Individual Assignment
Propose a final project masterpiece that integrates the range of units covered. Your project should incorporate

- 2D and 3D design,
- additive and subtractive fabrication processes,
- electronics design and production,
- 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

Software Used

Google Chrome, YouTube, Fab Academy archives

What will it do?

The machine I am building is meant to create a climate regulated hermetic environment for spores and microscopic seeds to grow.

I have found medical grade Microbiology incubators ranging from $85-$2,500 but have not found a model that does what I am looking for.

Who's done what beforehand?

Sous Vide Machine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIAXI1rq9Gg

I found an example of a machine that is used to cook food at a consistent temperature.

This specific model works by using a heat plate to regulate water temperature and cooking food to 1 degree precision. I am considering using a heat plate to heat water as well.

I also found a project from Fab Academy 2017, by a student named murasaki at Fab Lab Kitakagaya. Their final project was to build a desktop closed environment to make and keep an ecosystem.

We share a problem in common: keeping a consistent environment with the ability to monitor it.

In their case they built a system that monitored light, water temperature and read C02.

What will you design and make?

I will need to design the following parts:

- a terrarium/case that can be sealed air-tight and contain the project
     (it must be small enough to fit within a glove box used for flasking seeds)
- an electronics system with PCB board to measure temperature and humidity and power a heating element
- a water pan to collect beading water that drips within the terrarium/casecase
- a mount designed to hold an agar flask
- a structure to go inside the agar flask and improve the surface area of agar
      (head and pressure resistant as it must be sterilized

What materials and components will be used?

- a humidity and temperature sensor to read information within the terrarium/case
- a display to show the inputs being read
- a heating element to heat the water within the terrarium/case
      (this element can be outside of the terrarium/case)
- processor board, resistor, capacitor
- incandescent light bulb
- power board

Where will the components and parts come from?

I will recycle a heating element from a 3d printer heated bed. I will build my own processor and power boards using the inventory available at the Fab Lab. I will need to source acrylic or glass (approx $20). I plan on making the flask mount and the internal structure for the inside of the agar flask out of PLA-X. I plan on making a water collecting pan to fit on the bottom of the case using composite molds.

How much will they cost?

$17 - Humidity and temperature sensor
$0 - Display
$10 - Processor board
$18 - Power supply
$5 - Heating element
$7 - Case
$0 - Mount for flask
$0 - Internal structure for agar flask
$2 - Water collection pan

$59 Total

What parts and systems will be made?

- Processor board
- Power board
- Case
- Mount for flask
- Internal structure for agar flask
- Water collection pan

What processes will be used?

CAD, Computer-controlled cutting, electronics design and production, 3d printing, computer controlled machining, embedded programming, mechanical design, output devices, molding and casting

What questions need to be answered?

1) How will I regulate/control/program the heating plate so that it maintains a constant temperature without fluctuating between outputs.
2) Will the heating plate be enough to boil water and cause condensation on the inside of the terrarium/case?
3) Can users modify the temperature with buttons or do they have to reprogram the board?

How will it be evaluated?

Hermeticity: Due to the long growing time of epiphytes, initially I will work with other seeds/spores that germinate quicker like ferns and mushrooms. The device should be able to maintain a sterile growing environment so that the seeds/spores are able to grow without competition.

Structural integrity: specific parts of the device that will be within the terrarium/case will have to be moisture, heat and pressure resistant. They will undergo pressure cooking at 10psi in order to become sterilized, so they will need to be made of something that can resist these conditions.

Specific-point temperature control: just like an oven, the device should be able to maintain a stable temperature so that different settings can be programmed for different species.