How I Grew in 9th Grade
We started the 3D printing project where we were each assigned to brainstorm problems that we encountered daily. We were then asked to sketch out a potential design to solve this problem. After sketching our solution, we recreated the design in Inventor AutoCAD. After refining and perfecting the design, we used the 3D printers to print out our product solution. The product that I created was a nutritional tracker. Ever since I started rowing, I started paying more attention to the amount of protein, fat, grains, etc. that I was consuming daily. I noticed that I was not consuming enough protein every day. This nutritional tracker has four trays representing a day. I then plan to create a token that will represent a specific amount of food. If I consume that amount of food then I will be able to put the token in the tray. My weekly goal would be to get all of the trays filled over the period of seven days.
After creating my first design, I realized that the trays were not secure because I had made four separate trays with a cylinder on the top. After consulting with my teacher I changed the design to have two trays that interlocked with each other creating a more fluid product solution. When I sent this revised design to the printer, the printer was unable to print the part properly for one of the trays was printing off the print bread. Since these printers do not have the capability of printing in mid-air, I had to revisit the design to fix the solution.
I realized the problem was with the way I had "sketched" my solution in Inventor and decided that instead of loading the file as a full assembly I would print the interlocking parts separately allowing me to keep all parts on the print-bed and then connecting them with each other later. In total it took three iterations to get the desired product. I foresee this tool helping me tremendously in getting the required nutrients to stay healthy and fit. I saw that this growth was significant because I was able to better evaluate the designs for my product solutions to make the best possible product. In the future, I will be more attentive to the smaller details in a piece of work because even the smallest details have a large effect in the end.