HELLO MY BELOVED BOKANAS, I am back my boys.
Dr. Bokana has come back for his next blog. Today's blog is gonna to be about an egg drop challenge. HUH Egg drop ? apa sia ? Learning Chem Eng or DnT Sia. (FYI DnT is a secondary school subject, similar to crafting prototypes and designs)
So what is an egg drop challenge? Basically all we had to do is design a 3D model of an egg casing which will protect the egg when dropped. This model is then supposed to be 3D printed and tested to see if it protects the egg thoroughly or not. The height requirement the egg was to be dropped from is 2 meters. WAIT A MINUTE, drop from 2m and it should not break ? Aint no way bruh that's impossible. THATS exactly what I thought as well but the objective of the challenge is to test out your ideology and see if it works. The outcome of the egg does not really matters but of course if your casing protects the egg it would be kinda cool. right ?
To be frank, this assignment was given weeks ago but as you all know I AM THE KING OF PROCRASTINATION. Together with my procrastination advisor Jun Yi, we became the procrastination duo and as our title suggests we did the designing and printing at the last min.
This is the contents imma be going through with y'all today
- Design Inspiration
- Fusion 360 of our model
- Process of using Cura Slicer
- How to operate a 3D printer
- Hurdles we had to overcome
- Learning points & reflection
Design Inspiration
The Initial design of our product was similar to a Pokéball, everyone knows this cartoon show where people throw the balls and a monster come out of it aka Pokémon. Quite simple but the main concept behind it was that then the ball drops, it splits into 2 parts excluding the egg. This would mean that there would be 3 parts on the floor after the drop the egg and the 2 components of the casing. When the parts spilt the impact would be dispersed amongst the 3 parts reducing the pressure on the egg compared to when it is dropped on its own. Very simple idea but I was not entirely sure if it would work, especially when the egg if fragile.
Here's a GIF for all the bokanas who don't remember what pokemon is.
Another example we used for our design was the shell of a turtle. As we all know turtles use their shells for their protection. Whenever in danger the turtle tends to hide itself within its shell and as its shell is extremely hard, it can protect the turtle from predators or when it falls.
I have absolutely nothing to say if you don't know what a turtle is but enjoy this cute gi
The best part is that this Dr Bokana totally forgot that the egg can crack, I was scratching my head thinking on how to improve this idea. End up we decided to use threadings to make the 2 components attach like how a cap attached to a bottle.
This is a picture of our design, very simple but very promising (or I thought so LOL)
Fusion 360 of our model
This a 3D model that my beloved bokanas can fiddle around with. The 3D model is actually the design Jun Yi and I used for our egg drop challenge. As you can see there is a segment where the egg can fit in together with the threading on the top and bottom components of our model. The threading were made a little thicker compared to the normal ones you see to ensure that our casing is as tight and secure as possible.
We decided to make the whole design completely filled instead of hollow as we wanted to use this dense outer layer to absorb as much impact as possible before reaching the egg. This would ensure that the impact on the egg would be minimal preventing the egg from cracking.
Process of using Cura Slicer
Most of y'all are probably asking yourself 'Dr Bokana, what's Cura Slicer sia? I've never heard of it before dei. Can at least give some intro for this anot. If not I damn blur sia?' Okay lah Macha relax dei. I AM HERE your lord and savior, I shall clear all your doubts my beloved reader.
Okay so what's is Cura Slicer? It is basically a tool/application that allows you to modify our 3D model before actually printing it out. It provides us with multiple options such a product density, which allows the print to be more heavier and more saturated. It also provides with print quality options, similar to a typical printer where we can choose the colour or how intense the shades of the words should be, here we can choose defined the print should be. Increasing the quality of the print also means that smaller details would be printed more accurate with minimal printing error. However, with increases precision the print will also take a longer time. The best part of the application is that it provides an estimated print time based on the printer you select, it also converts the 3D model document into the required format for each different printer. For the extremely late Abhishek and Jun Yi this is crucial information, as it allows us to planned when to print despite our tight schedule. The best part is we had a test on the same week which caused us additional stress together with the nearing deadline.
SO now I will be providing everyone a detailed guide on how to use Cura properly
(more like how we used it on our own design LOL)
Aren't I just the best blogger ever??
Step 1. OPEN THE APP LAH AIYO
The first thing you will see is this platform (if you're so clueless this is where you design will be broski)
Step 2. Open the document which you wanna edit (dei if not how to see lah abuden)
Make sure you choose the design you want to print, preferable in a location you can identify
(eg. downloads folder or desktop)
Step 3. Select the printer you're gonna use
Do take note*** If you had done step 2 properly an image of our 3D model should appear in the platform
Step 4. Time to choose your print settings
You see the circled area, this is where you can edit and choose your print settings. To see all the possible options click the error on far right of the red circle.
This is how it should look once you press the arrow. As you can see there is the option for infill supports and adhesions. If you're wondering, adhesions and supports are options you can choose when printing. These adhesions are generated by the application, which provide the print some support.. Infills are basically how dense the model, the increase in infill percentage will mean that the print also increases in weight. ***Ensure to tick the adhesions parts*** This prevents print error and gives minimal support to make your print be possible
Step 5. Once you have chosen all your print settings, Slice the final design
The bright blue button at the bottom make sure to press it.
You will see a loading bar, that's when you know you're on the right track. This might take a while so just let the loading finish. ***IF YOU HAVE ITCHY HANDS like me control yourself*** If not you might have to restart everything (based on a true story)
Step 6. Preview your masterpiece
Click the preview button to see your final product. It also provides a visual guide on what your final print will look like. The intensity of the colour on the model shows the infill of the print and how print it will be.
Step 7. Save the final design to your disk
As simple as it can get, just press the button and the file explorer would open for you to select the location where you wanna save the file
Step 8. Convert your file to .gcode
Once file explorer is open there will be an option for your to select the file type you wanna save. Ensure to select gcode or whatever file is required for your printer. We chose gcode as it was for the printer we used the marvelous Ultimaker 3S
This concludes my explanation on how to use Cura Slicer, I made it so simple even your computer illiterate grandma could do it on the first try. ( jokes NO OFFENSE BTW )
How to operate the 3D printer (Ultimaker 3s)
Before I explain how to use the printer, I have some backstory. So similar to us many of the DCHE student had also done their print late. We were part of the worst of the worst, we did our print 4 days before the deadline. We heard horror stories about how student where queuing from 6 am and the moment the workshop was open people would rush through to take all the machines.
So on the day of our printing, both Jun Yi and I had amazing idea. We decided to be queue master, where we would make a list of who came first. We reached the workshop around 6.20, luckily there was no one ahead of us so that we could get one of the better printer. With the help of the second person who came, Aminul, we were able to make a queue without people apposing the idea. It also allowed us to designate the would use the printer next after the first batch of people who used it. SO smart right, I freaking know. This way we were able to stop those who would come late but just cut the queue allowing those who waited for the workshop to open to receive what they deserve.
So when we got our printer, the Ultimaker 3S we were absolutely clueless on how to even start or set up the printer. The glares of those who were waiting made it worst as it seemed like we were hoggin up the place. Thankfully, I had Aminul and a few other friends who had taught us how to use the printer.
Step 1. Make sure there is filament connect to the printer
This is a box dedicated for the filament of the printer that we had in the workshop.
Step 2. Attach the filament to the bottom filament slot
Step 3. Select the file that your want to print
Step 4. Allow for the printer to prepare itself
Step 5. Time to start printing
Step 6. THE PRINT HAS STARTED MY BOYS
All you have to do now is to wait for your print to finish. This printer better than the other printers the lab provides which made the process of setting up a lot faster. The machine itself will calibrate the required temperature unlike the other inferior printer, Creality. This is also made understanding and starting the print very simple. Not to mention that the print quality is also more accurate and precise. The glass box itself makes it so fancy.
Hurdles we had to overcome
Brainstorming and Design
The team, consisting of Jun Yi and Abhishek, at the start had no idea on what to do and were not adequate in 3D modeling at all. Before starting our modeling, we started with some simple sketches with the idea to allow easier 3D modeling. Abhishek started on the sketches and from that we further refined our idea. As our initial plan was to copy the shell of a turtle, we decided to use a spherical casing for the egg. Sketching went pretty smooth despite our lack of artistic proficiency. When the sketch was finalised, the team moved on to 3D modeling using Fusion 360. This was one of the main obstacles that the team encountered as then we were not very good in 3D modeling. The team seeked help from other teams and looked up YouTube tutorials in using Fusion 360. Using Fusion 360 was sometimes frustrating as trying to get the right dimension was tedious and difficult especially when it involves multiple small parts and segments. This made us realise that in the working industry there is always a possibility where we are supposed to present an idea using 3D models. 3D models make it easy to visualise the design and allows for people to easily spot any design or concept errors in our model. Knowing how to easily produce a 3D model would be an essential ability for a competent person working in the industry as it would allow them to express their ideas and convey their message thoroughly.
Cura
After getting the first design, the team proceeded on to slice the file using Cura. Using Cura was also a new experience for us. We were overwhelmed by the interface of Cura as we had absolutely zero ideas on which settings to choose. With the help from other classmates, they guided us from the selection of the correct printer to downloading the gcode file. Selecting the correct options in cura was also necessary as we could have the addition of supports and adhesions to assist us in our print. Not to mention that changing the angle the model is set in could also affect our print. We could also choose a variety of the density for our design, a print with which would increase the print time but it will also strengthen the model as well. Lastly, was the quality option of the print, this setting allowed us to decide how accurate and precise our print could be. If the quality of the model was selected as high, the print would come out more defined and elequate with little printing error. We were grateful for their help and these newly learned skills would allow us to handle slicing on Cura much more efficiently as we ended up doing the print more than once. The fact that the people around us were willing to help us even though they had their own print made us want to help others who were struggling as well.
Printing and Manual Rectification
After slicing the file on cura and getting the gcode file, we proceeded to print the model. The printing process was long and tiring as the team had to wake up as early as 5.30 am to get a slot of the printer, this was a result of procrastination and this lesson will heavily remind the team to be more active in their project in the future instead of doing it the last minute.
As we took the effort and determination to wake up early, we wanted to get the better printer which was the ultimaker 3S. But the brutal fact was that we had no idea how to operate it, luckily another classmate of ours had given us instructions on how to set the 3D printer properly. He had briefly gone through how to put the filament in and how to set up the printer before we can start printing. We had initially struggled as the filament would not load into the printer due to there being filament stuck from the previous time it was used. We had to manually remove the melted filament and attach the new filament before it could start printing. Not to mention the additional stress we had as the other groups were glaring at us for claiming the printers before them. Doing additional research on the type of printers the school had to offer should have been something we should have done, this would have helped us in setting up the printer would have saved our time and the time of the group waiting for our print to finish. We roughly took 1 hour to set it up, meaning that if we had prepared we could have saved ourselves 1 hour of waiting time and 1 hour for our friends who were waiting. We also had caused trouble to the laboratory technicians who were working there as they had to stay past their working hours to help the group after us to complete their print.
When printing was done, the team noticed that the print quality was not what we expected and we had to revamp the design. The team noticed that the threading of the model was too thin and had to thicken it. We had also chosen a poor print design in the cura setting, causing us to restart the printing process and our design.
After making some changes to the design, the team had to re-print a new model. This time we had quickly prepared the printer and the change in settings also allowed us to finish the print faster and made the quality better. The threading of the model was defined and was able to attach to the other part well. However, there were a few printing errors on the design. The errors were minor and were rectified by sanding and filing. Looking back, the team thinks that the lack of support for the print was the cause of these errors and we will keep in mind the importance of applying support for 3D printing in the future. Different angles will require different amounts of support, ideally we would prefer a design with little support which would require very little manual rectification.
Egg drop challenge
After checking if the design works, the team finally moved on to the egg drop challenge. The team placed in the egg and prayed for the best. However, the egg did not survive the drop, making us disheartened. We had also done multiple tries to test if the egg would survive but the egg cracked in every single attempt. It was depressing to see that the hours we spent staying up late and hard work did not bear its fruits. We were so frustrated that we even wanted to print again or seek printing services outside which provided better print qualities. The inaccuracies caused because of the sanding of adhesions was one of the major reasons why we had failed the egg drop challenge. Even though our design was not successful, we had taken note of what was wrong and were determined to make changes if future opportunities were to arise.
TIME FOR THE EGG DROP CHALLENGE VIDEO. Now now its not time to be sad, its time for you to watch our interactive video on our Egg drop Challenge.
(Once again I give y'all the permission to laugh all you want)
I have gotten even a funnier one with back ground music. Tell me out of the 3 which you like the most.
The last 2 edits were done by my beloved friend Animul as a joke but you know what how could I not feature this.
Learning points
The team believes why the design failed was for 2 reasons. The first reason was the dimensions of the quail egg slot was too big and when the design dropped, the egg inside the design managed to shake and break. In addition, the design was too hollow. When the design was dropped, we noticed that after the initial impact, the design bounced back up again, creating another impact on the floor. With the addition of the large space of the egg slot, managed to shake the egg which might lead the egg to crack.
Overall, the team really learned a lot from this practical, managed to improve current skills like manual sketching and 3D modeling, also learned new skills like using Cura and using the 3D printer. The team also learned the importance of using support for 3D printing and optimising the infills of the design. The team also had fun while doing this practical as was an experience that we will never forget. On a positive note, it has also allowed us to communicate with course mates from different classes and even share ideas between each other and these interactions actually helped us modify and improve our design through their comments and questions about our design.
Thank you for tuning in for this weeks blog and I hope you will be looking forward for my next one. Don't worry, it will be faster than you expect.
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