18. Mechanical design, Machine design

In this week I have to work in a team to build a machine that includes mechanism, actuation, and automation. First, we have to build the mechanical parts and operate it manually. Then we have actuate and automate the machine we built.

17. Wildcard week

The aim of this week assignment is to design and produce something with a digital fabrication process (incorporating computer-aided design and manufacturing) and including everything necessary to reproduce it.

16. Molding and casting

For this week group assignment, we have to review the safety data sheets for each of our lab molding and casting materials and make and compare test casts with each of them. The individual assignment is to design a 3D mould, mill it, and use it to cast parts.

15. Networking and communications

In this week I'll try two methods of communication between two nodes, which are the serial bus and the I2C communication protocol. For the group assignment, we will connect two projects together to send messages between them.

13. Interface and Application Programming

This week I started exploring new graphical user interface softwares (GUI) and used them to display the collected data from my sensors. As a group, we have made a comparison between different interfacing options.

12. Output Devices

The aim of this week assignment is to add an output device to a microcontroller board I've designed and program it to do something. The group assignment is to measure the power consumption of an output device.

10. Input Devices

The assignment of this week is to work in a group to probe an input device's analog and digital signals. The individual assignment is to connect a sensor to a microcontroller board that I have designed and take readings.

9. Embedded programming

In this week, we worked in a group to test and compare the performance of different microcontrollers’ architectures. Individually, I read the datasheet of the microcontroller I used, which is ATtiny44 and programmed it to do some tasks using different Programming environments.

8. Computer controlled machining

The aim of this week group assignment is to test runout, alignment, speeds, feeds, and toolpaths of the CNC machine avaialble in our fab lab. The individual assignment is to design and build something big using the CNC machine.

7. Electronics design

The aim of this week group assignment is to observe the operation of a microcontroller circuit board using different test equipment available in the lab. The individual assignment is to redraw one of the hello-world circuit boards available in the fablab site and add at least one input and output (button and LED), checking the design rules, mill it, solder components, and test the circuit by programming it.

6. 3D Scanning and Printing

The group assignment of this week is to characterize and test the 3D printers available in the lab. The individual assignment is to design and 3D print an object that can be printed additively, but cannot be made subtractively (i.e. using milling machine). The size of the design is limited by the printer size. The second individual assignment is to 3D scan an object.

5. Electronics Production

The group assignment of this week is to characterize and document our lab milling machine's design rules; Characteristics include feeds, speeds, plung rate, depth of cut and tooling. While the individual assignment is to build and test an in-circuit programmer byt milling and stuffing the PCB. Optionally, trying other PCB processes.

4. Computer-Controlled Cutting

For this week we have two types of assignments, group and individual. For the group assignment, we will characterize the laser cutter in the lab by making test parts of different settings and we will document the group work on fab lab Bahrain website. For the individual assignment, I will design, laser cut, and assemble a parametric 2D press-fit construction kit. In addition, I will cut my vector design from previous week on the vinyl-cutter.

3. Computer Aided design

The aim of this week work is to explore a number of possible 2D and 3D modeling strategies using different design software.

2. Project management

This week we learned about version control and how to use Git. I have never used Git or created a repository, so I am a beginner. Therefore, to manage my fab academy weekly assignments and final project on Git Lab, I have to learn about Git from scratch. The assignment of this week is to build a personal website using website development tools and upload it to the class archive. In addition, I have to work through a git tutorial after learning about it and finally signing the student agreement.