18. Project Development

This week is the FINAL week and I am suppose to track my progress and complete my final project!

Task Completed

The entire project was concluded and done on the 14th of June 2023, GMT9.00 pm sharp! Yes it was down to the very last minute! It was quite rush for me in terms of time management as I was also tied up with another course which I am taking concurrently which happens to end by the 3rd week of June and I have to finish up my assignment for the course as well. Hence, I can only manage to start working on my project from the 1st of June and luckily I manage to get all my parts and component early otherwise I may not be able to finish my project in time. I did a schedule plan using Google SpreadSheet knowing that the most crucial part of my headphone is to get the design right and that would mean that I need to get my CAD out first so that I can do test prints to try the fittings. On the other hand, I also need to take some time off to make sure I got my PCB design right. Luckily with the help of our local fab lab instructor, my PCB design well smooth without any problem but still it told me 2 days to complete it.

I actually made a mistake in my planning as I thought that everything would go smooth and I did not cater time for a backup plan/day. I should have spent more time working on my prototyping testing during the first week so that it will free up my time in the next following week which is the D-Day for me. As you can see from the schedule chart below, It was quite packed and I had to work beyond the office hours (finishing at 8-9pm) to finish up the task so that it will not delay my next task for the next following day. At the final day, it was a nightare as I was working like crazy, to get my system integrated and assemble them, not to mention that I have not start to build my presentation slides and 1 min video yet. But fortunately, I always make a habit of taking photos and video while I am working on my various tasks so I have plenty of information and short clips in my phone for making the presentation board and video. Hence, after completing my prototype, It did not take long for me to create the presentation board and video. However, I do have a problem trying to upload my files to the repository as I forgotten to do a Git Pull and that causes some problem to my repository. Luckily with the help of our local instructor, he manage to help me uploaded my files to my repository but by the time my files are uploaded, I actually miss my timeslot for presentation and I have to wait till everyone to finish their presentation before I could do mine. Nonetheless, I still manage to present my project and that is more than enough for me.

Remaining Task

I am so glad that I am able to complete every single requirement and get my headphone working. The only remaining task was to update the progress and documentation of my repository.

Evaluation Summary

The headphone design was able to fulfill all the evaluation requirement listed in the Applications and Implications week. It was able to play music from any bluetooth devices with control buttons to play/stop, forward/backward as well as increase/decrease the volume. It also flashes LED pixels according to the beats of the music and can be on/off by a sliding switch. Last but not least, it all runs with just a 3.7V (380 mAh) li-thium battery! (although I have not tested how long will it last!)

Although I manage to get my headphone working, there was a big issue in the assembly process. It was a nightmare to squeeze so many parts/components into such a small space within the the headphone! I was having alot of difficulties in trying to contain all the cables despite having delicated space for these wires. And while I try force fit them, some soldering parts came off! That was the worse! I have to take out every single component, resolder them and place them back again! This process was done repeatedly for at least 5 TIMES! (in fact I lost count of how many times I actually solder and resolder!)

So the next question to follow up is to see how can we better integrate all the electronical components and PCB inside the headphone so that it is more efficient and easier to assemble. And last but not least, it is also esssential to reduce the proportion smaller as it is still kind of bulky at the current design. It will be good if we can reduce the width of the design by at least 10-15mm.

Future?

So what is the next thing to happen? I intend to reinvestigate the components that I am currently using to see if I can reduce the blue-print smaller and make it more efficient so that I can complete the entire headphone design and can start a mini production to test the product! Also, I would like to test it out on other materials such as Metals - Aluminium and Timber - Teak/Walnut!

Reflection

This is the final week and last hurdle of my Fab Academy journey! I really learnt alot throughout this 6 month journey especially the electronical and programming segment. I am now able to create my own PCB and that is something for me to brag as it was not an easy task to learn how to fabricate a printed circuit board from scratch. There are alot of backend studies and consulting work to be done in order to create a good PCB. In general, we are glad that we are given the right amount of support from our loca Fab Lab Node instructors. Without them, we will probably will not progress this far. The other thing that I have learnt which is valuable but not looking forward to it was Soldering. It was a love and hate affair as I like the fact that I am capable to create my boards but I hate soldering them. It was really painful to spent hours, keeping our body still, enduring the aches on our body and neck, straining our eyes just to solder that particular cable/pin to the board. To make the matter worse, my soldering skills is really bad and I tends to solder different tracks together. But nonetheless, I am glad that I have taken this course as it really open up my range skills.