17. Project Development

System integration

According to Wikipedia, system integration is defined in engineering as the process of bringing together the component sub-systems into one system (an aggregation of subsystems cooperating so that the system is able to deliver the overarching functionality)

Desk and pegboard

Materials

For the desk I will be using triplay board, I like it more than MDF and the price is not that elevated, I will also be machining the modules and the geometry design to make them fit with the desk.

Interoperability

The way the modules fit the desks, is like a block of lego. And to combine it with some of the 3d printed elements I had in mind press fitting and screws on the design.

Testing

I did a little bit of research on how to test furniture and I came across SATRA in here i found some techniques to test my desk, the first I made was to turnover the desk and it stayed in one piece so that is good, then I asked a friend to sit on the desk with me and it didn´t collapse so it can hold an static load of about 140 kg, and finally I tested it in the envoirement it was designed for, me and a couple of friends worked on our projects several days on the desk and it was very confortable. We also tested the pegboard and hooks strength and at least they can hold up to 10-20 kg without problem.

Modules and electronics

Materials

The detail of the materials used can be found here, but in summary I needed power outlets, a XIAO RP2040, a speaker, a led strip, PLA filament and lots of wire.

Interoperability

As I stated before I needed the 3d printed stuff to be attached to the desk, so i had in mind I needed to use screws and adapted them into my 3d designs, I also made the lamp to press fit into the wood module so it looks clean. The electronics were a hit and miss for me since I wanted to control everything wirelessly and had to do it with a USB cable in the end. The boards all have female pinheaders to communicate with each other with Dupont cables, and the voltage regulators and power supply are connected with caliber 20 cable. For the AC input I used a fuse so it protects everything a little.

Testing

When my friends and I used the desk we teste the electronic functions as well, we charged our laptops, phones and plugged many devices such as a soldering station, a hot glue gun, a Dremel tool and others simultaneously. At the same time we used the lamp to solder some components.

Schedule

Final toughts

Making my final project was a challenge because I had many things to do, but I enjoyed the results and the process, I learned by failure how difficult it can be to transmit live audio (BT and Serial), and how easily I can break a XIAO with a code, also the importance of managing time and that sometimes even if you design everything to what you think is perfect, it's better to take a moment to breathe and not rush things out.