Unit 4 Puzzle Design Portfolio
Johnathan Bizzell
Introduction to Engineering Design
4th Period
Introduction to Engineering Design
4th Period
Autobiography:
I am 16 years old and a Junior at Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School. I have an affinity for Video Games and I work hard in School and outside of School. I don't know what I want to do when I grow up honestly, but I have a general idea of what I might want to be. I have 3 siblings, a girlfriend, and I work at a Dunkin' Donuts. I'm soft spoken, obedient, and passionate for seeing myself succeed in whatever I'm trying to achieve.
I am 16 years old and a Junior at Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School. I have an affinity for Video Games and I work hard in School and outside of School. I don't know what I want to do when I grow up honestly, but I have a general idea of what I might want to be. I have 3 siblings, a girlfriend, and I work at a Dunkin' Donuts. I'm soft spoken, obedient, and passionate for seeing myself succeed in whatever I'm trying to achieve.
Puzzle Design Challenge Brief-
Client-Fine Office Furniture, Inc.
Target Consumer- Ages: High school aged
Designer- Johnathan Bizzell
Problem Statement
A local office furniture manufacturing company throws away tens of thousands of scrap ¾” hardwood cubes that result from its furniture construction processes. The material is expensive, and the scrap represents a sizeable loss of profit.
Design Statement
Fine Office Furniture, Inc. would like to return value to its waste product by using it as the raw material for desktop novelty items that will be sold on the showroom floor. Design, build, test, document, and present a three-dimensional puzzle system that is made from the scrap hardwood cubes. The puzzle system must provide an appropriate degree of challenge to high school students.
Client-Fine Office Furniture, Inc.
Target Consumer- Ages: High school aged
Designer- Johnathan Bizzell
Problem Statement
A local office furniture manufacturing company throws away tens of thousands of scrap ¾” hardwood cubes that result from its furniture construction processes. The material is expensive, and the scrap represents a sizeable loss of profit.
Design Statement
Fine Office Furniture, Inc. would like to return value to its waste product by using it as the raw material for desktop novelty items that will be sold on the showroom floor. Design, build, test, document, and present a three-dimensional puzzle system that is made from the scrap hardwood cubes. The puzzle system must provide an appropriate degree of challenge to high school students.
Criteria
1. The puzzle must be fabricated from 27 – ¾″ hardwood cubes.
2. The puzzle system must contain exactly five puzzle parts.
3. Each individual puzzle part must consist of at least four, but no more than six hardwood cubes that are permanently attached to each other.
4. No two puzzle parts can be the same.
5. The five puzzle parts must assemble to form a 2 ¼″ cube.
6. Some puzzle parts should interlock.
7. The puzzle should require high school students an average of ______ minutes/seconds to solve. (Fill in your target solution time.)
View the Portfolio presentation. Create a project portfolio to include the following:
- Design Process Description. Summarize your work during each step of the design process. Include documentation (written work, sketches, CAD drawings, images, etc.) to support your discussion. Your documentation must include the following information located in the appropriate Design Process step:
- Title page
- Brief autobiography and your picture
- Puzzle Design Challenge Brief
- Brainstorming Possible Part Combinations (Activity 4.1a Puzzle Part Combinations)
- Isometric sketches of two possible complete Puzzle Cube designs
- Justification of your chosen Puzzle Cube design solution
- Multi-view sketch, fully dimensioned of each of the five puzzle parts in your chosen design (Activity 4.1b Engineering Graphics)
- CAD drawing(s) displaying a fully dimensioned multi-view of each puzzle part and two different isometric views of the assembled puzzle.
- Drawing review comments from a classmate.
- Image(s) of your building process and puzzle prototype.
- Physical model of your puzzle.
- Statistics related to the solution time of your puzzle as required above.
- A written summary of your puzzle test results and a discussion of the validity of your design. Does your design meet the design criteria? Does your design “provide an appropriate degree of challenge to high school students” (as stated in the design statement)?
- A discussion of possible changes to your puzzle cube that would improve the design.
Conclusion
1. Why is it important to model an idea before making a final prototype? Modeling an idea before building the final prototype is essential for any design mainly because you won't want to miss any flaws in your design and also for you to be able to potentially spot any flaws in your design and to try to avoid a critical flaw/failure.
2. Which assembly constraint(s) did you use to constrain the parts of the puzzle to the assembly such that it did not move? Describe each of the constraint types used and explain the degrees of freedom that are removed when each is applied between two parts. You may wish to create a sketch to help explain your description. I tended to use the flush constraint, but I did use the mate constraint. The mate constraint disables the movement of the object on the Z-Axis and the flush constraint disables X and Y-axis movement of the object.
3. Based on your experiences during the completion of the Puzzle Design Challenge, what is meant when someone says, “I used a design process to solve the problem at hand”? Explain your answer using the work that you completed for this project. When someone says the quote above, they had a problem, found a way to solve the problem, sketched and built a prototype, and improved on it to make a final product. Specifically in this project, we designed cube pieces in many different methods and programs, and built physical models of the pieces for the puzzle cube while following all criteria required from us.
4. How does the age of the puzzle solver affect solution time? The age of the puzzle cube solver affects solution time as their brain may not have been exposed to a level in a subject which could allow the person to view the pieces of the cube in a different way and allow for a faster solution time.
a. Make a specific statement related to the rate of increase or decrease of solution time with respect to age. Provide evidence that supports your statement. As a person gets older and is exposed to more knowledge and School lessons, their brain develops and contains more knowledge, obviously. A 2nd Grader who just learned multiplication would have to do a table or add 9 3 times when a 3rd or higher grader would be able to mentally process 9x3 in 2 seconds.
b. Write an equation using function notation that represents puzzle solution time in terms of age. Be sure to define your variables and identify units. 180/(1x(0.1xA)) - A: Age
c. Predict the solution time on the first attempt of a child who is 3 years of age. Show your work. 180/(1x.3) --> 180/.3: 600 seconds or 10 minutes.
d. Predict the solution time on the first attempt of a person who is 95 years of age. Show your work. 180/(1x9.5) --> Approximately 19 seconds
e. Do these predictions make sense? Why or why not? The predictions do not seem realistic at all. The brain of a person does not grow every year and does not continue to grow in terms of ability to solve practical problems.
1. Why is it important to model an idea before making a final prototype? Modeling an idea before building the final prototype is essential for any design mainly because you won't want to miss any flaws in your design and also for you to be able to potentially spot any flaws in your design and to try to avoid a critical flaw/failure.
2. Which assembly constraint(s) did you use to constrain the parts of the puzzle to the assembly such that it did not move? Describe each of the constraint types used and explain the degrees of freedom that are removed when each is applied between two parts. You may wish to create a sketch to help explain your description. I tended to use the flush constraint, but I did use the mate constraint. The mate constraint disables the movement of the object on the Z-Axis and the flush constraint disables X and Y-axis movement of the object.
3. Based on your experiences during the completion of the Puzzle Design Challenge, what is meant when someone says, “I used a design process to solve the problem at hand”? Explain your answer using the work that you completed for this project. When someone says the quote above, they had a problem, found a way to solve the problem, sketched and built a prototype, and improved on it to make a final product. Specifically in this project, we designed cube pieces in many different methods and programs, and built physical models of the pieces for the puzzle cube while following all criteria required from us.
4. How does the age of the puzzle solver affect solution time? The age of the puzzle cube solver affects solution time as their brain may not have been exposed to a level in a subject which could allow the person to view the pieces of the cube in a different way and allow for a faster solution time.
a. Make a specific statement related to the rate of increase or decrease of solution time with respect to age. Provide evidence that supports your statement. As a person gets older and is exposed to more knowledge and School lessons, their brain develops and contains more knowledge, obviously. A 2nd Grader who just learned multiplication would have to do a table or add 9 3 times when a 3rd or higher grader would be able to mentally process 9x3 in 2 seconds.
b. Write an equation using function notation that represents puzzle solution time in terms of age. Be sure to define your variables and identify units. 180/(1x(0.1xA)) - A: Age
c. Predict the solution time on the first attempt of a child who is 3 years of age. Show your work. 180/(1x.3) --> 180/.3: 600 seconds or 10 minutes.
d. Predict the solution time on the first attempt of a person who is 95 years of age. Show your work. 180/(1x9.5) --> Approximately 19 seconds
e. Do these predictions make sense? Why or why not? The predictions do not seem realistic at all. The brain of a person does not grow every year and does not continue to grow in terms of ability to solve practical problems.
Activity 4.1a Puzzle Part Combinations
Conclusion
1. Why is it so important for a designer to think of multiple solutions to a design problem? It is important to think of multiple solutions for a design problem so you aren't limited to one or two designs that may or may not work.
2. What steps did you take to determine the exact number of possible combinations for each set of cubes? I just simply did trial and error and made sure that when I thought I came up with a new combination it wasn't a rotated version of a combination I'd already thought of.
3. Why is it important to sketch your ideas on paper and sign and date the document? This is an important part of being an engineer. Doing this will provide evidence that you had thought of the sketch and that you are the sole creator of that design.
1. Why is it so important for a designer to think of multiple solutions to a design problem? It is important to think of multiple solutions for a design problem so you aren't limited to one or two designs that may or may not work.
2. What steps did you take to determine the exact number of possible combinations for each set of cubes? I just simply did trial and error and made sure that when I thought I came up with a new combination it wasn't a rotated version of a combination I'd already thought of.
3. Why is it important to sketch your ideas on paper and sign and date the document? This is an important part of being an engineer. Doing this will provide evidence that you had thought of the sketch and that you are the sole creator of that design.
Activity 4.1b Engineering Graphics
Justification of my chosen cube design:
I chose the puzzle cube on the top of "Image 1." I chose this cube mainly because it was without a doubt the most complex puzzle cube of the 2 I designed. It uses interlocking pieces along with some irregular puzzle pieces.
Conclusion
1. Why is it important to have designs and drawings reviewed by peers? Designs reviewed by peers can be improved and also critically reviewed so you can come up with better ideas and know where your ideas stand in the eyes of another person. This also can help you if you ever need to prove that you were the sole creator of a design as the person who reviewed your sketch will be an eye-witness.
I chose the puzzle cube on the top of "Image 1." I chose this cube mainly because it was without a doubt the most complex puzzle cube of the 2 I designed. It uses interlocking pieces along with some irregular puzzle pieces.
Conclusion
1. Why is it important to have designs and drawings reviewed by peers? Designs reviewed by peers can be improved and also critically reviewed so you can come up with better ideas and know where your ideas stand in the eyes of another person. This also can help you if you ever need to prove that you were the sole creator of a design as the person who reviewed your sketch will be an eye-witness.
Activity 4.1.d Software Modeling Introduction (Autodesk Design Academy)
Conclusion
1. Why is using the vocabulary presented in the tutorials important? Using the vocabulary in tutorials is important because if you were to ever read instructions or follow an instructor's directions, they will both most likely use the vocabulary used in the tutorials which if you don't know, you will fall behind or become confused.
2. Why is it important to properly select the project each time a model is created? This is important because if you don't select the correct project, your model will be in a different project file and it'll basically be a wasted model.
1. Why is using the vocabulary presented in the tutorials important? Using the vocabulary in tutorials is important because if you were to ever read instructions or follow an instructor's directions, they will both most likely use the vocabulary used in the tutorials which if you don't know, you will fall behind or become confused.
2. Why is it important to properly select the project each time a model is created? This is important because if you don't select the correct project, your model will be in a different project file and it'll basically be a wasted model.
Activity 4.1g Model Creation
Conclusion
1. Why is it important to consider efficiency when planning your method of creation before beginning to model an object in CAD? Considering efficiency before actually beginning the crafting of the model is important because you'll be able to get your work done faster and it'll give you more experience with using tools and allow you to think efficiently more often with ease.
2. How can the information provided in the browser of the CAD software help you compare the efficiency of two different methods of modeling the same object? Information in the browser shows how many steps you had to take to completely model your object and will also show what tools/methods you used for the modeling.
1. Why is it important to consider efficiency when planning your method of creation before beginning to model an object in CAD? Considering efficiency before actually beginning the crafting of the model is important because you'll be able to get your work done faster and it'll give you more experience with using tools and allow you to think efficiently more often with ease.
2. How can the information provided in the browser of the CAD software help you compare the efficiency of two different methods of modeling the same object? Information in the browser shows how many steps you had to take to completely model your object and will also show what tools/methods you used for the modeling.
CAD Drawings
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Physical Model-
Puzzle Cube Solution Statistics
From the data I've collected, I'm confident to say that my Puzzle Cube design fits the criteria of the project, both in design and complexity. There are two outliers in the data, but one of the outliers, being Mr. Beatty, is an adult and the other outlier observed the three people previously written in the chart attempt to solve my puzzle cube, so one of them were going to eventually get the puzzle. Overall, I'd say my puzzle cube is at least semi-challenging, but could possibly be considered as challenging or maybe beyond.
Changes that could be made:
A few changes that could be made to my Puzzle Cube could be more complex parts to the design. My parts are already shaped oddly, but they could be improved on to provide a more challenging puzzle. Another change is color. I'm not 100% certain of this, but I believe that if all pieces of a puzzle cube were the same color, the solver could become more confused with the puzzle cube; especially if they were all either really dark or really bright. Other than that, my pieces were all unique and all "advanced" over some of the basic design choices they could've been, so I'd say that my puzzle cube was above average in terms of design and difficulty.