Month: January 2022

Towards the beginning of the year, I was trying to figure out what I would want to do for a choice project. Then we discovered the back room. The place was trashed; heaps of random science junk were lying not just on tables but on the floor and pretty much every surface. Asking for permission from the substitute teacher, we started to organize everything. We had strict rules not to throw anything out unless it was rotten food because we wouldn’t want to get into serious trouble with the teacher.

These are the pictures after our first day of cleaning. In this one day, we cleaned off the floor, moved a filing cabinet that was in the middle of the room, and began cleaning off the tables and cleaning out the green screen area. In a corner of the room, we found two year old donuts, ketchup packets, and a super crusty banana that looked like a chili pepper!

This is day four. At this point, we had cleaned the main walking area of the room and had begun to clean out bins full of chords. We organized where the cameras were and continuing to clean off the tables. We moved a bunch of old, unused stuff to the other half of the room where it’s still accessible and safe. By this point we also moved the filing cabinet to the other side of the room.

This is day 11 and our last recorded progress date. We more or less finished cleaning off the tables and moved them into a position that would allow for easier access to equipment. We organized computer parts, old laptops, and began to organize the 3d print filament. Overall, I’m happy that we got that place into shape even if we were kicked out in the end. While Mrs. LaBreque was not happy with us cleaning it, I think it will help her in the long run with organization and overall cleanliness.

My idea for this project was a pretty simple one: I would try to make a tiny Tron disk from the movie Tron Legacy and for the most part, it worked pretty well. I’ve always loved that movie so it was kind of a no-brainer as to what I would do. The aesthetics and architecture are just great and I find it very fascinating. I ended up choosing TinkerCAD as my software because it is easy to get things done in a quick amount of time, especially since I was still learning how to use Fusion 360.

First, I started with getting the basic shape of the disk by taking a tube ring and basically chopping a bunch of holes in it and cutting it in half. The ring around the center is just a cylindrical hole with two more holes, basically, there’s some hole-inception going on there. There was some detail I forgot to add in but it turned out well anyway.

I created a ring to go through the middle, which was just a flat cylinder with a cylindrical hole through the middle. This picture is how it should look once everything is said and done.

This is the disk disassembled for printing. As of right now, I don’t have the middle section printed out because the plastic is a different type that requires specific temperatures and tape to be able to work. I have printed out the two halves of the outside and they turned out alright. I have had issues getting the pictures onto my Chromebook so I won’t but all in all, I think this project turned out okay and I have learned many things and what I can do better next time. I will definitely be using Fusion 360 for future prints because TinkerCAD prints everything in blocky shapes rather than smooth edges. I will also try to find different methods for sanding out the prints because mine look like they’ve been through some rough patches. I will continue to learn Fusion 360 and print something else in the upcoming future.

Hi! My name is Bastian and I’m a senior in high school. After school, I plan on going to Michigan Technological University (MTU) or Northern Michigan University (NMU). I have had many personal projects on hold for roughly three years now and the hope will be that I can do some of them over the summer. I took SFI because I am interested in engineer-oriented classes and I thought this could be fun. I’m hoping to get some experience with CAD software for my future career. I’m looking forward to being able to have a practical application in at least one of my classes. I’m not too terrible with Fusion 360 and have been making progress on a project of mine, I am also geared to be an engineer so I am able to think in ways that, say, non-engineers cannot. As far as personal projects that I can do this year, there aren’t much but at some point, I would like to print off a full-sized Tron disc and a face mask with an adjustable strap. The biggest challenge I think I will face this year is relations in the classroom, nothing that I’ve come across is super difficult to learn but I am going to have to put up with specific people like you would in a job. I just need to have patience. Anyway, that is my introduction for this class.