Week Outline

1. Wednesday: Global Class on Applications and Implications and Project Development.

Global Class

For this week, Neil started with a tour of things we can do with the skills we have learned throughout the program. He showed us many projects that have been done by people from the Fab network, which was very exciting and interesting. Then, he went on to talk about final projects. He showed us many final project examples that have been done in FabAcademy and the MIT course throughout the years. Then he talked about project development (full circle moment).

Assignments

1. Propose a final project masterpiece that integrates the range of units covered.

What will it do?

My electric saxophone will enable a saxophone player to practice by blowing into the instrument through a classical mouthpiece, replicating an original saxophone's sound as closely as possible, while being able to control the volume (so as not to bother others). This is all further discussed in the Overview on my Final Project Fabrication page.

Who's done what beforehand?

In terms of electronic or digital saxophones, there are a few that have been made in recent years. On a wide scale affordable commercial level, Yamaha has done the YDS-120 digital saxophone. Also commercially, Emeo has done the more expensive digital practice horn. Focusing more on portability, Odei has done the Travel Sax 2. On a personal project scale, George Bryant started developing an electro-sax similar to what I have in mind. There are also a number of electronic wind instruments that work as MIDI controllers, so while they can work as saxophones, they can also work as other instruments. This is not the focus of my project, so although I have checked some of them out, I have not focused on them. My full market study is discussed in detail in the research section on my Final Project Conception page.

What will you design?

Mostly everything. Primarily the programmable control boards for all the electronic components, the mechanical assembly (or body) of the instrument, and the system integration components within the assembly to incorporate the electronics. The documentation of the design process for each component is available in the Documentation section on my Final Project Fabrication page.

What materials and components will be used? Where will they come from? How much will they cost?

Essentially, filament for the 3D printed structure, copper plaques for the PCBs, magnets for the keys, and a whole lot of electrical components. This is all further discussed in the Bill of Materials on my Final Project Fabrication page.

What parts and systems will be made?

1. The body of the instrument, the mechanical assembly, which will consist of multiple 3D printed parts fitted together.
2. The electronics system, which will consist of 22 "grand-daughter boards" for each hall effect sensor for the keys, 2 daughterboards for the microprocessors reading and communicating the key signals and the pressure sensor for the breath chamber, a motherboard to transfer the key signals into sound through a microcontroller and an amplifier, and a speaker.

What processes will be used?

2D design, 3D design, additive fabrication, subtractive fabrication, embedded microcontroller pcb interfacing and programming, and system integration techniques and applications. This is all further discussed in the processes on my Final Project Fabrication page.

What questions need to be answered?

The questions I asked myself at the beginning of the project, and their respective answers, are developed in the research section on my Final Project Conception page.

How will it be evaluated?

It will be evaluated in the final project presentation, when I present my video. It will be evaluated according to the established requirements, so essentially on whether I incorporated the skills learnt throughout the program properly and demonstrating proficiency in them.

2. Complete your final project, tracking your progress.

What tasks have been completed, and what tasks remain?

A fully detailed and updated timeline is available in the Timeline section on my Final Project Fabrication page.

What's working? What's not?

The updated documentation of the fabrication process is available in the Documentation section on my Final Project Fabrication page.

What questions need to be resolved?

"How will my electric saxophone work?" and "What will be the overall structure of my electric saxophone? What processes/systems/standards will it use?" are the remaining questions I cannot fully answer until the project is done. However the questions I asked myself at the beginning of the project, and their respective answers, are developed in the research section on my Final Project Conception page. Also, the updated documentation of the fabrication process is available in the Documentation section on my Final Project Fabrication page. So there you can see how close I am to answering them.

What will happen when?

A fully detailed and updated timeline is available in the Timeline section on my Final Project Fabrication page.

What have you learned?

An in depth reflection on the project can be found in the Project Reflection section on my Final Project Operation page.