The beginning of this project was individual, surprisingly. Every student brought in an item from home, and disassembled it on their own, taking notes and doing research as they went. I brought in the remote control for a toy car. After we had each worked on our item individually, we were assigned to groups. As a group, we selected one person's item to continue to evaluate, which in my group's case, was my remote control. We went deeper into how the remote worked, and ended the project by writing a paper on it, and giving a presentation to the class, both of which can be found below. My groupmates for this project were Ashley Smith, Tara Shotz, and Addie Seymour.
Concepts Used:
Reverse Engineering: Reverse Engineering is exactly what it says on the tin: engineering, but in reverse. Instead of designing a product then assembling it, you are disassembling a product to see how it was designed. Reverse engineering can be used for multiple purposes. It can be used in documentation, equipment repair, and improving your product.
Functional Analysis: Basically put, functional analysis is asking how something works. Typically, it involves the mechanical parts of a system, specifically the ones that transmit motion. Taking measurements is a very important part of functional analysis.
Structural Analysis: Basically put, structural analysis is asking how the parts are connected. Every product has to be durable enough to accomplish its intended tasks, and have room for all of its components. Structural analysis is intended to discover how the product is constructed to provide these features and more.
Material Analysis: Basically put, material analysis is asking what materials are used in the product. What materials are used greatly affect a product's performance. Materials are measured in a variety of units, and can also be sorted into various types (such as wood, metal, plastic, ceramic, or composite).
Manufacturing Analysis: Basically put, manufacturing analysis is asking how the product, and each of the product's parts, was made. There are three different methods for manufacturing something. The first method is called forming, and it is when a material is reshaped using heat or pressure. The second method is separation, when parts are carved off to make the part. The final method is joining, which is when two or more objects are combined to reach the final outcome.
Reverse Engineering: Reverse Engineering is exactly what it says on the tin: engineering, but in reverse. Instead of designing a product then assembling it, you are disassembling a product to see how it was designed. Reverse engineering can be used for multiple purposes. It can be used in documentation, equipment repair, and improving your product.
Functional Analysis: Basically put, functional analysis is asking how something works. Typically, it involves the mechanical parts of a system, specifically the ones that transmit motion. Taking measurements is a very important part of functional analysis.
Structural Analysis: Basically put, structural analysis is asking how the parts are connected. Every product has to be durable enough to accomplish its intended tasks, and have room for all of its components. Structural analysis is intended to discover how the product is constructed to provide these features and more.
Material Analysis: Basically put, material analysis is asking what materials are used in the product. What materials are used greatly affect a product's performance. Materials are measured in a variety of units, and can also be sorted into various types (such as wood, metal, plastic, ceramic, or composite).
Manufacturing Analysis: Basically put, manufacturing analysis is asking how the product, and each of the product's parts, was made. There are three different methods for manufacturing something. The first method is called forming, and it is when a material is reshaped using heat or pressure. The second method is separation, when parts are carved off to make the part. The final method is joining, which is when two or more objects are combined to reach the final outcome.
Reflections:
There were a few things I learned over the course of this project. First, I found that I am fairly decent at ascertaining what needs to be done. My group was the first to start creating a presentation, because I had read the part of the instructions that required one. Second, I rediscovered some joy of learning. I was worried that this was going to be a boring class, but I had a lot of fun disassembling my remote, and learning about how it worked.
I also discovered some of my failures. The first was a lack of planning. Though we were asked to plan out our time, I left that work to another member of my group, and instead kept working. The problem came when I had no idea what amount of time we were going to get before we were required to present. Also, I wasn't very good at communication this time around. I mostly just worked on the slides, and let the rest of my team do whatever else needed to be done. In the future, I will have to make more of an effort to communicate with my group.
There were a few things I learned over the course of this project. First, I found that I am fairly decent at ascertaining what needs to be done. My group was the first to start creating a presentation, because I had read the part of the instructions that required one. Second, I rediscovered some joy of learning. I was worried that this was going to be a boring class, but I had a lot of fun disassembling my remote, and learning about how it worked.
I also discovered some of my failures. The first was a lack of planning. Though we were asked to plan out our time, I left that work to another member of my group, and instead kept working. The problem came when I had no idea what amount of time we were going to get before we were required to present. Also, I wasn't very good at communication this time around. I mostly just worked on the slides, and let the rest of my team do whatever else needed to be done. In the future, I will have to make more of an effort to communicate with my group.