The creation of a maker space has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for academic electives as well as after school clubs. Even though these opportunities are there, many students walk by the classroom without even taking a look. We wanted to employ the empty display case that was positioned directly outside the maker space, in order to draw the interest of all of the students who walk to class by this case.

We had many ideas about  how to use this display case. Our initial plan was to have a train that traveled around the top of the room, then went into the display case, and drove around in there. Although cool, this idea would have been extremely difficult to power the train, to get enough track to go around the room, and to support the track as it traveled around the room.

As long as we didn't go around the room, we did not have the latter two problems, but we still had the problem of how to power the vehicle. We brainstormed many ideas. We could have created a roller coaster like method of locomotion, where we use gravity and momentum to move the cart. We also thought that we could have powered track, like a normal train does, which supplies the cart with power. Both of these had problems. In order to create a roller coaster, we would have had to find a way to attach the cart to the track, and a way for the cart to go up the hills, in order to gain speed. If we were to buy powered track, it would have cost an immense amount of money, which was not going to work. We then saw something online called a Sphero SPRK. A Sphero is a motorized ball, which would be able to power itself to roll up hills and around the track.

The next question we had was how the track was going to look. Again, we had many ideas. We thought that something that allowed the Sphero to go into the room would be a cool idea, and really draw people into the room. We also thought that if we were to put the 3D printer, that we use for prototyping in the maker space, into the case, it would also get people interested as it is one of the coolest gadgets that is used in the makerspace. We also had a large mirror in our possession, which we again used to gain attention. When walking past a mirror, many people stop to look at themselves. We figured that if people were to stop and look at themselves, they would then see the 3D printer and the Sphero rolling around the track. One of the most important parts of the display case was that it should display previous projects from the class -- this would show passers by some of the cool projects being built in this room and build further interest. In order to do this, we used a curtain and pulley mechanism. The curtain was attached to an acrylic box which held the Sphero. Once the Sphero was in, it was heavy enough to lift the curtain, revealing the project behind it. Finally for the track, we decided that we wanted it to interact with the mirror and the 3D printer, and then make it into the box, raising the curtain. Therefore, we chose to have the track move from the top of the 3D printer, to the top of the mirror where it ran across, into the box to lift the curtain.

The final thing that we had to work out was how to build the track. One thing that we wanted was for the track to have a clear aspect, so that we could see the Sphero. We also needed the track to be sturdy enough in order to support itself across the long span of the display case. We chose to use a 2x4 for the base of a track, and to drill in acrylic sides in order to be able to see the Sphero. One problem that we ran into was that there was not enough traction on the track. We fixed this in two ways. First, we plastered the 2x4 with duck tape, to add a somewhat sticky texture for the ball to grab on to. In addition, we cut higher acrylic walls, because we observed that the ball was slipping when it came in contact with the walls. Although both of these helped, they did not completely fix the problem, and the ball had to go almost perfectly up the center of the track to make it up the incline.

The idea behind this room was to incite creativity. Attempting several different options we landed on a room covered in whiteboard, eventually I focused it more on brainstorming because I wanted this room to help the Makerspace and help boost creative confidence. I also created this room because brainstorming always takes too much time when one person writes at a time. Instead of writing down things one at a time, how about everyone writes on their own piece of wall? Well, I made that a reality with Think, the room for the brain. In this room you can write on all the walls, use the flip couch, and even begin prototyping.

I set out to create a weight system to close a door without having to be near the door. A string would be attached to the door and go through a series of pulleys to a weight. Once the weight is released, the door closes quickly.

1st- I created a basic prototype out of yarn and cardboard as shown in the first slide. I originally envisioned to have a platform which the weight would rest on. Once activated, the platform would flip and release the weight.

2nd- I changed the way that the weight would be released. Now, as shown in slide 2, there would be a ratcheting mechanism. The string would be wound around a pulley connected to a ratchet wheel. As the door opens, the string would come up, spinning the pulley and allowing the ratchet to move. But once the door stops and the weight pulls the string down, the ratchet arm would engage, preventing any movement. I envisioned a motor wirelessly connected to a remote that would release the ratchet arm when needed.

3rd- In addition to closing the door from anywhere in the room, I wanted to have the system 'prime' itself for the next use. This requires the weight to be halfway up the doorframe even the door is closed. This would make the door easier to open- because you wouldn't have to fight against a weight.   I then made a pulley prototype. What I found was that winding the weight up the doorframe also requires the string above to tighten. Because the upper portion of the string is fixed to a closed door, it gets too tight and could snap.

4th-I then made a double pulley so that two independent strings can be attached, solving the problem of one string affecting the other. However, I found that this wasn't needed.  I tested the weight needed to adequately close the door from about halfway up the door frame. It was about 7 lbs. I then opened the door with the weight attached via string and found it is not difficult to open. I discarded the weight 'priming' idea.

5th- As time was dwindling, I decided that the ratcheting system would not be ready in time. So, I decided to focus on the mechanics of the locking mechanism. As seen in the 5th slide, I decided to use a  hinge and flat surface to hold the string in place. With knots in the string and an upward angled hinge, the string can travel upward as the door is opening. but once it stops, the knots would come back down at which point to the hinge would prevent any movement. Then with a flick of the hinge, the strong travels down, closing the door.

6th- I found that there was too much friction among  the string, the pulley and the door frame. So, I mounted the pulleys angled on the metal door frame.

7th- Halfway down the door frame, I put a 3D printed hinge holder. This is similar to the hinge idea i previously had.

8th- Finally, I moved to a different door and mounted two pulleys on the metal frame.
 

This room started out as creativity, quite literally. I planned to set up the room to incite creativity, but I came across the problem of how to achieve that goal. I went through several ideas: I thought up the idea of a ball pit room, I thought to fill the room with puzzles to incite thought, and I finally came up with a “White Room” where the walls are covered in whiteboard paint. We eventually ended up working on the “White Room.” The idea for this room first came to me when looking at the use of whiteboards throughout different classes at my school, especially my business classes. What I realized is that whenever we brainstormed, or used whiteboards, we would only use the whiteboards available to us, and we would all either cram for space or put our ideas down one by one. Both of these options were not acceptable for me, so I decided to create this room. I didn’t start out with whiteboard walls, but it was one of the first options. Along the way we encountered some obstacles, most of them being the two tables located in the room, one was immobile and the other didn’t have anywhere else to go. Because of this, we decided to turn one into what I’ve come to call a “flip couch” where there are cushions located under the table which can be flipped over and turn into a seat. This was created because the room may not only be used for brainstorming, or the design thinking process, and the tables may have to be used for other events. The second table, that was mobile, I have decided to keep as a simple work table. As for now, It will either turn into a supply table, or just another “flip couch.” To create the flip couch, I drilled in a thin piece of sheet metal under the table, then took cushion and inserted magnets into them so they would stick. Then I nailed in the straps so that they would be able to flip easily. Finally, to finish the room I’ve decided to add in some extra chairs, and a rug to optimize the use of space given. Another reason that I didn’t create just a couch is because the wall behind the table is also whiteboard, and It wouldn’t be ideal to have people stepping on the cushions.

    Some things we plan on applying to the room is some form of foot support so when you sit on the table couch. We plan on using some form of elastic cord to support feet, and we’ll make them be able to slide up and down the table legs so they won’t distract you when you’re working. Another thing we’re going to attempt to implement is mood lighting, I was thinking a soft orange lighting for the room because orange is the color of creativity, and it evokes thought so it would serve the purpose of aiding brainstorming. Another potential option for the mobile table is to turn it into a prototype lab, supplying it with tools and the means to let people prototype their ideas. One last idea is the potential for hanging chairs in the room, like hammock chairs. The point of this is to be able to see the room from a different perspective, because perspective is important when it comes to creating new ideas.

Process

My despencer door project didn't start out that way. It actually started as a light up door. I eventually scrapped that Idea after realizing that having lights turn on behind you wouldn't help much if you are trying to leave in a hurry. It took me a little to come up with my new idea after that, but in my psychology class I was inspired by classical conditioning and I though to myself that giving a reward for remembering to take everything you need out of the house would be the best to to remember the items that you need. Even though my dispenser only ever made it to 1 card the idea could always be built upon. In my project I had a few obsticles in the coding of the arduino used to scan the RFID tags and run the motor as well as with the actual build of the box itself. Getting the peices of wood on the motor was the hardest part of this build and at one point I accidentally glued them down to the bottom of the box. Through all of that I got to the design that I have now which I will be looking to build upon in the future. 

I set out to solve the problem of wanting to close a door even if you’re not near it. This is useful if you are in bed and realize that your bedroom door is open, or if you are teaching a class and want to keep the door open as students enter but want to close the door when the bell rings.  This could also be useful for the elderly and disabled.

The string is connected to the door and goes through the pulley system. These pulleys change the direction of the string so that it goes directly down the doorframe. Halfway down the doorframe is the locking mechanism that holds the string in place, preventing any movement. Then at the bottom is the weight. The locking mechanism consists of a 3D printed holder and a regular hinge. This locking mechanism catches knots in the string as it goes past the hinge. If the string is going up (as in the door is being opened), the door is not affected. But if you want to keep the door open, the knots engage with the hinge, preventing closing.

An Arduino microcontroller is used to connect a remote control to a servo motor, which is in turn attached to the hinge.  If you are somewhere in the room and want to close the door, you can push a button on the remote and the servo will pull the hinge open, allowing the weight to close the door. This allow for hands-off control. 

The door closer in action.

Final

I made a machine that vends candy after detecting an RFID tag. I did this so that people could put the tags on items they need for the day and get dispenced candy when they remembered to bring that item with them out the door. As someone who forgets things all the time I thought it would be helpful if it not only reminded you that you're forgetting something but also gave you a sweet reward when you remembered thus making you more likely to remember the next time. 

When first brainstorming a project we looked around for issues that pertained to our daily lives -- how could we make them better? We soon realized that storage is a problem for everyone, and specifically recognized this in our Invention classroom at school. In this classroom there are many ongoing projects and materials around which leads to minimal space for working or storing items.

We came up with the idea to create The Space Box. It is a pyramid style box that is attached to a pulley in the ceiling when the pulley is pulled, the box descends down from the ceiling and then lands on your table or workspace and you can resume your previous days work. The Space Box also has hinges that help it fold down flat so you don't have to remove your project from the box itself, it also features a see through plexiglass bottom so that when you are looking up at it in the ceiling you can see what is in it.

Our first prototype began with a flat sided regular square box. We found out that when hoisting it on the pulley system it would often twist on its way up into the ceiling and would not always fit into the square hole. (We had removed a square ceiling tile in the drop ceiling so that the box could “hide” in the ceiling.)  We recognized that the shape and size was the problem. To change this we decided that slanted sides would help guide the box into the ceiling if it twisted on its way up.That is how we came up with the pyramid styled shape.  

Another issue we encountered after building our prototype with slanted sides was we realized it was somewhat heavy which reaised concerns for us because it was hard to lift and if it were to fall, it could be dangerous. To change this we made the bottom of the “Space Box” plexiglass which made it lighter along with using the milk carton to counter weight it and make it easier to lift.  A benefit of this is the milk carton makes the “Space Box” descend from the ceiling more slowly, which is convenient and safe.

We made a box for ceiling storage because it's an efficient way to store things while also saving floor space.

Most other storing units are big and take up walking space, which in our classroom, is limited already. There are big machines that jut out or take up a lot of room, and a lot of the table space is filled with past projects or loose materials such as tools, papers, markers, etc. This is a big problem because not only is it hard to navigate through the room, but when we were working on a past project, we found that when class would be over, we would have to store our project in some random area and hope that no one touched or broke it. This is how we came up with the idea of ceiling storage, which we have called The Space Box. With The Space Box, you can store unfinished projects, tools, papers, etc. in a safe place, so that when you come back, they're in the same state as when you had left it. Not only that, but because the box is up in the ceiling, no floor space is used and the room itself doesn't become more cluttered than it already is. The box is also it's own display case -- the hole in the center is covered by plexiglass and anything inside will be seen, so it's easy for you to identify which project or what material is up there.

The Box itself is made of wood and each side has a brass door hinge. Ropes are attached to each side and are each equipped with clips, which can be clipped onto a big ring that's part of our pulley system. The hinges allow each individual side to lie flat and the individual ropes allow any one side to go down while the others can stay up, making the box versatile. For example, you could unclip the box, lie all the sides down and make the box itself, your own mobile working space. When you're finished, you can just clip up all the sides to the pulley system and pull the box up into the ceiling. 

The pulley system consists of two pulleys -- one is attached to a long wooden beam (that we inserted), which rests between two high beams in the ceiling. The other is attached to a high beam close to the wall, that way the rope with the ring goes up into the ceiling, runs towards the wall and then hangs down as a lever. A bigger clip is attached to the end of the rope that runs down the wall, so it can hook into a ring -- this makes it so you can keep the box suspended up into the ceiling without having to hold it down manually or struggle tying it to a cleat. A milk carton half-filled with sand is tied under the clip as a safety measure in order to slow the box's ascension down if your hand slips or you accidentally let go of the rope. That way, no one will be seriously injured if the box lands on them. Additionally, a separate security rope is up in the ceiling to catch the pulley in case it's yanked out from the wooden beam. Finally, for convenience, when the box is completely unclipped from the pulley system, there's a separate rope with a ring attached to one end and a clip attached to the other that we use to anchor the ring in the pulley system, so that it doesn't fly up into the ceiling.