Assignment
This week I worked on defining my final project idea and started to getting used to the documentation process.
I have to answer the following questions:
- What will it do?
- Who has done what beforehand?
- What materials and components will be required?
- Where will they come from?
- How much will it cost?
- What parts and systems will be made?
- What processes will be used?
- What tasks need to be completed?
- What other questions need to be answered?
- What is the schedule?
- How will it be evaluated?
What will it do?
This is a low cost and mobile neonatal infant incubator to be used in the healthcare centers.
It will be used in the hearthcare centers and the district hospitals to take care of preterm babies and transport infant babies from healthcare centers to the main hospitals. This machine is equipped with different sensors that will be used to control the internal condition of the incubator such as temperature, Humidity, oxygen and noise.Additionally, microcontroller, fans and electric cloth heater will be used to regulate the temperature and Humidity.
Who has done what beforehand?
I checked from internet and I found a bunch of low cost infant incubator designed by different people and on fabacademy website there is one incubator designed by Alejandro Escario Méndez
What will you design?
designed the whole structure of the incubator, the 3D printed parts and the electronics system for controlling and monitoring my incubator. The designing process
What materials and coomponents will be required?
- MDF (6mm)
- Drilling machine
- CNC router machine
- CAD(SOLIDWORKS2018)
- Acrylic(5mm)
- Microcontroller
- Humidifier
- Heater
- sensors(Temperature, Humidity, Oxygen)
- Fans
- LCD display
WWhere will come from? How much will they cost?
Most of them will be provided by my LAB and unavailable materials or devices, FABLAB secured the bugdet that I will use to buy them on the market.
| Name | Description | Quantity | Price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MDF | 6mm MDF for making the structure | 1 | $40 | $116.83 |
| Acrylic | 5mm Acrylic for making the side panel of the structure | 1 | $40 | |
| ESP8266 Microcontroller | For controlling the entire system | 1 | $1.36 | |
| DHT22 | Temperature and Humidity sensing | 2 | $3 | |
| Humidifier | Increases humidity (moisture) in a incubator | 2 | $ 9.61 | |
| Heater | Heating element part for incubator.At room temperature, the maximum temperature of 12V heater can reach 240 degrees Celsius | 1 | $10 | |
| Fans | 120 x 120 x 25mm 4 Pin Computer Fan Colorful Quad 4-LED Light Neon Clear 120mm PC Computer Case Cooling Fan Mod C0608 | 2 | $ 7.52 | |
| LCD Display | 5V 2004 20X4 Character Blue Blacklight LCD Display Module Shield Controller | 1 | $3 | |
| Push Button | Self locking button DS-228 DS228 12mm Lock Latching OFF- ON Push Button | 2 | $2.34 | |
What parts and systems will be made?
Except electronics modules LCD, sensors and other parts like fans, heater and humidifier, The structure is made by 6 mm MDF and side panels made by 5mm Acrylic cut by the CNC router, ESP8266 microcontroller will be designed with the help of Autodesk Eagle software and milled by using Roland SRM-20 Desktop Milling Machine.
What processes will be used?
Except electronics modules LCD, sensors and other parts like fans, heater and humidifier, The structure is made by 6 mm MDF and side panels made by 5mm Acrylic cut by the CNC router, ESP8266 microcontroller will be designed with the help of Autodesk Eagle software and milled by using Roland SRM-20 Desktop Milling Machine.
What tasks need to be completed?
I will use Computer Aided Design (CAD) to design parts and Computer Controlled Cutting to cut the structure parts. I have to solder the remaining sensors to the PCB and connect both Humidifier and heater to the control board, then I have to Interface electronics with software and applications, if time allows I will create the IoT platform where the data from the incubator will be saved and analyzed for remote monitoring and the future improvement.
What questions need to be answered?
The main questions that I still have to answer are as follows:
- How much power will this require?
- Is the materials used not harmful to the babies?
- Is this machine affordable?
- Is it easy to get the the replacement materials?
- is it easy to manipurate and transport it ?
What is the schedule?
The goal was to finish in 6 months but between school, daily life I was not able to complete the project. The new goal is to complete the project by October, 2019.
How will it be evaluated?
To evaluate this project, I will visit some nearby healthcare centers to see if the my incubator meets with their needs and the feedbacks from nurses and/or docotors will contribute to the improvement of this project.