Clapper IED Portfolio |
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About me!
My name is Josh Clapper. I am a senior at South Western High School. This fall I will be attending Penn State University with a major in Computer Engineering. My main goal for this class is to gather information and skills to better prepare myself for what to expect in the coming years in an engineering field.
The following sections will detail the units and projects completed during my time in the 2020 IED class. Although we encountered some difficulties with adjusting to at-home schooling, I still feel as though this class was beneficial and the experiences I received will help me in the future. |
Unit 1 - Design Process
Career Research Poster
For this unit, we learned about the basic design process associated with creating a product. After developing an understanding of this process, we were assigned to research a specialized engineering career that might interest us in the future. Using this information we designed a poster to display the information in a way that could be perceived easily.
This project allowed me to get a grasp on a lot of skills that were needed for the rest of the project. The constraints provided in the design brief gave an example of what we should expect for future projects. I also quickly learned how important is was to plan before actually creating the poster. As seen in the pictures, I started with a simple sketch to have a general idea of what I wanted to create. Then, I created a online model in order to organize everything to fit the necessary constraints. Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of the final product. Overall, I think this unit and project gave a good introduction to prepare me for what I would encounter in the rest of the class and also in my future computer engineering career. |
Unit 2 - Technical Drawing
20 Rectangles Project
In this unit, we learned a variety of sketching techniques (pictorial, isometric, perspective, etc.) and proper line composition for technical drawings. I really enjoyed this unit because of the practice I got with drawing and the improvement that I saw myself making with each sketch.
For the project, we were assigned to create two identical copies of an object with exactly 20 Rectangle which was constrained to fit within a 6"x6"x6" area. This project was our first experiment working with a group. My partner an I had a variety of ideas and chose to go through with creating domino. We also made use of a prototype to ensure a good final product. The main things I took away from this unit was appealing to the customer and once again abiding to constraints. A portion of our grade was reliant on a vote, resembling the performance of a product being sold by a company. Because of this, we needed to create something that would catch people's eyes and that they could easily understand what it was. The constraints required us to specifically focus on the details of what we were creating |
Unit 3 - Measurement and Statistics
Fling Machine
For this unit we learned proper measurement techniques with a variety of tools and developed a fundamental understanding of statistics. Some general statistics we discussed were measures of central tendency and standard deviation. These statistics prepared us to understand the performance of our projects for this unit,
The fling machine project required us to construct a machine capable of launching a ping pong ball as close to 10 feet as possible. An important part of this project was testing. After constructing our initial prototype, we tested the launch precision and accuracy. We recorded our results and used the info we gathered to improve the machine until it achieved the desired performance. This unit showed me how trial and error is an important learning experience in engineering. Our initial creation didn't achieve what we wanted, but by experimenting and fine tuning some issues, we were able to get an acceptable result, |
Unit 4 - Modeling Skills
Cams in Motion
For this project we created a cam and used other imported parts to assemble a functioning cam system using Onshape.
We then analyzed the motion of the cam in comparison to our group members who used the same cam shape with different dimensions. Major Takeaways
(clicking the picture will direct you to the Onshape website for this project) |
Unit 5 - Geometry of Design
Automoblox
For this project I used the parts studio in Onshape to create designated parts for the Automoblox car. Using these parts, I was able to create an assembly to connect the parts in one place. I feel as though creating these parts solidified my skills in Onshape with using the wide variety of tools provided by the software.
Major Takeaways
(clicking the picture will direct you to the Onshape website for this project) |
Major Takeaways from class
Overall, I think this class provided me with valuable information and skills to prepare me for my future in engineering. The drawing techniques, problem-solving strategies, and enhanced understanding of statistics will help me in a variety of situations that I may encounter in the future. I think my main issue in this class was, my own procrastination. If I had completed tasks more promptly my work would've better reflected the skills that I learned. Recommendations for Future StudentsFor students taking intro to engineering, it is important to focus on the details and quality of what you are working on. Documentation is also an important priority. Your engineering notebook should be used constantly, by having notes and drawings for reference, you will be able to keep track of your work and maintain consistency throughout the design process.
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