very helpful. We constructed a circuit and learn how different resistors affect the LED. A more powerful resistor makes the light less bright. From my background in my ECE class I understand that is because the battery provides a voltage to the circuit. V=IR with I = current and R = resistance. Therefore, if the battery is providing the same voltage, with a higher resistance the current flowing through the circuit would be decreased making the LED dimmer.

(Here is a picture of my simple circuit without any of the resistors. The picture is sideways)

After that, we got back into our groups and started the ideation phase of our project! Our goal was to create as many ideas as possible and to sketch the ideas out on a sheet of paper. We then ranked the ideas by most feasible, easiest and most impactful. Ultimately, my group was able to narrow it down to a couple main ideas. We are the team working with Arielle and trying to improve racing conditions for athletes in undesirable weather conditions. Below is a picture or our ideations sketches.

(Picture is sideways)

The ideas that we decided on our first to create a piece that can attach to the glove to help athletes in the rain. Second, we want to experiment with printing either the entire glove or parts of the glove with TPU filament to create a more flexible glove. Next, we are considering trying to create a C shaped cover that can snap onto the ring and can have increased grip for when racing in the rain. Finally, we would try to connect the ring with the glove somehow and great a grove/lock system to increase grip. This idea is what we said was most effective however, we are worried it wouldn’t necessarily be super feasible.

Moving forward, we will be prototyping these ideas and trying to decide which idea is feasible and effective to implement. For the future lessons, it would be helpful for our team to understand different materials that we can have access to with this project. Especially if we are trying to increase the grip on the hand ring we will need to find a strong, durable material to use with our prototypes!

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FAB LAB!!!!

This week I wasn’t able to physically be in class due to some unfortunate circumstances. I was however able to visit Jeff and see the Fab Lab prior to this weeks workshops. I learned of some of the complex filments and advanced 3D printers. I got to know a bit of the staff as well. In terms of class, I was able to get up to speed from my wonderful team members. This week was the start of our workshops through the Fab Lab. The class was given a tour of the entire facility by Jeff Ginger, who is the director of the lab. He gave a presentation during last weeks class. After the initial tour the class was split into different workshops within the fablab. Some people were learning the laser cutter while others built circuits.

After this the class went back into their  groups and brainstormed for the remainder of the class period. The TA also assisted during the brainstorming session given a different prompt every 3 minutes. This helped further our ideation and conceptual prototyping, while designing with an open mind. My group was able to rapidly draw up multiple porttype ideas with the given parameters of the prompts. In case you forgot,  we are developing a shoe tread to facilitate walking on ice/snow (all terrain) for prosthetic users. By the end of this activity my team was able to come up with a MVP. They chose the easiest and most feasible of the concepts that we can make a crude prototype of. By next class we will have a usable prototype of our tread attachment. It will have velcro straps to connect with the shoe and acchatable spikes on the tread.

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Week 7 Reflection

For class this week we met at the FabLab. The FabLab is a community fabrication lab and makerspace that is full of tools and making equipment. Pretty much anything you want to make can be done at the FabLab, which is so cool! The FabLab is a network of labs across the world that give making access to the community. It’s very cool that we have one on campus. We begun class with a tour of the lab, seeing all that they have to offer. They showed us cool projects people had done there before, and told us about all the possibilities there are to make anything we can think of.

We then split the class in half to start on a project of making a wearable for people to use during rehab or weightlifting to ensure proper form. It is a cool idea! My half of the class learned about circuits and how you can use a bread board and jumper cables to light up an LED. Normally I find physics to be very confusing, but the FabLab team did such a good job of breaking it down to make it easy for us to understand.

Then we got with our groups and did some rapid brainstorming for our project. It was an interesting way to brainstorm. We had 30 seconds with each idea, and then we would move on to the next. It was helpful to get prompts to help the brainstorm move along. I’m excited to keep ideating and begin making models to find our solution!

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Fab Lab Visit

Examples of the wide range of projects that can be done at the community Fab Lab.

This week we had the opportunity to tour the Urbana community Fab Lab. After being introduced to the workspaces we were split into two groups. One group was taught how to use  Inkspace to design templates to laser cut surfaces, the other group was taught the basics of lighting a small LED light bulb with a simple electrical circuit.

Multimeter, watch battery, breadboard, resistors, “tilt sensor”, wires.

I was in the group who was taught how to build the electrical circuit. It reminded me of my Highschool physics class which was awesome! I haven’t done anything like that in a long time. 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 inforamtive interview with Ryan.

Rotam group brainstorm

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.

The solutions our team landed on were waterproofing the joystick to avoid water damage, a plastic bag 2.0, and a tailored waterproof case for the joystick. I am looking forward to low fidelity prototyping these solution!

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Week 7 Prototyping and visiting the Fablab

This week, we had a great opportunity to visit the Fablab for the first time. I’ve always heard about this Fablab, but never really had a chance to visit. Our class was split into two sessions. I was in a group where we learned how to use a program that creates a template. With this template, we can use it to laser cut it and create accurate measured three dimensional objects. There was an example of a laser cut project that was made out of plastic and it was shaped like a knee protector. This was one of the inspiration of our group and we made a lot of progress through the brainstorming session, our class provided. As a result we found three very effective designs. For effectiveness, we wanted to make a knee pad that will attach onto the knee like a slap on bracelet. This will be a very quick process and athletic people like Jenna can save time changing gears. For feasibility, we wanted to make a knee pad that will cover only the knee and attach to the knee using a strap mechanism. This is already an existing product, so it’s a very good base to start our project. For implement, we used the existing design for feasibility and add protection that will cover the side of the calf to the ankle. This area of protection is what Jenna felt like needed protection and that is why it’s an implement on top of the existing product. We came up with some great ideation from this activity and for the next step we are looking into different materials we can use in the Fablab.

This week, our group met at the art and design building to create some prototypes and progress for the upcoming week with Milestone Lab. Based on our previous ideation brainstorming from the Fablab, we created three new prototypes. As a art student, I’ve introduced my teammates, Ryan and Nathan, to the beauty of hot glue gun and the cutting board. Each of us took role in creating these prototype and had a say in each of our prototypes. The first prototype was a sleeve with a small block of knee pad, so people like Jeannette can put the knee pad on for weeks. The second prototype was a strap on that will get thinner at the popliteal part of the leg. This is made for people like Jeannette who cannot bend their prosthetic leg all the way through. The third prototype has a similar strap mechanism to the second prototype, but has a knee pad that can bend. This way, it looks more like a knee and not like a machine just like how Jeannette wanted to look like when she had her first prosthetic leg. I think we have made great progress and we are ready to meet up with Jenna once more to try out these prototypes and get feedbacks so we can improve our models even further. As conclusion, we wanted to create the knee pad out of firm and flexible material, but the strap or sleeve will be fabric materials.

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Designing with an Open Mind

Our next few classes are taking place at the Fab Lab. We toured the facility, and we had the opportunity to see the different types of fabrication that is done there. I had no idea that the lab existed on campus, and as a second-semester Senior, I wish I had known earlier. My mind was blown at all of the cool things that are happening at the Fab Lab! Check out the photos below to see some things that have been made there.

  • A table of things made at the Fab Lab.
  • Plastic spikes that were 3D printed onto fabric.
  • A box made from wood and strips of LED lights.

After taking the tour, we split into 2 groups; one group worked with a laser cutter and another built circuits. I was in the group that built circuits, and we used simple watch batteries to illuminate an LED light. We observed change in brightness of the LED when a resister was used versus when no resistor was used. Also, we utilized a multimeter to measure the voltage of the battery and strength of the resistor. You can see the finished circuit below.

One of the staff members, Brandon, also showed our group a keyboard that he created. He created it by laser-cutting spirals into wood and metal tape. I was impressed by Brandon’s creativity to design a working keyboard out of affordable and available materials. Below are pictures of the keyboard Brandon made.

  • Laser-cut wooden spirals on the top of the keyboard.
  • Metal tape on the inside of the keyboard.
  • Copper tape on the inside of the keyboard.

The last hour of class was spent brainstorming different designs for our teams’ products.

  • Sheet of brainstorming designs.

The above pictures illustrates my team’s brainstorming session. The class TA’s gave us new prompts every 3 minutes for the designs. For example, one prompt was to design our products if we were designing it for children and another was if we were designing it with an unlimited budget. This brainstorming activity was challenging because we had to keep an open mind and draw as many different designs as possible. It was hard because I already had an idea of what the product would look like, so I had to keep an open mind when drawing these designs. The assignment for the week is to create a prototype of our design; my team chose to create a prototype of a shoe tread that has velcro straps and a few metal spikes on the bottom.

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FabLab

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend this week’s class and I missed our first day in the FabLab! They have a plethora of tools there available such as the laser engraver, loads of 3D printers, electronic cutters, milling machines, and more. Through the pre-class activities, I familiarized myself with some of the tools through the FabLab’s tutorial page. I can’t wait to get back next week and try them out.

The elementary Arduino tutorial was also extremely useful and was a great introduction into firmware and embedded systems. The FabLab is where we have access to more developed resources which we can use to create the best version of our product.

I also met with Yen, who is a member of the wheelchair track team as well. Our discussion led to some new realizations and I think we are going to need to pivot the scope of our project. We realized than standard, undifferentiated accessories are not really a value add in the user’s lives. Adjustable frames and headsets for children’s wheelchairs are the conclusions that quickly arose once Yen and I had a conversation about her childhood and the scope of our project.