03: Rapid Prototying

Prototype 1:

This week (July 8th-12th) we were challenged to make a prototype for our final projects. My final project idea was to make a fish tank that had automated functions. As my project is made up of several pieces that are assembled together in the end, I decided to make multiple smaller prototypes as opposed to one large prototype. These smaller prototypes included:

The automated fish feeder
The tank filter
A cardboard rendition of the tank “mural”

First Prototypes

The Feeder

The automated fish feeder was the first of the prototypes I finished. It was also the only prototype to use any sort of Arduino or software. The first thing I did was to set up a servo motor and make sure it ran using an Arduino Uno. After I was content with the servo I dug around for some code that would create a functioning fish feeder. I managed to find code that would turn the servo motor 180 degrees every twelve hours. The servo also turns very slowly, this is so that theoretically if a small container of fish food was attached the food would fall as the holes in the container faced the tank. I modified the code a bit so that instead of every twelve hours the servo turned every five seconds. This way my feeder prototype would have visible results. Next I looked for a container that would work for my prototype. The servo motor I used is very small and delicate, because of this I knew I needed a very light container that I couold very easily attach to the servo. After trying a few things, I ended up using the cap to a medicine bottle I had. It already had a functioning lid so putting in food to test would be very easy. Next I used a combination of using a small heated sewing needle and a drill to make small holes on one side of the container. I also used a hot glue gun to attach a small square of cardboard to the open end of the lid. Finally I glued the servo head to the cardboard and then placed it on the servo.

The Filter

Making the prototype for my automatic filter was arguably the most difficult of the pieces to make. I started by looking for two pieces of plastic tubing. The first of the tubes had to be six inches long. This is the tube that would connect to the a powerhead, luckily I managed to find one in the back.I cut the tube to be six inches, and made sure to cut it at an angle as this would provide for more efficient water filtration. After cutting the tube to the right length, I cut a small slot near the bottom of the tube. Next I found another piece of plastic air-tubing around 1/2 an inch wide. After finding my two pieces of tubing I looked around for a small capsule type container. Originally I hoped to find or order a film capsule as it seemed to be perfect for my prototype, but because shipping so quickly was impossible I had to get creative. After a looking around for a little I found a storage container that seemed to be a good size. I drilled a hole into the lid and slid the larger tube into the container. After that I drilled a small hole into the larger tube about 1/2 inch above the lid. I slid the small tube down into the capsule through the large tube. This smaller airline tube then connected to the powerhead. Lastly I drilled very small holes into the lid of the container. Finally after a few days and a broken nail I filled an empty tank with some water and placed my filter in it.

The Cardboard Mural

The simplest of these three to create was the cardboard mural, and by simplest I mean I managed to do it in less than six tries. For my final project I was hoping to create a "mural" of sorts by lightly scoring the acrylic I would use to create my fish tank. As an homage to my home I decided to do the Miami skyline. As a prototype I experimented with different power settings until I found the ones I believed produced the nicest looking result.