Practical project step 7: The finished product
The Friendly Data Monitor was now ready for action! I checked everything was working, and posed it for a photo shoot…
Design technology project
These are the blog posts for my practical project in the Enhanced Design Tools course, using design technologies and prototyping techniques. Click here to see these posts ordered in sequential steps.
Practical project step 6 – Coding the Microbit
With the cabinet assembled and servo motors fitted, I could now wire up the breadboard to the motors and code the Microbit to make the dial pointers to move in response to real or simulated data.
Practical project step 5: Finishing the cabinet
The project was coming together now, with the cabinet assembled, wood stain applied, and the dial faces ready. However I wasn’t done with it yet. There were three more things to consider. Firstly, fitting all the electronic bits and pieces into the cabinet. Secondly, fitting the motors (driving the dial pointer needles) into the two …
Practical project step 4: Building the cabinet
The initial prototypes had now been done, and designs adjusted as needed, so it was time to get building! The first thing to build was the wooden cabinet. That was the central piece of the project, and I needed it built so I could mount the other parts onto or inside it to get the …
Practical project step 3 – Initial prototyping
The project included a few aspects that could prove tricky – a curved wooden box, moving parts, electronics, and repurposed materials. All of these required some degree of prototyping. I started by prototyping the physical box – the cabinet my data monitor would sit in – and looked at laser cutting techniques for creating it.
Practical project step 2 – design and preparation
After deciding to design and build an analogue version of a digital data dashboard, I wrote a project brief and did some initial research into dashboards, materials and Steampunk imagery (as described in my previous post about getting started). Now all I had to do was figure out how to build it!
Practical project step 1 – Getting started
This practical project requires us to develop a physical product that uses some of the enhanced design tools and technologies we have learnt about. The first step is to write the brief – define the objectives, the detailed requirements and the process to follow, and do any necessary research. I decided to work on something …