9/26/17
The Challenge
We were supplied with a design plan for a "kinetic" sculpture made by an art student. Our goal is to think through the process of engineering the sculpture to the specifications that allow for the sculpture to have the potential to actually be built, and then we must build a working prototype of the structure.
A. Description of Need
Crescenta Valley High School wants to implement a kinetic sculpture onto campus, due to the value that the sculpture would add to the school environment. The target population is the students, staff, and teachers of Crescenta Valley High School.
B. Overview of Design Team
The mission of our design team is to create a kinetic sculpture based off of the design of an art student, involving 6 consecutive circles encompassing a walkway. The team member's qualifications are that I am in AP Physics 2, so I know a decent amount about physics, therefore allowing me to calculate actual values to ensure the stability and soundness of our design and that as a team, we have various minds to help construct something with a variety of ideas.
C. Overview of Proposed Project
The basic purpose of the project is to create an interesting attraction to CVHS and to entice those viewing it. The students, teachers, and staff of CVHS will benefit from this sculpture because it will make the area where it is placed a much more appealing area. This project will fulfill the mission because it is a kinetic sculpture which will liven up the school. The unique aspect of this structure is the fact that it does not involve any falcons, unlike most other projects given to other groups; it employs the use of many consecutive circles rather than a giant falcon or many falcons.
D. Project Requirements and Constraints
A requirement of this project is that it must move, meaning that we must find some way to add a kinetic component to the original design. One constraint placed on our team is the fact that the location we have chosen is nearby classrooms, therefore we cannot have motors that make too much noise, or else we will end up distrupting the class activities.
Work and Plans
10/02/17
Today, we gathered some of the materials we need, such as the cardboard and string and then drew the first blueprint for our prototype sculpture.
10/03/17
Today, we began construction of the prototype, then realized we had no tape, so we could not continue building.
10/04/17
Today, we finished construction of the prototype, then tested it and found it to be in working condition.
10/05/17
Today, we went over our design and how we plan to create a more accurate prototype using better materials.
10/06/17
Today, we actually went out and measured the area we would like to construct our structure in to make sure that our report is accurate.
10/09/17
Today, we discussed scaling down the bridge into a model and decided to go with a scale of ~1/65th of the actual sculpture. Then, we debated what materials we should use for our next prototype and how we plan on having the circles work, since we will not be able to slide them on for the actual sculpture. We ended up deciding that we will make the circles into horseshoe shapes, so that we may place them onto the bridge via the top rather than having to disassemble and reassemble semicircles.
10/10/17
We continued discussion on the materials we should use and wrote them down.
10/11/17 - 10/13/17
We finished the prototype blueprints and worked on gathering the materials
10/16/17
We worked on the prototype with the materials gathered, but we were unable to finish it.
10/17/17
We worked on the prototype with the materials gathered, finishing it, but the kinetics feature does not quite work as well as we had hoped. Luckily, our original prototype demonstrates the kinetic aspects of the structure whilst our second prototype focuses more on the actual planned design.
10/20/17
We were given a full work period, but both of my other groupmates were absent, so I looked over the comments given to us on our proposal and wrote down how I believe we may resolve them.
10/23/17
I began work on the technical drawing.
10/24/17-10/30/17
I continued to work on the technical drawing as my group improved the report.
10/31/17
I finished the technical drawing and assisted my group with the powerpoint and the report.