Prototype Development with 3D Printing
ENG1102 Project
This was a project I worked on for the ENG1102 course that I chose to share because it shows another aspect of communication that we didn’t touch on much this course, which is communication with folks who may have accessibility needs or disabilities that require consideration in design. Ironically, the whistle itself is a safety communication device, as is the braille and embossing on the sides to ensure it is able to be used by all Lassonde students, regardless of whether they are sighted or not. This project required a lot of work with TinkerCAD and other 3D-modelling software, none of which I had prior experience with. I would like to learn SolidWorks for future design projects, which was highlighted by the limitations of the software I used. It required a lot of thinking about the needs of other students, and doing my best to address them within the constraints of the assignment. I also had to justify all the modifications made to the original stl file, some of which was ergonomic, some practical, and some aesthetic. I had to create a report detailing my work, and I used photos of my model to help show everything visually. It also shows how I have been developing as a communicator, by taking research and using it to generate ideas and design a product that is better than the original. It also highlights my ability to problem solve in many different kinds of projects. I was pushed out of my comfort zone, using new software in a course that didn’t teach us how to use it, but this provided me the opportunity to teach myself something new and I was able to become more adept with it over time and by the end of the project I was moving a lot faster with less mistakes than when I started. Like all my other work, there is always room to improve and grow, but I am very happy with how it turned out.