Reflection
Our first project of senior year was the reverse engineering project. We started by disassembling an object that we brought in from home. We drew conceptual sketches of the object and analyzed the function and materials. This individual task helped us get familiar with the process of reverse engineering and what goes into it. Next, we started working with our groups on one object that we picked together. My group (Tyler Colenbrander, Alexa Funahashi, and Sophia Galleguillos) and I decided to deconstruct Sophia's dancing solar powered flower pot. Our group worked really well together and we finished the project on time.
Our group had a lot of successes. We communicated really well which allowed us to divide up the work evenly. We brainstormed together and worked through problems as a group. Each team member was assigned a task to do and once they finished it they would help with something else. Another strong part of our group was our time management. We finished our project early and were able to go back and refine some of our research and writing. The extra time also let us add lots of pictures to our slideshow and find diagrams that highlighted our key findings. We did have a few issues as well. I finished my portion of the project a day earlier than the rest of my group and I could have been a little more helpful. Some of my teammates finished their parts on the very last day and I could have asked if they needed any help with the research or formatting of the presentation. Another thing we could improve on are our public speaking skills. We had a lot of solid information from credible sources and we understood what we researched very well, but we weren't very confident when we presented in front of the class. This has always been a slight challenge for me personally, but I have gotten a lot better, and I will keep improving with the next projects. Overall, this project was extremely successful and I learned a lot a lot about reverse engineering and how much goes into making a small toy.
Our first project of senior year was the reverse engineering project. We started by disassembling an object that we brought in from home. We drew conceptual sketches of the object and analyzed the function and materials. This individual task helped us get familiar with the process of reverse engineering and what goes into it. Next, we started working with our groups on one object that we picked together. My group (Tyler Colenbrander, Alexa Funahashi, and Sophia Galleguillos) and I decided to deconstruct Sophia's dancing solar powered flower pot. Our group worked really well together and we finished the project on time.
Our group had a lot of successes. We communicated really well which allowed us to divide up the work evenly. We brainstormed together and worked through problems as a group. Each team member was assigned a task to do and once they finished it they would help with something else. Another strong part of our group was our time management. We finished our project early and were able to go back and refine some of our research and writing. The extra time also let us add lots of pictures to our slideshow and find diagrams that highlighted our key findings. We did have a few issues as well. I finished my portion of the project a day earlier than the rest of my group and I could have been a little more helpful. Some of my teammates finished their parts on the very last day and I could have asked if they needed any help with the research or formatting of the presentation. Another thing we could improve on are our public speaking skills. We had a lot of solid information from credible sources and we understood what we researched very well, but we weren't very confident when we presented in front of the class. This has always been a slight challenge for me personally, but I have gotten a lot better, and I will keep improving with the next projects. Overall, this project was extremely successful and I learned a lot a lot about reverse engineering and how much goes into making a small toy.
Content
Reverse Engineering- A strategy used to fin answers to questions about an existing product (by taking it apart) that are used in the design of another product
Invention- Design work that results in something unique or novel
Innovation- Process of improving or modifying an existing product
Conceptual Sketch- an excellent way to quickly explore concepts, often freehand, used as a quick and simple way of exploring initial ideas for designs or detailing an existing product
Structural Analysis- looking into how the different parts of an object are connected together
Manufacturing Analysis- looking into how the product was made
Functional Analysis- looking into what the function of the different parts are, how they work together, and what the underlying scientific principles behind their functioning
Material Analysis- looking into what materials are used and their properties
Design Process- A decision-making process that results in a plan to produce a new product. Used as a problem-solving strategy, or develop possible solutions
Reverse Engineering- A strategy used to fin answers to questions about an existing product (by taking it apart) that are used in the design of another product
Invention- Design work that results in something unique or novel
Innovation- Process of improving or modifying an existing product
Conceptual Sketch- an excellent way to quickly explore concepts, often freehand, used as a quick and simple way of exploring initial ideas for designs or detailing an existing product
Structural Analysis- looking into how the different parts of an object are connected together
Manufacturing Analysis- looking into how the product was made
Functional Analysis- looking into what the function of the different parts are, how they work together, and what the underlying scientific principles behind their functioning
Material Analysis- looking into what materials are used and their properties
Design Process- A decision-making process that results in a plan to produce a new product. Used as a problem-solving strategy, or develop possible solutions
Our Project
For our project, we decided to analyze one of our group member's dancing flower pot that she brought in from home. We started by taking it apart and seeing how it functions. We referenced her conceptual sketches and started looking into the motion, utility, and purpose of the object. Next, we dove further into depth while looking at the materials, manufacturing process, structural components, and how the flower pot functions. Each group member was assigned one of the four analysis tasks and we researched them for about three days. I worked on the material analysis and looked into what materials our object was made out of and their purposes. Once we had all our information, we put it into the report and later into our presentation. We even ended up looking into the object's patents and copyrights. In our final report, we detailed steps of the reverse engineering process such as the hypothesis, procedure, and a summary of the whole project. Our final presentation involved condensing all of the important information onto our slideshow and presenting it in a way that would make sense to the audience.
For our project, we decided to analyze one of our group member's dancing flower pot that she brought in from home. We started by taking it apart and seeing how it functions. We referenced her conceptual sketches and started looking into the motion, utility, and purpose of the object. Next, we dove further into depth while looking at the materials, manufacturing process, structural components, and how the flower pot functions. Each group member was assigned one of the four analysis tasks and we researched them for about three days. I worked on the material analysis and looked into what materials our object was made out of and their purposes. Once we had all our information, we put it into the report and later into our presentation. We even ended up looking into the object's patents and copyrights. In our final report, we detailed steps of the reverse engineering process such as the hypothesis, procedure, and a summary of the whole project. Our final presentation involved condensing all of the important information onto our slideshow and presenting it in a way that would make sense to the audience.
Below is our official report:
Below is our presentation: