Overview
During my junior year of high school, I worked on a project called the Kinetic Sculpture. This project combined coding, 3D modeling, manufacturing, design, and physics to create a room decoration with a light show and moire effect. The design, inspired by the shuriken, used a pulley system and multiple manufactured parts. I developed skills in all these areas during the project. I designed the sculpture to create moire patterns with chosen disks and colors. I used the Art and CAD spaces to design it, the Physics classroom to understand the scientific principles, and the Machine Shop to manufacture the parts. I then applied finishing touches to complete the project.
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SKILL LEARNED AND USED
Created Moire Pattern
Practiced Soldering Techniques
Assembled Electronic Components
Built Mechanical Components
Programmed with Arduino
Tested Electrical Circuits
Fixed Coding Errors
Magnetism
Built Electromagnets
Studied Electric Motors
Measured Rotational Speed
Understood Gear Ratios
Created Light Effects
Fabricated Petal Parts
Deburred Metal Parts
Used Design Software
Taught Basic Machining
Programming
SolidWorks
Designing The Disk
Throughout this project, designing the moire disks was a fun and iterative process. I knew I wanted them to look dynamic and interesting when they spun. At first, I started out by sketching out ideas that used radial patterns and played around with symmetry. This helped me brainstorm some initial concepts. As I experimented more, I realized I could incorporate shapes inspired by some cool throwing stars I had seen before. I used Autodesk Sketchbook to create digital versions of my ideas. This software was great because it allowed me to play around with different shapes and layouts easily. I merged the throwing star inspiration with curves to create a design that felt unique. SolidWorks was helpful for translating this design into precise files that could be used to create the actual disks. Overall, this process taught me a lot about designing moire patterns and using design software to do it through multiple iteration.
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Physical
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Physics played a key role in bringing the Kinetic Sculpture to life! Understanding concepts like gear ratios helped me determine how fast different parts of the sculpture would move relative to each other. By adjusting the size of the gears, I could create speed variations and interesting movement patterns. Tachometers came in handy when I needed to measure the rotational speed of the various shafts and axles. This helped me ensure that everything was moving at the intended speed and identify any areas where friction might be causing slowdowns. Light diffraction, the phenomenon behind moiré patterns, was the foundation for the visual aspect of the sculpture. By carefully designing the patterns on the moiré disks, I could create mesmerizing visual effects when light passed through them and they spun. This interplay of light and physics helped create a truly unique and dynamic art piece.
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Manufacturing
Throughout this project, I learned a lot of skills and used them to create several parts for the Kinetic Sculpture in the machine shop. In the early rotations, I focused on practicing with the machines and getting comfortable with the different tools. I made some spacer parts to get used to cutting materials to specific sizes and tolerances. I also practiced using the Tapmatic to create clean threads on the transmission plates. As I became more confident, I moved on to making more complex parts for the project. I created the enclosure mount for the hoop, which required a lot of careful measuring, drilling, and tapping to make sure everything fit together precisely. I also made the inner axle bearing spacer and the brass hex axles. These parts involved using the lathe to turn down the size of the material and create the specific shapes needed. Deburring the moire disks was another task I completed in the machine shop. This helped to remove any sharp edges left behind from the cutting process. It was a bit tedious, but it ensured that the disks would spin smoothly and safely. Finally, I had the opportunity to teach third graders how to use the lathe. It was rewarding to see them learn the basics of facing, sizing, and drilling a hole in their parts.
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Programming & Computer Aided-Design
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In CAD, I used various tools and techniques to design and plan the different parts of the Kinetic Sculpture. Early on, I focused on creating the SolidWorks models for the individual parts. This involved using tools to create precise digital representations of the transmission plates, enclosure mount, axles, and other components. Software features like extruding and revolving helped me translate real-world designs into digital models. Once I had the individual parts modeled, I used assembly features in CAD to virtually put them together. This helped me visualize how the entire Kinetic Sculpture would come together and identify any potential clearance or fit issues. It was like building a digital prototype of the sculpture before I started creating the physical parts. Another helpful aspect of CAD was using simulations to test the functionality of certain parts. Finally, CAD played a crucial role in programming the Arduino Mega that controlled the Kinetic Sculpture. I used the Visual Studio Code to write code that interacted with the various sensors and motors based on the different modes I designed. This code essentially determined how the sculpture would react and move. Overall, CAD was a vital throughout the project, helping me digitally design, assemble, test, and program the different parts of the Kinetic Sculpture.
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Challenges
While programming the Kinetic Sculpture, I faced a problem with mode switching. After changing the switches to a different mode, the modes wouldn't instantly change and had to wait for the it to finish before changing. To face this problem, I did some research and found a way to write a non-blocking delay, which means that the delay doesn't stop the rest of the code running in the background, thus still having the ability to detect the configurations of the switches, exit the current mode, and start to the new mode. I also figured out that there is a reset function for the Arduino that can be run through the code to reboot the Arduino, which made it easier to instantly exit the current mode.
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Exploded View of the Kinetic Sculpture
Conclusion
The Kinetic Sculpture project was a challenging but rewarding experience that allowed me to develop new skills and knowledge across different disciplines. In Art, I learned to use various tools and techniques, while CAD helped me design and plan the different parts of the sculpture digitally. Physics came into play when understanding how gears and motors would create movement, and how light diffraction would generate the visual effects. Throughout the project, I overcame challenges like debugging code to make the different functions run smoothly or writing a custom non-blocking delay function. Overall, creating the Kinetic Sculpture was a great learning experience that allowed me to combine three years of art, design, science, and manufacturing into a single project. I'm proud of the final outcome and the skills I gained along the way.