WHERE IS WALLY??

OR HOW I FINALLY FINALIZED THE FINAL PROJECT

  This semester assignment was to make and document a final project that integrates the range of units covered in FabAcademy.

*All files provided on the navigation menu.

The Final Project Presentation Slide

  My Final Project it is a system for the FabLabs, it is a Small Part Storage System called Wally (or Waldo in the US). It consist in a Matrix of drawers with leds and swiths (a modular system that can be expanded), and a controler module with a keypad, LCD and other acessories that are conected in a network (i2C).

  But first let's go back to the first week of FabAcademy, or even before (when i still was on Brazilian territory). One of the first things i did once i got accepted on the FabAcademy, was to start to think what was going to be my Final Project, and it become a big responsability to get that right. For me it was not only one more project, it was THE Final Project. And to make that decision i used three main criteries: One it has to be something that used most of the assignements in the program. Two it has to be something usefull for the FabLabs and three that could be reproduced in any FabLab around the world (principally in Brazil).

  After i concluded my final project, i can say that i managed to accomplised those three things. I can't say it's exactly the way i imagined, but i can say it is more than i expected(once i realized how many time/knowledge it need to make my Final Project work the way i imagined).

  The Final Project has spam into the course of this six months FabAcademy program, it begun thinking about something useful for the FabLabs and it ended in a phisical object, but for me it is more about what is behind that idea than what it was made. The idea behind it is the FabLab 2.0, a laboratoy build by the people who will use the space, i belive in this semester i visualized and lived what is to be imersed in a community as strong as AS220, but in the same way fragile. I belive now that the machines are just one aspect, the smallest aspect of the FabLab, what is more evident even than the Network is the local space. ( I discuss this ideia more depply in the Project Development section)

  I used the weeks assignements to develop my final project. It consists of two parts: One the main unit of 16 drawers cutted in birthwood and masonite in the Epilog laser (with the adition of some plastic drawers) with 16 leds with resistor (one for each drawers) a SPS board with the Attiny84a and wires and copper tape to connect everything. Two the control module, composed of three boards, the LCDi2C board, the 4x4SPSKeypad board and the SPS Master board (with the Speaker, SD and Wi-fi). A case, the buttons the LCD, some small parts sortiyng drawers and the Speaker.

  I used the principal of spiral development (make a small subsystem work than another and then you have the entire thing) and for more detailed information on the development of the Final Project i documented on the following assignements of the FabAcademy 2015 curriculum:

  How is working right now: The system right now can light up the selected drawer, ask for quantities and has a test setting. It can in be extended with other drawers modules to the limit of i2C protocol.

  How about in the future? In the future if i continue with the project i whant to make it conect to the internet and make all the data backup to the SD.

The Final Project Presentation Video

A state machine diagram

A connection diagram, how many wires go where

Front view of the Drawers

Side view of the Drawers, with Wally

Top view of the Drawers, see that the top we have the board and the wires

Back view of the Drawers, the board and wires on top sit on a pocket so they can be stackeable

The back view of the Drawers, the drawers are in a cantilever

The back view of the Drawers and the matrix wires, red=rows, green=colums

The complete system from the back and the right connectors (everything made to save space)

The side view of the complete system (the buttons are made on the Lab as 95% of the sytem)

The front view with eveything working and the greeating message

The front view when you ask for a part

Party mode!! For demostrations and debbuging

The diferent drawers that can be used

The bottom of the drawers with the fisical conections

The open control module, with the three boars, LCD, SPS Master and Keypad

A closer look, here we see the speaker and the conectors

A separated look into the Fab i2C LCD board

A separated look into the SPS Master Board with all the acessories

A separated look into the SPS Master Board without all the acessories

A separated look into the SPS K4x4 Board, the keypad board

The underside of the buttons with the rubber springs (this part was bought)

The side of the control module (the LCD and Keypad are just press-fitted and enable a quick dessasembly of the system)

A front look at the control module with it's part sorting drawers

Questions (from the Latin-Quaerere/Quest = to search)

What tasks have been completed, and what tasks remain?

  The prototype has been completed, some say that all the projects are prototypes for the next an i think this is true. The tasks that remain are to expand the idea, the idea of a trully automated FabLab.

What has worked?

  A lot have worked, some times more than i hoped an some less, of course we all aspire to achieve greatness in our projects, our vanity says our first projects will the great and we will conquer many things, but in true each project is a step on a stair, some steps can be fragile other solids, and for time to time we may want to step down the stair or make it go left or right. And for that i think this project is a good solid step forward.

What hasn't?

  What wasn't work is not something i condem but something to learn, to know my weakeness and to improve, by requesting help or learning, and for me this weakness is in coding, and i will propose to myself study this subject.

What questions need to be resolved?

  Will this be a project usefull and replicated thru the FabLab? Will i be active in the project or even in a FabLab in Brazil, or will this idea vanish and be in the inconsient of a collective?

What will happen when?

  The project was as well documented as I could do, so even if I do not pursue its developement, there will be always a way for it to inspire others.

What have you learned?

  A lot, about techical things, manily the documentation during development and demand vs supply time mangement but most about myself and who i want to become. I started this journey, in my room in Brazil and ended here in Providence, RI, United states! Wow what a journey.

  It took six months away from my country and to go to a place that i had no other responsabilities other than learning. And in the end i learned a lot about myself, what i am and what i want, this is something more valuable than anything, the power of the knolodge of the self. (yeah i have read a lot of psicologycal books to like amazing: "King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine".)