In Week 10, we had a class in MakerLab and explored the 3D scanning technology with Arielle Rausin. Afterwards, we moved forward in our team project and tested out the components printed during the session.

3D Scanning Technology

After watching the videos of different types of 3D scanners prior to class, I couldn’t wait to actually see how it works in class. In the class, we were excited to have Arielle again to talk about 3D scanning. Arielle is a previous student from Digital Making class, and she founded a company produce 3D printed racing gloves for wheelchair racers. Back in Week 1, she gave us an overview of how she found the opportunity in 3D technology and built the company. This week, she further explained how she used 3D scanning to build the model she need for 3D printing. She introduced several 3D scanners to us and showed us how to use them. In addition, she demonstrated how to use the software to modify the model generated from the 3D scanner. This function can greatly speed up the process of prototyping based on feedbacks.

Following the demonstration, we took a try in 3D scanning each other in the class. I was surprised by the amount of details it captured and the speed of how it works. The type of scanner we used during the class is very similar to the one in the picture below except ours are desktop version.

Source: https://www.3dsystems.com/shop/sense/techspecs

As showed in the picture, one person will be holding the scanner and person getting scanned will rotate. The person holding the scanner will also be monitoring the progress on the screen and direct the scanned person to move accordingly.

Besides the advantages we found about 3D scanners, we also found the constraints. Because this type of scanner receives the reflected signals to build model, it doesn’t work on the surface with dark colors. One way to solve this problem is to have a person holding a flashlight while scanning. To get the best results of an object, one can paint it in white. In addition, it is easy to have the small item rotates on the plate but it’s hard to have a person rotate as it required. However, what we used is one of the cheapest 3D scanner on the market and more advanced scanners will have less issues.

Project Updates

In the second half of the last class, we continued our experiments for the group project. We printed out an enlarged model of the gear and learned how the gear works. Based on that model and our calculation, we scaled our design. In addition, we tested out the Arduino and motors with the code. We also put the outer case into print. Overall, we got a significant progress and we are on the right track. For the next meeting, we will be connecting the motor with the gear and modifying the outer box based on the size of components.

This weeks class started with an excellent cursory overview of 3D Scanning, taught by Arielle Rausin who is actually a former “alum” of Digital Making Seminar, herself. We had the opportunity to watch the power of 3D scanning go to work on both a student’s watch as well as a student’s whole entire head. The scanning of the watch began to unravel the relentless opportunities 3D scanning could bring to both the business world and everyday human life. For instance, 3D scanning allows any uniquely crafted piece or part of manufacturing to be easily replicated. For instance in the educational and museums industries, 3D scanning can enhance virtual exhibitions, augment exhibitions, and provide physical replicas of statues and historic figures. Even from a project perspective, a simple prototype that any student builds can now be easily scanned and placed into any 3D printing software system (such as Fusion 360). From there that prototype can be easily manipulated and crafted into the desired product of any consumer’s choice. Arielle Rausin did an excellent job of illustrating 3D Scanning and the implications of 3D Scanning. Here is a picture of Veronika and how excited both her and myself were to hear about all the great things happening in 3D scanning:

From here, Team Supra jumped to the atrium and Olivia, Veronika, and I picked right up where we left off from the previous week. Having decided to work on perfecting a doorstopper and making it highly desirable by all consumer, Team Supra envisioned a prototype that would sit in the middle of the door in close proximity to the door handle. From here the door stopper would have some form of a sliding mechanism that allows for the door stopping functionality to “turn on and off.” Additionally, Team Supra recognized an opportunity in the market to generate a doorstopper that was both low costing and universal to all doors in order to maximize the value our product would bring to the consumer. Because of this, Team Supra anticipated a magnet to be placed on both the door and the base of our doorstopper, in order to allow for the flexibility to move this door stopper from door to door.

With all this being said Team Supra decided to pay a visit to Fab Lab in Urbana, and let me just say I am very glad we did. After receiving feedback from full-time employees in the Fab Lab, it became evident that no everyday “consumer-use” magnet would be able to withstand the impact of a slamming door. The only magnets that could would be dangerous for household use. Because of this, Team Supra decided to explore the possibility of utilizing heavy-duty command strips to hold the door stopper in place. Furthermore, Fab Lab recommended the utilization of wood as the physical “stopper for the door.” Our original plan was to utilize metal and coat it in rubber resin. While this is certainly still an option, wood coated in rubber resin would provide the same stopping effect at a much lower cost. From here we took Fab Lab’s excellent constructive feedback and created this model in tinkercad:

Click here!
From here, it’s time to get our prototype 3D printed and put together and begin impact testing on our prototype. I’m excited to get back to work this week with the greatest team ever: Team Supra!

This week in the Maker Lab we had our first introduction to 3D scanning. Arielle Rausin, former student of the Digital Making Class and founder of Ingenium Manufacturing gave us an overview of different 3D scanning technologies and applications, as well as some tips to achieve the best scans possible. After the lesson, we were able to try out scanning ourselves, touching up any gaps with the auto fill feature, and then setting our models to print. We found that the scanner has a hard time picking up our hair because it was too dark, but by using the flashlights on our phones, we were able to have enough light reflect back to the scanner. Below is a picture of the STL model and then my final printed bust!

After the 3D scanning workshop, it was time to work on our group projects. Charlene, Carter, and I found various projects online that had components that we could incorporate into our security system. We researched and compared the different tutorials and existing projects to see what was feasible and what hardware requirements we would need to take into account. This was especially helpful because none of us come from a technical background so taking advantage of open source projects to work on the various parts of our project saved us a lot of times and ensured our project could actually work. The PrivateEyePi tutorial gave us a good idea of what we would need to do make our project work.  We finalized the list of materials we needed for the electronics. This forum post from Raspberry Pi also was useful for evaluating options for sending text messages. Vishal provided many of the pieces of technology including a monitor, HDMI cord, keyboard, Raspberry Pi, breadboards, and wires. Carter picked up male to female wires and a speaker from the Fab Lab as well. Finally, we sketched out the design for the housing for the security system that will be 3D printed.

Much work still needed to be done outside of class time. On Thursday, I loaded an operating system onto the Raspberry Pi so that we could actually program our security system. On Friday, Charlene, Carter, and I met at the Maker Lab with Charlene’s friend, Alvin. Alvin is an Electrical Engineering student here at the University and offered to help us work through the tutorials we found. We spent several hours in the afternoon working with the Raspberry Pi to function with the motion sensor so that an alarm could be triggered. Because the wiring on the sound buzzer we received from the Fab Lab was not soldered well, it broke off. I went over to the Fab Lab to solder on new, longer wires so that we could better position the speaker and so that the solder would hold. We also set up our Twilio account to work with the alarm system. I would receive a text message every time the motion sensor picked up any movement.

While the system is now functioning, we have some adjustments we would like to make. We are considering adding an on/off switch or an alarm/disarm button so that you do not have to restart the Raspberry Pi each time to reset the alarm or turn it off without triggering it.   We are also trying to figure out how to have the program run automatically from startup rather than having to manually run the program. We hope to finalize these parts of the project this week. Carter was also finishing up a design for the housing in Fusion so that we could print it early this week as well. We are making progress quickly and our excited for the final product to be ready!

In week 10 of class, our group continued to work on our creating a prototype for our SMS security system. Most of our work has been centered around programming our Rasberry Pi computer board with Python programming.

One thing that has been difficult is none of the individuals on our team including my self are very knowledgable on how to code in Python. Fortunately our teamate Charlene has a friend that was willing to help us with what type of coding we needed, and we have found numerous online resources in being able to create the instructions for the Raspberry Pi to send a SMS message when the Motion sensor is triggered. In the meantime we have started wiriing our Raspberry Pi to a breadboard, as well as starting to design a housing unit through fusion software. Going through this processhas been tricky in how technical we have to get in making sure our product functions the way we need it to. In each decision we have made in creating this in home security system, we are always thinking about making sure it functions and is made specifically for the end user in mind. Working with fusion, programming, and wiring a bread board are all areas that I am still by no means a master at. However I enjoy being able to learn these new softwares and technical aspects of making. I certainly am glad we had experience through the Fab Lab to help our team start thinking about how to actually make our product a reality, espescially considering the security system has a lot of work that needs to be put into it to make it work.

One final thing of importance was  our class was able to try out the 3D object scanner. Vishal showed us a few different options for 3D scanners, which scanned anything from small to medium sized objects, to even classmates heads. I am fairly certain our group will not use either of the 3D scanners for at least creating our product. However seeing how the 3D scanners work, and the capabilities of them was one of the more unique tech I have had the opportunity to experience. Personally I am planning to do a 3D scan of my self prior to the end of the semester!

This week, we headed back to the MakerLab to continue working on our final projects. Beforehand, though, we given a demonstration of another technique for creating 3D objects and also could maybe be incorporated into our final projects: 3D scanning. By utilizing a digital scanner, one can scan any object or even their own bust for modeling and printing. I can see how this method could be used in some of the class projects, but my group will most likely not need it. So after the demonstration and some toying around with it, we got back to work.

3D scanning is based on using specially designed scanners to scan every inch of an object, which computer software then pieces together to create a 3D model. The two types of scanners we were introduced to were desktop and mobile scanners. The desktop scanner was composed of a special laser device with a rotating plate that would allow for a 360 degree view of an object. The mobile version was a smaller and more compact device that attached to an iPad camera. The iPad version seemed to be more reliable as a person could freely move around the object or person they were scanning to get an accurate impression. The desktop scanner does work, but can be pretty ineffective at times. It is easily skewed by darker objects, or those with “hidden” features that can’t easily be detected, such as if one portion of the object blocks another. Shadows are also an issue as well, so its recommended that the objects scanned be completely white is possible. After the objects are scanned, they are imported as a model into software where a user can edit the model for errors or just make adjustments if desired. When done under good circumstances, the results can be quite astounding. They may not be perfect, but the 3D printed busts created by these scans are very recognizable. 3D scanning for consumer use still needs some development, but the current state of it certainly shows its potential.

Scanning demonstration

Example of a bust during printing

The process on everyone’s final projects seems to be going well, everyone is either in the process of prototyping or are making adjustments based on their last development. We created our first model and attempted to churn out a print for testing, but the extruder unfortunately malfunctioned about half way through. Not all was lost, however, as the basic shape and size of the print are we really wanted to test. Some adjustments definitely need to be made, but that was to be expected. Things may not be necessarily going as smoothly as hoped for, but the direction and goal of the project is definitely clear. We’ve got plenty of work to do in terms of processing and testing, but the final result will surely be worth it.

1st edition prototype model of our “Tie Helper” in TinkerCAD

What the printed managed to create before failing