Assignment 16
Applications & Implications
What will you design?
I am desinging my very own Christmas crib. We used to have a really nice Christmas crib at my parents house when I was a child and I would like to have one for myself again.What will it do?
My crib will not 'do' some certain task. My aim is to have it for christmas decoration and to just be happy to look at it. The crib will be able to turn on light in the house. There will be a morning star that can also light up at the 24th to guide the three holy kings to the crib. I would like to include a display that is built into the front of the house and can show sentences like 'Merry Christmas'. Another really nice feature I aim for is sound that can be played at certain times (I hope I will be able to make playing christmas songs possible).Who has done what beforehand?
I have used the assignments to gather knowledge about different fabrication methods. In several assignments I already designed or fabricated parts that I can use in my final project now. E.g. the press-fit kit trees, the watering place or the housing of my crib during the CNC milling week. My instructor helped me already for the design of my final boards.What materials and components will be required & how much do they cost?
Materials & Costs:- Wood/Cardboard: 7,18€
- PLA material for printing: 3,29€
- Electronic components: 61,78€
- Silicone material for casting: 1,98€
Where will they come from?
Most parts are ordered at a german vendor called Conrad. We order wood at a german supplier Holzdirekt24.What parts and systems will be made?
Parts:- Crib housing
- Floor-plate for the whole crib
- Figures: Maria, Jospeh, Jesus, Cow, Donkey at least. Maybe sheep and shepherd.
- Morning Star
- Trees
- Watering place
- First board for operating the water pump of the watering place
- Second board for operating the star light, crib light, sound, display and Bluetooth connection
What processes will be used?
- Laser cutter for the roof of the crib and the pressfit-kit trees & maybe for the morning star
- CNC mill for the crib house & maybe the mold for the 'morning star'
- 3D printer for the figures like Maria, Joseph and animals in the crib
- Milling machine to produce own PCB boards
- Soldering station to solder own PCB's
What tasks need to be completed?
- Soldering and programming of final boards
- 3D print figures
- Laser cut the crib house roof and more trees
- Produce a morning star that is transparent
- Buy floor-plate and e.g. felt to pretend gras
What questions need to be answered?
What an awesome question, I think it is always the main challenge to get it done in time: So how can I get it done in time?Also a question I have right now: How detailed will the figures be, i.e. just shapes or a whole face? I have not decided yet on the degree of details so far,
What is the schedule?
This is a rough view of how the schedule worked out:- January: Project brainstorming.
- February: First weeks -> designing the pressfit-kit trees and 3D designs that can be used in the crib (e.g. figures).
- March: Designing the crib house (CNC-mill)
- April: First ideas for the final board layout. Milling this board and prepare it or later on soldering, i.e. order components etc. for the final board. Also start ordering list for the rest of the crib parts.
- Mai:
First two weeks -> Working on the group project for mechanical & machine design.
Last two weeks -> Working on the implementation of final board and printing more objects for the crib. - June: Assembling all parts of the crib, make it look pretty
How will it be evaluated?
Definitely, when the whole crib is finished I will show it to my family to get their feedback in terms of aesthetics and if the functionality is obvious enough and easy to use for them. I.e. do they understand how to e.g. light up the star or teh waterpump. Apart from that, I will receive feedback from my instructor during the process. Mainly, I needed feedback for the PCB design and I got a lot of input on the theory and how to use the components.