11. Applications and implications¶
Propose a final project masterpiece that integrates the range of units covered,
answering:
What will it do?
Who's done what beforehand?
What will you design?
What materials and components will be used?
Where will come from?
How much will they cost?
What parts and systems will be made?
What processes will be used?
What questions need to be answered?
How will it be evaluated?
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
What will it Do?¶
My final project will utilize persistence of vision to display a 2D or 3D image depending on how many layers of LEDs I incorporate into the design. Each layer of LEDs will spin at a set speed and flash colors at precise timings in order to show an image to the human eye.
Who has done what beforehand?¶
Many people have done persistence of vision displays before as this is not a new concept. However, I thought it would really interesting to have one that utilizes mutliple layers to create a display that is 3D. The main inspiration of my project came from this person named Maxmali who created a project called voLumen.
What will you design?¶
I will be designing as much of this as possible while in this time of crisis. The housing will be created in Fusion and 3D printed in addition to maybe a shaft to hold all the blades of LEDs. The blades will be created using Eagle all the code for my MCUs will be created with guidance from other code. Other boards will be created to control the motor and other essential features such as a Hall effect sensor.
What materials and components will be used?¶
The Base¶
For creating the frame of my project, I will need PLA in order to print it and I may create a mold of some parts. Furthermore, I will need a brushless DC motor to spin my blades along with an ESC (Electronic Speed Controller). A bearing will be attached to the shaft to stablize the motor and act as a slip ring to send electricity to my blades. A board milled from single sided FR-1 will have an ATTiny412 and will send PWM values to set the motor to the correct speeds.
The Blades¶
The entire blade will be milled from single sided FR-1. Depending on the difficulty of driving all the LEDs, I might utilize SPI and have a master ATMega with ATTiny slaves on each fan blade. The LEDs I will use are the Dotstar LEDs from Adafruit which are good because of their high refresh rate (Great for Persistence of Vision) but have a hefty price. I will also need a board with a Hall effect sensor as I will need to know when the blades make a full rotation in order to adjust timings for the LEDs. This will also require me to have a neodymium magnet.
Where will it come from?¶
DigiKey is the electronics distributor I will use to get all my electronics from. Many other standard components such as the single sided FR-1, resistors and capacitors, and MCUs will already be accessible in my FabLab. A few other expensive parts such as the motor will need to be sourced for other websites.
How much will it cost?¶
| Component | # of Parts | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Brushless DC Motor | 1 | ~$30 |
| Electronic Speed Controller | 1 | ~$15 |
| Dotstar SMD LED | 20-30 | ~$15 |
| ATTiny412 | 3 | $1.35 |
| ATMega328p | 1 | $2.56 |
| A1324LLHLT-T (Hall Sensor) | 1 | $2.20 |
| 1/8in Plywood Sheet | 1 | ~$3 |
| Single Sided FR-1 | 4 | $4 |
| Neodymium Magnet | 1 | $1.33 |
My estimated grand total is $74.33.
What parts and systems will be made?¶
I will solder the LED blades, the board for the brushless DC motor and another board to measure the hall effect. I will 3D print the casing of my project and laser cut a cover for the electronics.
What processes will be used?¶
I will be using Computer Aided Design to design and visualize all the parts in my project. Electronics Design and Production will be used to design and mill out my boards. They will each utilize either Input or Output Devices as well as Embedded Programming. Computer Controlled cutting will be used to laser cut the cover on my project and 3D Printing will be used to create the outer frame.
What questions need to be answered?¶
I need to figure out how many LED blades I am planning to have in my project. The more I have, the larger I can make images in the vertical direction, but there is a large time and cost investment with each LED blade. The dimensions of my project are also not set in stone as they will need to be adjusted depending on the cost of my project also.
How will it be evaluated?¶
This should be evaluated based on whether it is able to produce a still image for the human eye with the use of Persistence of Vision.