Tag: fabrication

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Week 11!

This week was the final stretch before the week of the Make-a-thon. Class began with Professor Vishal clearing up everything regarding the Make-a-thon. The expectation and resources available during this event were explained. Once Vishal finished up we were given a presentation from social innovation representative Valerie. Valerie introduced to the class an opportunity to continue furthering their innovative ventures, while receiving non dilutive funding. This opportunity is provided by a program called the iVenture Accelerator. Which is a startup incubator. It’s a 10 week summer commitment and a full academic year seminar course. Participants receive $10,000 of funding and stipends throughout the summer. They not only provide this funding but have a pool of resources ranging from experts to additional funding opportunities. I am actually apart of the iVenture Accelerator. They really dive deep and help further your idea. They’ve introduced us to so many useful/helpful people. It’s really like a family. They bring you along and you become apart of this amazing ecosystem.

After Valerie’s presentation we met with Milestone Labs to give them an update of our progress to date. My team and I are team Solstice (team 1) so we went first. The folks at Milestone gave some good feedback and advice. They were delighted with our interviews and direction we’re going in. One thing we didn’t do was provide as much of our product as possible. We still have to do more sketches and ideation around a few key details regarding our product. From this meeting my team and I reconviented to brainstorm, reflect, and conduct a list of materials we need for the actual Make-a-thon. As a team we found this material called hydrophilic rubber, which is usually used in winter tires. We have a meeting with a material science professor to give us even more insight on materials and such. Also I have a professor who is a shoe cobbler on hi own time and he pointed us to a few materials as well. None the less we’re super excited for this event and our more refined product prototype!

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FabLab 2.0

Inkscape vector file of watch to be laser cut

This week we returned to the FabLab. We continued to familiarize ourselves with all the tools and tech the lab has to offer. We specifically learned a vector editing software called Inkscape. Through this workshop we learned how to create basic shapes, manipulate them, and produce more. After learning the basics of the software we learned to transform images into vector graphics. These skills were then applied to a customized watch. The watch is a device that allows patients who have to do bicep curls and rotation in wrist during rehabilitation. The base of the watch consist of 3 wooden circles, two of which have rectangles on each side. I thought it would be help patients if the watch had small arrow indications of which way the device goes. The top layer rotates, so I designed an arrow pointing in the direction of proper rotation.

3 layered watch with electrical components

After this we moved into sewing. Unlike most of my peers I have experienced sewing. My sophomore year I sewed a jacket with a sleeping bag attachment completely from scratch. So during the tutorials and walkthroughs I was a couple steps ahead. We all picked the fabrics we wanted our wristband for the watch to be and then cut it to scale.  We sew it right sice in and sewed the seam. This created the sort of sack like appearance of the band. Getting it right side out was a hassle, it required us to use these thin wooden rods to pull the fabric through. We finished up by attaching velcro strips to the band to ensure a comfortable and secure fit to the wrist.

Images showcasing the process of sewing and creating the band for the watch

The second half of class each group presented to Milestone Labs and Adam Bleakney. We’ve made a lot of progress since last speaking with them. We got a lot of insight from this conversation. We realized we hadn’t thought everything thoroughly. Our design is solid but we have to really hone in on the attachment aspect of it. The overall ease of use should be convenient for the user. They also asked a lot of questions regarding materials of our device. We are currently scheduling a time to interview a material science professor here at the university. This week I have scheduled a virtual interview with my physical therapy. We also have a meeting this monday with my professor who handmakes shoes. We plan to do a bunch more research structured around our opportunity and project idea.

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Fab Lab Round 2

Fabrication

We returned to the Fab Lab to continue learning about different types of fabrication! Last week, I created a circuit that made an LED light illuminate. This time, I had the opportunity to design the surface of a watch for outpatients who are required to perform exercises like bicep curls and twisting their wrist.

First prototype of the watch that will track movements during the patient’s rehabilitation exercises.

The watch is made of 3 pieces of wood. The top piece can spin by 90 degrees in order to detect the movements for the 2 different exercises. We were first tasked with designing the top of the watch, so users would know which way to spin the watch while performing each exercise. Utilizing the software program, Inkscape, I drew 1 arrow on the top of the watch along with the text, “TWIST,” and another arrow on the bottom of the watch with the text, “CURL.” Thus, the user would know which way to spin the watch when performing hand twists versus bicep curls.

Here you can see me practicing using Inkscape.

After designing the surface of the watch, we sewed straps for the watch. Using sewing machines, we first practiced on a sheet of fabric to get used to the machine. Once we got the hang of it, we began sewing the straps for our watches. We initially sewed the strap inside-out, then use a stick to help turn it right-side-out. Lastly, we sewed velcro onto the strap so the watch user can adjust it to the size of their wrist. You can see pictures of the process below!

  • Practicing sewing on a plain sheet of fabric.
  • Line we followed when sewing on the plain fabric.
  • Turning the strap right-side-out with the stick.
  • Learning to sew with classmates!

Project Progress

During the second half of class, each team took turns presenting our project to 2 of our mentors, Milestone Labs and Adam Bleakney. We shared the progress we have made since we first spoke with them. From our conversation, we realized that we need to narrow down our topic and start conducting more secondary research on what already exists for shoe treads and attachments. Also, it is necessary for us to speak more with Jenna, our user, about her desired experience with the tread, i.e. if she would need to sit down when taking the tread on and off. From here, we are going to conduct more secondary research and speak with a Materials Science professor, physical therapist, and a shoe maker so we can gain insight on where we would like to focus our project.