MEAM.Design - MEAM 101 - P3: Interact


Schedule

  Mar 22      Project Begins
Mar 26 Team Formation Deadline
Mar 30 / Apr 1 Initial Concept and Schedule Review
Apr 26 Public Festival


Teams

The first step will be to select teams of three from within your lab section. Once you have found a group, place your names on the team forming page. This must be done before the end of the day on Friday, March 26th.


Objective

Your task for this project will be to design, develop, and build an interactive object (toy, game, puzzle, etc.) to be showcased during a public festival in the final week of class.


Requirements & Limitations

  • suitable for between one and three users/players
  • have at least one moving/moveable part
  • use multiple materials and manufacturing techniques
  • you must make most of your parts
  • fit within a 10 in x 10 in x 10 in cube


Metrics for Evaluation

  • creativity/novelty - the more creative and unique, the better!
  • use of materials and methods - integrate all the tools that we’ve learned
  • craftsmanship - concentrate on the fit, finish, and build quality
  • documentation - create compelling supporting materials
  • overall experience - make the whole package work together


Materials

Sheet Goods - The following sheet materials can be obtained by sending an email to medesign@seas.upenn.edu with the title "101-P3-a-b-sheet", where a is your lab number and b is your team number. Please specify the rough sheet size and material thickness that you need in inches (e.g. 1/8" thick, 10" x 12"), knowing that the cut edges will be sawn, and therefore not necessarily straight or smooth. Unless necessary, we'd ask that you use the MDF, as the acrylic is a lot more expensive. We have:
1/8" acrylic (clear, black, white, red, yellow)
1/4" acrylic (clear, smoke, black, white)
1/8" MDF
1/4" MDF
Fasteners - There are two different selections of fasteners in the GM lab from which you can pull what you need. The more organized set is located in the mini-store in the front right corner of the lab, and includes both English and metric bolts, nuts, and screws. The less organized set is located in the green cabinets outside the model shop, and contains many obscure or harder-to-find fasteners.
Bin of Freedom - We have a couple boxes of parts in Towne 205, and there is a scrap area in the GM lab from which you can pull random parts. If you end up with parts that you do not need anymore, please place them in the bin for others to use.
Ordering Parts - You can order anything you need (within reason, of course!) from www.mcmaster.com or www.smallparts.com (note that mcmaster items usually arrive within 1-2 days, smallparts can take a bit longer).
First, check the GM lab to make sure we don’t already have what you need!
Submit parts lists (include the part number, price, quantity, and brief description) by noon on Tuesdays to medesign@seas.upenn.edu with the title "101-P3-a-b-order", where a is your lab section and b is your team number.
If the order total is greater than $15 (or any item is greater than $10), you must include a detailed justification


Fabrication

3-d Printing - If you need something that can't be easily made any other way, you can submit parts for 3-d printing.
Send the CMB file in an email to medesign@seas.upenn.edu with the title "101-P3-a-b-print", where a is the lab number and b is your team number.
Unless you believe it's absolutely necessary, all parts should be processed at 0.010" layer resolution. If you want 0.007", please provide a thorough justification in your email.
Machining - Depending upon the needs of your project, you will be paired up with a student from the MEAM 150 class who will be tasked with helping you in the fabrication of machined parts. These pairings will be decided at the first weekly design review (see below for details).


Documentation

Online Portfolio - As you work through the design process (including observation, brainstorming, sketching, modeling, prototyping, testing, iteration, etc.), you'll want to keep a portfolio of your work. This can either be done on the wiki, or you can do it offline and upload a PDF to the wiki. Your team's portfolio page can be accessed from here.


Design Reviews

To ensure adequate progress and to assist in the design process, you will need to meet with at least one member of the teaching staff on a weekly basis (this will mostly be done during the lab times). The first meeting (on March 30 or April 1) will be more formal, and will include an opportunity for your team to present your initial concept and a proposed development schedule to at least one member of the teaching team.


Festival

We will have a public festival during the final week of class (sometime around April 26th). You will have sufficient table space to present your product and allow people to interact with it. You should expect that visitors will be evaluating your products based on the metrics listed above.


Good luck!