User:Herko60/Third Project

Project Preference
1-Lego 2-Beat bearing 3-wireless electricity

Problem Statement
Finding ways to modify Lego bricks and create a set of DC circuits elements ( Resistors, Batteries, Led's, motors...) that can be used as Electronics tutorial for kids. There are some pretty good products similar to the lego circuits on the market but unfortunately, they can be quite expensive are beyond reach to many families. Our focus here is to modify those Lego bricks and create affordable DC circuits that can be used to teach electronics to kids.

Project Plan
The Main Tasks my group will need in order to successfully complete this third and last Project are:

- Researching the Web for similar products.

-Finding ways to modify the lego bricks to embed basic components and create various DC circuits.

-Testing different options.

-Create basic parallel and series basic circuits, circuits with LED's, motors, using these modified lego bricks.

-Start working on main frame of CDIO report.

- Complete the C.D.I.O report.

Week 1 Narrative
My first task for this third and last project was to find existing products on the market similar to the Lego DC circuits  that can be used by kids to learn basic electronics or DC Circuits; I came up with 3 Major products that are quite popular among kids and high school students  willing to learn the basic of DC circuits, basic Electronics and even some robotics. The first one was called " Little Bits": pre-enginered electronics modules that connect with magnets and based on an open source concept. The prices were ranging from $100 to $200. The following link is a short youtube video explaining the "Little Bits" concepts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QixV_Hlh2CM The next product was the "Snap Circuits: quite intuitive  and was also built on pre-engineered  components that connect by snapping one component to the other.They were ranging from $45 to $200 depending on the version: SC100, SC300 or SC750. This is a short video  on the " Snap Circuits" . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgQvwX3JKCs The third one was the top of the line and was even more into robotics than basic DC circuits or Electronics: "Lego Mindstorms". The down side was the hefty price ( around $350 for the kit). Here is a very interesting short video on " Lego  Mindstorms"; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWqFH0roIUI As we all see, price is a deterrent factor for all those products and not all the families can afford those expensive products.

My next task was then to find ways to modify the lego bricks so that some circuits elements (resistors, motor,bulbs,batteries..) can be embed into the bricks. I came up with 3 ideas. My first idea is to use some copper or conductive tape to render the block or brick conductive. The next idea is to drill the brick and insert a conductor or component into it; resistors, led's or some other tiny components can be inserted into the block or brick the same way. The last idea is to use copper foil and with the help of vinyl cutter, make so holes into the copper sheet and then cut it into small pieces the same area as the top of the lego piece we would like to render conductive.  Copper Foil.jpg|Copper Foil Drilled Block.jpg|Drilled Block Copper Tape(conductive tape).jpg|Copper Tape(conductive tape) 

The next step is to actually try  the first two ideas: the conductive tape and to drill the lego block to insert some conductors or components into it. I will also check and see if there is any vinyl cutter available at the Engineering Lab to try the copper foil. Based on those results, I can start conceiving basic circuits with the modified bricks of Lego.

Week 2 Narrative
My first task for this second week into the Lego Circuits Project was to purchase some lego bricks,led's ,lamps, batteries holder,micro switch and conductive copper tape and then roll to my second task which was to start testing different ways to embed those basic components into lego bricks. After scouring the web to find an electronics parts supplier where I could purchase the copper tape, I found an address in Beltsville (Maryland) and I drove for about 30 miles to get to that  supplier who confirmed me over the phone that they have some copper tape in stock .I eagerly purchased all my necessary supplies for this project and drove back home just to find that the tape I was sold( Kapton Tape 1/4 x 3) was not in fact copper tape, neither conductive. It was rather a frustrating experience and I finally decided to order the copper tape online and keep moving ahead with my next task for this week.

The main structures of the Lego circuits will be the different components embedded into lego bricks and connected in the circuit with conductive lego bricks. The first obstacle is how to embed the components( led, bulbs,motor,micro switch,batteries...) and connect those components into a circuit. I was able to successfully embed a led and a midget bulb into a lego brick and test it for continuity; For the midget lamp, I used a lamp#272-1143, a lego block(3x.75 cm) ,some wiring. I first drilled a hole( 7/32") on the top center of the brick and hole(3/32") through the length of the brick.I then soldered two wires on the side and the base of the bulb and then tucked it into the brick; the final assembly was a nice "lego e-bulb" I was able to test for continuity. Similarly for the Led, I used a square lego block(.75x.75 cm) and a single Led; I drilled a (7/32") on top of the center of the brick and one hole (3/32") through the length of the brick. The continuity of the "lego e-led" was also successfully tested.

The next step is to start finding ways to render the lego block conductive using copper tape or similar material,start integrating a small motor into lego bricks and start conceiving different basic circuits for this project. Hopefully I should receive the copper tape by the week end and keep moving into my third project.

Week 3 Narrative
My third week into the lego circuit was pretty loaded.I finally received the shipped copper tape to my mailing address and I started testing ways to render the lego blocks conductive using the copper tape,how to embed the rest of the components(micro dc motor and switch) to lego blocks to conceive the different basic circuits. The copper tape was applied at the top surface of the lego block length wise and I tested for continuity of the block and the very interesting thing was that I was also able to solder on the copper tape ; the test was perfectly conclusive and that gave me the motivation to pursue my third project with great confidence

After finishing up those concepts, I started working on the CDIO report so that my project partner and I will submit the final report without any delay. My task for the last week will eventually be to finalize the CDIO report and make some adjustment on the circuits concepts.

Week 4 Narrative
My first task for this last week into the Lego Circuits project was to build a prototype of a lego circuit using the different concepts my team mate and I worked on during the first weeks to ensure that our concepts were viable. We decided to build a simple "led lego" circuit that kids can use to wire a led and how the orientation of a led can affect its brightness in a circuit. In spite of a some glitches with the wires connecting the main lego-components to the batteries pack, we were able to have the led in full brightness and We reversed the led block inside the circuit to change the led polarity and the led did not glow ; this was an indication that the circuit was working perfectly since a diode or any led is supposed to conduct current in one direction only.This prototype was built by using the modified lego blocks(conductive blocks, junction conductive block and led lego block) connected to a power source of a battery pack. It is noted that we had to modify the lego led block once again from the first led lego concept  to have a more modular led block that can be switched around by kids to reverse the polarity of the led.

This prototype of the lego led circuit was quite a success and that showed that my team mate and I were on the right track for this third project. Armed with this first success, my team partner and I showed the prototype to Pr.Mark and he found the concept was excellent but he suggested that we had to find a different way to embed button cell batteries inside lego blocks instead of using a battery pack that was a bit cumbersome and I then sketched a different approach of embedding cell batteries into lego bricks. Evidently, for the next phases of this project,some minor and major modifications will be needed. I finally started working on the trade-offs among concepts and system performance metrics for the CDIO of this third project. As far as trade-offs among concepts were concerned, there were quite a few that should be exposed; the main goal of this project is to find ways to modify lego blocks as to embed components in them and conceive circuits with these blocks. The most aesthetic and accurate way to render a lego block conductive was to use some copper sheet and cut it with a vinyl cutter in small pieces the same sizes of the lego blocks and snap them on top of the lego block: the finish product is a nice and solid conductive lego block but the down side is that a vinyl cutter is expensive(around $900) and HCC does not have a vinyl cutter available so this concept was out question.The next concept was to drill holes on top and sides of the lego blocks to insert components like led's and bulbs and fish the conductor wires through the side holes; with this approach, price was a real advantage since no special tools were needed b ut the trade-off was that the integrity of a lego block with many holes was not maintained, the modified brick did not snap on the lego platform as firm as before,the protruding holes on the side were not quite aesthetic and the wires had to be trimmed and soldered on the side. Another concept was to use copper tape to render the blocks conductive: this approach was quite simple and very affordable( a copper tape roll is about $15 and can be used for more than 50 circuits) but the only down side is that over time and with repetitive friction on the block, the conductive tape tends to peel off and another stripe of tape has to be reapplied.The last concept we had some issues with was how to embed batteries into lego blocks; the simpler approach was to use a 9v battery with a snap on terminal block and a switch or a batteries pack to power the circuit; this approach is simple and affordable but the trade-off is that the pack is somewhat cumbersome and the wiring connecting it to the circuit tends to break off and has to be re-soldered. An alternative concept for this is to use button cell batteries as Pr. Mark suggested; the trade-off with option is that the integrity of the lego will not be preserved since the lego block has to be cut or drilled to insert the cell batteries in series. A pre-engineered lego block is the best solution for this but we have to rely 3D printed block for this. For the trade-offs over all, we did not have to use any form of decision matrix because we had to use all the concepts interchangeably even though the copper tape concept was the major one used for this project. I highly recommend to move ahead with the design and implement phase of this project; very basic and informative tutorials can be made with these lego circuits to teach electronics to kids in a very affordable way.