Progress track¶
This page tracks progress of the work on my final project. I split progress in the different parts of the project, and update each as it advances. Development is not linear, as some choices influence other elements, and many aspects went back and forward during progress.
| Week # | Date | Weely Assignment Reviews | Final Project Tasks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Jan 24 | Principles and Practices | Ideation |
| Week 2 | Jan 31 | Computer Aided Design | Design Development |
| Week 3 | Feb 07 | Computer-controlled Cutting | Lamp Body Prototyping |
| Week 4 | Feb 14 | Electronics Production | Electronics acessment |
| Week 5 | Feb 21 | 3D Scanning and Printing | Lamp Head Prototyping |
| Week 6 | Feb 28 | Embedded Programming | Light Control Program |
| Week 7 | Mar 06 | Computer-Controlled Machining | Light Dynamics |
| Week 8 | Mar 13 | Electronics Design | Electronics Design |
| week 9 | Mar 20 | Output Devices | Audio Output |
| Week 10 | Mar 27 | Mechanical Design, Machine Design | Electronics Design |
| Week 11 | Apr 03 | Fake Break, Midterm Review | Electronics Design |
| Week 12 | Apr 10 | Input Devices | Electronics Design and Production |
| Week 13 | Apr 17 | Molding and Casting | Electronics Production |
| Week 14 | Apr 24 | Networking and Communications | Electronics Production |
| Week 15 | May 01 | Interface and Application Programming | Electronics Production and Assembly |
| Week 16 | May 08 | Wildcard Week | Electronics Production and Assembly |
| Week 17 | May 15 | Applications and Implications & Project Development | Electronics Testing |
| Week 18 | May 22 | System Integration | Final Project Testing and Validation |
| Week 19 | May 29 | Invention, Intellectual Property, and Income | Update Video, Slide and Documentation |
| Week 20 | Jun 05 | Project Presentation |
Head¶
In computer modelling week I redesigned and modelled a first iteration of the head of the lamp. The general thought process is described there.
As everything is interconnected, restrictions on some elements determine the design of other parts, so I had to adapt the design.
I found that the weight of the Dayton Audio RS100-4 3d driver was too high for the springs I found that fit the body of the lamp, at nearly 0.5Kg. I decided to use a smaller driver, a Tang Bang mini subwoofer that I had around and sounds good too. It’s not a full range driver, but it should work for this project.
Another element that determined the redesign was the lack of time to make an LED ring. My instructor has a parts bin, where he found a led ring I could use, but it was larger than the first head and woudn’t fit, so I finally made a larger head.
That also meant the occulus (i never know what to call the ring element around the audio driver) had to be redrawn too. In this case, and because time was short, I decided to just measure the inner diameter of the new head and the outter diameter of the tang bang driver and just cut a piece of acrylic to fit the space.
The acrylic I had arround is transparent, but I left the white protective film on for light dissipartion and it kind of works. My plan is to eventually machine a bulged ring like the first design, but for now this will do.
So I 3d printed the new head, and despite some minor issues, it was mostly alright. An then, as it sometimes happens, the fittment of Filipe’s led ring was too tight, by a fraction of a millimeter, it didn’t fit. I would have to sand the print, the ring, or both to fit.
I remembered I had a bright led strip that might work. The light would shine inwards into the head, but enough of it would come out through the acrylic, so I tried it. It fit perfectly in the avaliable width and also in length, so I glued it on, soldered power wires and connected them to a salvaged 12V power supply I’m using for my project, and they shone quite brightly. The light is expectedly not uniform accross the acrylic, but it serves the effect until I find a better solution.
The leds got a bit warm, which may become an issue if the lamp is left on max for too long, but my electronics will have a PWM / potentiometer brightness control, so it can be ajusted.
All issues moderately solved for now. Had I thought to use the led strip before, I wouldn’t have had to make a larger head; but it looks goofier on the body I made, so it’s staying.
Body¶
I based part of my project on Daniel Bulls thingiverse model, but I didn’t want to 3d print it as it was. The body has to hold the weight of the head and connect to the base, so it was important that it was sturdy and that it looked good. As usual, restrictions determine design. I studied the model in my prefered cad software (Rhino3d) and started remodeling everything from the original mesh to nurbs geometry.
From the nurbs objects I extracted 2d contour lines for most of the pieces. I also changed them slightly to make them curvier, more fluid.
Base¶
laser cut