2.7 - Conclusion and Future Work
Conclusion
In conclusion, our mechanism accomplished what we desired: to stir a pot automatically and continuously. Despite many of the challenges and last-minute changes, our group was able to come together and create a fully functional and successful product. We also were able to make an aesthetically pleasing final prototype that received many compliments during our demonstration. Overall, our group is extremely satisfied and proud of the product we were able to present at the end of this semester.
Future Work
For the future, we would like to make a mechanism that is able to create a sinusoidal path that dampens on the top and bottom as well as a circle to get the edges of the pot. We would like to develop this because this path is specifically proven as the best and most effective path to stir ingredients in a pot while cooking. Additionally, we would like the make a mechanism that can be adjusted to fit for any sized pot that could be used, so that each product is not size-specific.
Lessons Learned
One important lesson that we learned was to thoroughly analyze our mechanism early and do not be set on one design too early. We made this mistake when we found the inverted parallelogram design for our mechanism. We were very focused on the fact that it created the path that we desired and was relatively easy/quick to fabricate that we overlooked the toggle points and the issues they could present. Because of this, we were too close-minded on any different designs until the toggle point issues materialized in our prototyping phase. Additionally, the idea of each member having a specialty and trusting our teammates was something that we learned throughout this semester. As the semester went on, we began to find each of our roles/niches in the group, which allowed us to work a lot more cohesively and efficiently to complete our project.
Tips for Future Groups
Tip #1: START EARLY! - Especially with the end of semester project, TIW will be heavily occupied and you will want to make many different iterations to iron out all of the wrinkles in your design. With the limited space and time in TIW, starting early will be necessary to allow for your group to have ample time to test, redesign, and refabricate if needed.
Tip #2: Take Pictures - Taking photos is not only nice for the final report and progress checks for class, but they are also good to serve as a memory and keep track of the progress made throughout the semester.
Tip #3: Become Friends with TIW Employees - Trust us, their 24/7 access is very helpful, but do not take advantage of their privilege, as it may put them at risk of employment or possibly damage your relationship with them too.
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge and express gratitude to our Teaching Assistant Connor Hennig for all of the suggestions, guidance, and advice he gave us throughout the entire semester. He gave us the great idea of making our fish bright orange to be visible for the final demo (on top of all of the useful technical tips that were much needed and appreciated).
We would also like to thank Ian Kao and Matthew Xu as they are two TIW employees that helped us fabricate parts after hours whenever TIW was very busy during the end of the semester. We would not have been able to complete our final prototype in time without them!