Principles of Engineering
Drafting & Design I
Rube Goldberg Project
In Principles of Engineering class, our very first construction project was to devise a Rube Goldberg mechanism. Rube Goldberg was known in his time for creating famously complex mechanisms to perform experiments done by humans more efficiently. In this particular project, to get a marble to travel at a constant speed down a slope to reach the endpoint, which was the red funnel-like object at the end, we placed a ramp at the top of a platform under a pulley structure, where we rolled a car down the slope, and when it hit the block where the marble was sitting upon, it would then roll down the funnel to reach the end.
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Rube Goldberg Video
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This is a video recording of what our Rube Goldberg project looked like. In this project, I worked with Hector Herrera, Christian Fiechtner, Thomas Klein, and Axel Palacio to create this mechanism. I believe this project could have been improved with more time, but I think we did a great job constructing it and testing it nevertheless.
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The Outcomes of Our Rube Goldberg Project
Google Docs: http://bit.ly/12kybSG
Truss Construction Project
In the middle of the year, our class constructed trusses, and learned about how to construct them, and eventually test them. This was a structural lesson, demonstrating how strategic placement of balsa wood sticks together with wood glue can make a big difference in structural stability, the same as how in the real world, a house that is built well with sturdy materials and strategic placement will withstand earthquakes or storms, etc. I worked on this project with Shantell Labajo, who helped me construct the trusses, complete a packet that went with it, and test them. The pictures above represent the "Before" testing, and "After" testing. Though no significantly large cracks or fractures were made in the trusses after testing, there were a couple of places where the trusses began to crack while testing, although these are hard to spot.
Electric Motor Project
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This project was an electric motor I created with Shantell Labajo in the middle of the year. Its purpose is to serve as like a mini generator. To the left is a video displaying how it works. It is operated by connecting two wires, one red, one white, to some aluminum strips at the end and this powers it.
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Electric Motor Construction Process
Preliminary House Plans Analysis Project
Prior to designing our first AutoCAD house in CADD I, we were assigned to create a Preliminary House Plans Analysis PowerPoint, in which we took existing house plan designs from the Internet and analyzed their features and AutoCAD plans to gather inspiration and understand the fundamental elements of an AutoCAD house plan for architectural design and weigh the pros and cons of each, determining what we would change on the design aesthetically. The three model designs I chose were the Brohamwood, The New American, and Plan #153-1573. I learned how AutoCAD designs feature many types of linetypes and vary in dimensions and scales when comparing different projects to each other.
AutoCAD Paperspace Layouts - WCTA Subdivision Project
These photos above are screenshots of my AutoCAD plans, all which are layouts of my house plan. Each one is made in the paperspace layout, which allows you to neatly display your work in AutoCAD in a format that is both printable and presentable.
CO2 Dragster Photo Gallery
For my last project of the year, I created a CO2 Dragster with my class, which we raced in the end. For my car, I created a Yoshi theme, which incorporated Yoshi's body and spots as the back, and the tongue as the rest of the body. To complete this project, we made a prototype model before building it with a block of wood. The first picture is my AutoCAD model of it, and the rest are 360 views of my prototype and actual car.
Final Exam Drawing - Garage
As part of my CADD I final exam, I drew a garage plan using dimensioning and hatching elements. This was to showcase my basic AutoCAD skills.