Intro to Digital Fabrication
To see the robotic arm, go here.
This website was created to document my work in Harvard’s PHYS-S12 course. Each weekly assignment is detailed on this page and the title of each assignment contains a link to my work. Assignments are graded not only on completing tasks but also documentation.
Create a website and sketch up an idea for a possible final project.
You will use this website to document your work for the rest of the semester. You are welcome to use any tools you’d like to accomplish this, but if you don’t have any previous web development experience, you’ll likely want to stick with the Jekyll template we covered in class. You’re encouraged to use the HTML and CSS techniques we covered in class to customize your site – even better if you research new techniques and make a novel website. You can also continue to update your website styling/layout for the rest of the semester. The goal for this week is to make the site functional, i.e., that you’re able to use it to host your assignments in a way that others are able to find them. Please make sure your website is up and running, including your final project idea by this Thursday.
Your website must include:
Feel free to discuss final project ideas with the teaching staff and with each other. The projects we showed at the beginning of class might give you an idea of the range of possibilities. It’s okay to propose something ambitious; the teaching staff will work with you to scale your idea to a tractable amount of work for the course. Take a look through all the topics we’ll cover. Final projects should integrate most of the skills covered over the semester, including at a minimum:
Create a press-fit construction kit.
Make and document a quick prototype of a possible final project. Integrate an electronic circuit into an object that you have fabricated.
Program a microcontroller to produce an output using at least one button for input. Include a conditional statement and a for loop.
Design and print a small object that could not be (easily) made by subtractive methods. Discuss pros and cons of 3D printing this object rather than using other fabrication methods.
Scan something.
Please read the following to preview for next week:
Make a sensor to measure a physical quantity with the Arduino. Calibrate your sensor. Show data in the form of a table or graph.
Design a 3D solid and export an stl file. Machine a foam mold using this stl. Use the mold to make a composite shell.
Choose an output device that you have not used before. Program an Arduino to operate it.
Design a 3D mold, machine it, and cast material in it.
Document progress on a final project.