Digital Circuit Reflection

         Doing the digital circuit design is much more challenging to me comparing to the mechanical and structural design projects. Having to deal with circuits and how it works involves a whole new different level of knowledge in physics. Learning all the different terms and the functions of electronics and circuits is still very difficult to me since I was never good at circuits or anything to do with electricity. And compare to other peers in the class, I am very clueless and inexperienced. It was also hard for me to understand the concepts, the way charges flow and how different pins in the 555 timer chip work. Compare to the mechanical projects, these concepts for me are more imaginary-based because you don't see the charges or electricity, and I have never dealt with any projects circuits related before, whereas the challenges for mechanical projects lie in designing, modeling, and putting together the structure that one can realistically visualize. Although it is a good learning experience, It was not an easy task to absorb all these skills and knowledge in such a short amount of time. On the other hand, I think the most challenging aspect of building my digital circuits is understanding the whole process since I have never done anything close to what it entails before, and also how to apply what I have on paper to the actual building process, and how to properly build a circuit without making mistakes. These all require a lot of learning and I hope I can make it to the end.

         

Projectile Launcher Design Reflection

After having done several projects, I think, overall, instead of getting more confident about the design process, we are more used to how the design process function and take place in projects. Instead of looking at the design process chart and follow each step on the list, we are naturally following, or at least touch base on, each step. This is also one of the changes that I've experienced. During my first project which was the FTC robotics competition, our group's writeup was based on each step of the design process. And now, we are getting much less constrained by the steps, and have gotten more attentive to how each step relates to each other. And, i think, this is why the design process cycle is cyclical and iterative. For example, we might be constantly thinking of how we can improve our design during not only the brainstorm step, but maybe even the exploring possibilities step or the modeling step. We might also be making changes to our design during the CAD modeling if we realize something don't work out. And I think this is important because in order to make sure a design work out, we need to constantly be making changes and improving our design and going back to other steps necessary instead of being so defined by the steps being told to follow.

This project seems to be very similar to our last project but on a smaller scale. And since it's a pretty standard project, it should involve all the steps in the design process, so i don't think it is particularly more difficult or easier than previous projects. 

Bridge Failure Reflection

During the building process, I learned about how specific structure or additions to the bridge can make a big impact on the stability of the bridge. Especially when we later tested the bridge, I was able to see how parts of the bridge function in supporting the weight and the whole structure. During the testing process, I learned from what my peers were doing that distributing the weights properly can also be really important. Properly distributing the weight across the whole board and making sure to decrease the weight as the bridge starts to sway are crucial in determining the overall success rate of the bridge. 

For our bridge, since our structure involves the difficulty of bending the wood into a semi circle shape, there are many risks involve. It took us many tries and wasted many material to get the semi circle done. Although they were still not perfect, as the some small cracks in the middle probably affected the overall stability of the bridge, they were strong and thick enough to provide a decent amount of support. For the members of the bridge, when we were trying to cut it, many small wood pieces fall out and created many cracks and empty spaces within the wood, and this could be another factor that causes the members to break. I think the main thing that my group failed to do was jointing the parts together, because the two semi circles came out in different sizes so the members were not able to joint perfectly. If we were to do it differently, we would have calculate the measurements more carefully and be sure that the material (wood) were cut with more caution.

CAD Bridge Model Reflection

I think that there are a lot of advantage to creating a CAD model before actually constructing the bridge. Because first of all, the CAD model allows you to see a realistic view of how you want your model to look like, and during the process of creating a CAD model, it gets you to think of many detailed things you otherwise would not have thought of just by imagining or even sketching the model. Also, the CAD model gives you very specific dimensions and allows you see the exactly proportion of every parts and it allows you to adjust it according to your needs. 

Our group will make sue of this model, and for this project, our group is using the CAD to create a bridge model. By using it, we were able to see our ideas to turn out to be an actual model in a short period of time. And it allows us to move on to the next step quickly. For the deadline next Friday, we were supposed to get wood on Tuesday, but unfortunately we did not get wood because of some miscommunications with another group. So we spent the class time to build a basic mould/model for the outer part of the bridge and hopefully we will be able to use that for the actual bridge. However, since the actual model is due in the beginning of class, we will get together before class on Friday to get the fabrication done. 

CAD Modeling Reflection

I think having CAD modeling as part of the Engineering Design process is very important. Since model/prototype is one of the step in the design process, CAD modeling can be very useful and convenient in terms of making sure the ideas work out. I see myself using it quite often because I really enjoy learning and using this tool and I see myself using it when i try to design a model or just trying to see if things will work out. 

CAD modeling should be used because it gives engineers a realistic view of how a model will look. Because when simply sketching a drawing and labeling the sizes can sometimes be unrealistic and will not work, and sometimes modeling can really be used to give a sense of if a model will work out, the parts that are missing, or the parts that need to be changed.

When I tried to learn how to use CAD software, I faced many obstacles. I did not have a third button mouse in the beginning so it was difficult to rotate around the model or add lengths to a size. Then small things will often stuck me such as unable to select a size, or unable to find a certain tool. But luckily, most things turn out well and smooth. 

1st Entry - 2013 FRC Competition

For my first Engineering project, I think this 2013 FRC Robotic Competition assignment is a very well thought-out project that both enhanced my understanding of the Engineering Design Process and gave me a basic overview of the field of Engineering in general. Through out this process, my team followed a very basic outline of the Engineering Design Process we learned in class. We wrote down every single step of the process, from defining the problem, brainstorm, research, to exploring possibilities, and we followed them precisely. By doing this, I not only gained an understanding of what every step mean, but how they work in practice. Also for this process, I realized that many of the steps are interchangeable and cyclical: if a certain approach does not work, we have to go back to brainstorming or try to figure out ways to change the certain situation. 

Although I have done internships related to Engineering and Technology before, it is my first time being involved in a project. It is also my first time putting myself in a situation where i have the rights to make decisions and change the direction a project goes. Feeling a sense of participation and involvement, I felt like I have the responsibility to ensure that this project goes well. It does not matter if it actually did turn out well, I think the most important thing is that I really tried to make things work out and put the efforts into it. Overall, I learned about the level of “compatibleness” between the field of Engineering and me. I think it is not something that I feel very confident because my lack of confidence, but I think it is quiet interesting.

From this experience, I gained a quiet amount of knowledge in both Engineering and Robotics. Other than learning about how a project works, I learned a lot of engineering terms from searching through the material and components needed for a certain parts. I also learned how some physics knowledge i previously learned in class apply to real situations. Although It is not something that just naturally came up to my mind, but doing this project helped me review many things I learned before. As a part of a team, I leaned how I fit and function within in. Currently, because my lack of knowledge compared to some of my other teammates, so I can only act as a supporting role, helping others to find certain things or draw certain parts. But I believe that when I gain more knowledge in the future, I can become a more crucial part of the team.