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17. Applications and Implications

My Final Project is currently taking the shape of a kid-friendly interactive ceramic kiln that is both educational, interactive, and fun to play with. The working title for this project is ClayStack as a play on Haystack’s name.

What will it do?

ClayStack is a simple and safe play kit for kids to form clay into objects and bake using a low-tempature kiln. This project will consist of three components: - clay material and shaping tools - a variable speed potter’s wheel for forming clay (note: this won’t actually be strong enough to do serious work but should be sufficently entertaining for a toddler to play with). - a temperature-controlled kiln/oven for baking the clay material into ceramic creations.

Who’s done what beforehand?

I was inspired by Hyejin Ahn’s final project, which was a smart mini house. While, I am not building a smart doll house here, I can draw upon some of the principles in designing for children.

In terms of kiln/ovens, there are several projects I came across doing research: - Electric Reflow Oven - Homemade Electric Kiln - Carbon Ply Curing Oven - DIY Curing Oven

A lot of these projects are a bit overkill for what I am designing. Instead, I am going to focus on making a simple design, easy interface for the child (touchscreen), and safe.

As for commerical products, there is of course the Easy Bake Oven. This was the original inspiration for the project, but something a bit less toy-ish and focused on the creative/arts. Someone has even turned an easybake oven into a claybake oven.

Kid-Friendly Clay

Kid-Friendly Pottery Wheels

Not surprinsgly, there are a bunch of kid-friendly pottery wheels on the market. This review lists and reviews ten different products. Of those, I decided that this product by MindWare was the least offensive and childish looking. I am going to use this as my design inspiration.

Kid-Friendly Ovens

There are not really any play ovens that are aimed at pottery or crafts. I found some designs, like this one, that might help insire my own design for the oven. I want to keep it simple and safe.

What will you design?

As I mentioned above, there are three components that I will design and fabricate for this project: 1) Clay Material, 2) Pottery Wheel/Shaping Station, and 3) Clay Bake/Cure Oven.

Clay Material

There are two possibilities here:

Option 1: I could design a Polymer Clay recipie using cornstarch and pva glue and see how it cures in a regular convection oven that we have at the lab. I could add food coloring to make it look more exciting, etc.

Option 2: I could just purchase an off-the-shelf project, like the AirDry Clay, or Hey Clay

Pottery Wheel & Shaping Station

This item will require a lot of design an integration of the skills I have learned throughout Fab Academy. The Pottery Wheel & Shaping Station (PWSS) will consist of a wheel that spins using a DC motor and some control hardware to vary the speed of the wheel. There will also be an ON/OFF switch. The rest of the design will consist of physical items that will be made using a combination of 3D printing, CNC Router, and the Laser Cutter. The vinyl cutter might be used to do some decals for the packaging, etc.

Clay Bake Oven

The Clay Bake Oven (CBO) will be the other primary componenet that I will need to design for my final project. The final design will ultimately depend on wether or not I end up using the air dry clay or the non-toxic polymer clay.

Option 1: Air Dry Oven. If I go this route, than the oven will essentially just be a novely oven and will not actually heat up to substantial temperatures. I would install a fan-blower with controlls, RGB LED lightening for a visual effect, and a touchscreen interface for setting a timer, and controlling the hardware. This would essentially create the experience of using an oven without the dangers.

Option 2: Low-temperature Oven. If I go this route, I will use heating elements and a thermistor to regulate the temperature inside the oven. The maximum temperature achievable would have to be low enough to avoid potential injuries to children, etc. All of the other elements would be incorpoated as well. A vent-blower fan, RGB LEDs, touchscreen interface, timer, ON/OFF control, and maybe some noises/beeps for user feedback.

What materials and components will be used?

Clay

  • Homemade: Cornstarch & PVA glue
  • Off-the-shelf: AirDry Clay | HeyClay

Pottery Wheel & Shaping Station

  • DC motor, motor control board, power supply, input (interface) electronics
  • 3D printed PETG parts and shaping tools
  • Lasercut plywood parts and shaping tools
  • Casted gypsum (Dry Stone) throwing wheel

Clay Bake Oven

  • CNC routed HPDE or Plywood for the oven parts
  • Fan, Heating Elemenent, RGB LED, Switch, LCD/Touchscreen, Powersupply, Control Board
  • Acrylic Panel
  • Door Hinge

Where will come from?

Sourcing information for the BOM

How much will they cost?

My estimate is that the total project will cost approxitmately $100.

What parts and systems will be made?

What processes will be used?

What questions need to be answered?

How will it be evaluated?


Project Requirements

  • 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 need to show individual mastery of the skills, and be independently operable

Last update: May 26, 2021