Final project requirements

:blush: Updated for 2020 evaluation standards!

Congratulations, you have reached the point of working on your Final Project. This is your opportunity to demonstrate synthesis of skills you developed in the previous weeks.

Document a final project masterpiece that integrates the range of units covered, answering: What does it do? Who's done what beforehand? What did you design? What materials and components were used? Where did they come from? How much did they cost? What parts and systems were made? What processes were used? What questions were answered? What worked? What didn't? How was it evaluated? What are the implications?

Prepare a summary slide and a one minute video showing its conception, construction, and operation. Your project should incorporate 2D and 3D design, additive and subtractive fabrication processes, electronics design and production, embedded microcontroller interfacing and programming, system integration and packaging.

Where possible, you should make rather than buy the parts of your project. Projects can be separate or joint, but need to show individual mastery of the skills, and be independently operable. Present your final project, weekly and group assignments, and documentation.

Learning Outcomes

  • Create your own integrated design
  • Demonstrate 2D & 3D modelling capabilities applied to your own designs
  • Select and apply appropriate additive and subtractive techniques
  • Demonstrate competence in design, fabrication and programming of your own fabbed microcontroller PCB, including an input & output device

Have you?

  • Made your slide: 1920 x 1080 pixels with your name, project name, Fab Lab name, a photo/render/sketch of your project, a brief description of what your project is/does
  • Made a ~1 minute (10MB/1080p) video of you explaining your project
  • Made a separate Final Project page that briefly summarises your project
  • Included the BOM (Bill of Materials) for your project
  • Linked from this page to any weeks that you worked on your final project
  • Linked to your presentation.png and presentation.mp4
  • Included all of your original design files in the archive (2D & 3D, board files & code). No external hosting of final project files - discuss file sizes with your instructor
  • Included the license you chose
  • Acknowledged work done by others

FAQ

Can I just design a shield for a commercial board in my final project?

Answer: No. Please check the learning outcomes above. See Commercial Boards Policy.

Can I use the satshakit/fabduino/raspberry pi for my final project?

Answer: During Fab Academy You have to show mastery of design of your own board(s). Fabricating an unmodified board is considered as electronics production but does not count towards any design skill. You can use a Raspberry Pi as a replacement of a laptop. See Commercial Boards Policy.

My final projects electronics is a tangle of wires but it works. Is this sufficient?

Answer: No. Your final project must show integration of the skills beyond early stage prototyping. That includes arranging the wiring, use of connectors, etc.

How do we present a Group Project?

Answer: Each student will make a specific slide that shows it's a group project (names the project and the other collaborator/s) and details the parts developed by the individual. Each student will make a specific video that will have some shared content, but mainly shows the parts developed by the individual.

What does 'original design files' mean?

Answer: Original design files are what you designed or modified significantly. These are the files you made or modified to change the way they work. If you modified them into something new, acknowledge where they came from, and point out how they differ from the original ones. Pay attention to the original license that is used, and do not breach it. This may affect the licence you can choose for your final project. Read it all, but pay particular attention to #3, #23, #29, #35 & #37 in Bruce Mau's Incomplete Manifesto.