Forgive me, but I need to smirk a bit

[ultranos]

(WARNING: Not Dial-Up Friendly)

This isn't the normal brand of fannnishness that occurs in this journal. Well, not really. But, well, my project team for my lab class this term finished our major project today, and I figure some people on my flist would really appreciate all our efforts.

And thus, I bring you: ultranos's Design and Manufacturing II, Final Lab:

7 MechE students
3 Months
1 Goal



Our production run consisted of 100 of each part. While we only had to assemble 5 to turn in, we decided to prep everything for if/when we decide we want to make more.



As you can see, there are a lot.



These face masks were mine and another guy's task. The hardest part was creating the mold, since this is a thermoform part. (We needed to drill out the aluminum in order to drill very tiny holes to allow the vacuum to suck down the plastic to make the eyes.)

The hours spent spray painting them gold or silver were also fun. My fingers were covered in paint when I went home for Thanksgiving last week.



The adding white glow-in-the-dark paint to each eye hole on each of the 100 masks was the painstaking part. 1 drop per hole. Also, the paint fumes were incredibly strong.



Assembly. Everything snapped together like a dream. We totally rocked that.



Forgive me for trying to give you a sense of the scope here. :) Everything was designed by us. Our instructions basically were "make a yo-yo no bigger than this". And I'm really, really proud of how they turned out:



And by the way? They work.

Comments

[samantilles.livejournal.com]

You know, for the basic person, yo-yo's seem just so easy, but I can only imagine starting from scratch would be anything but simple!

The head design is strange but cool... it first reminds me of the Monty Python evil bunnies. General Grievous also came to mind... so then the big question is: is this Jack O'Neill's favorite yo-yo that every fanfic seems to have him carry in his pocket?

[ultranos-fic.livejournal.com]

That's one of the interesting things about the class: you learn that even the little things that you use every day had to be designed and then made for mass-production. It's a lot harder than the final product looks.

It's why I like hands-on classes. You learn so much just by doing, sometimes more than what you can learn from just listening in a lecture.

Is this Jack's favorite yo-yo? I dunno. This one is designed to be more of one that comes back easily, so you can do flinging tricks. I'd guess Jack would be more of the type to play with yo-yos that sleep easily.

And now I show you that I learned entirely too much about yo-yos. :)

[samantilles.livejournal.com]

were you into yo-yos before you built and learned "entirely too much" about them, or was that the suggestion of another in the group?

[ultranos-fic.livejournal.com]

I wasn't really into yo-yos before this. On good days, I can barely make a yo-yo sleep.

I have friend who is, though, and when I asked about various designs, he would just go off about various types. :) He was the one who taught me about the various shapes of yo-yos and how they influence how easily they can sleep or come back. I was then able to relay this information back to my group, and we decided on the design from there.

[vickyocean.livejournal.com]

That's freakin' awesome! : )

[ultranos-fic.livejournal.com]

Aren't they? I'm really proud of how they turned out. :)

[cshiley.livejournal.com]

Very nice!

[ultranos-fic.livejournal.com]

Hee, thanks! Maybe soon this means I can get some semblance of a life back.

Oh wait. Where do I go again? Yeah, nevermind.

[beanpot.livejournal.com]

I want one!

That is SO very cool.

[ultranos-fic.livejournal.com]

Hee. When I mentioned these to my mom and aunt, that was the same response I got. Only they weren't even done at the time!

Thank you. I'm really proud of them.

[baniszew.livejournal.com]

Yay 2.008 yoyos! Nice work.

[ultranos-fic.livejournal.com]

Everyone loves the 2.008 yo-yos. :)

I was actually going to be satisfied with the fact that they ended up looking good. (How I managed to convince my group that Iron Man's face on a yo-yo was a good idea, I'll never know. I suspect it had to do with "we'll use glow-in-the-dark paint!")

The fact that they actually, you know, work as yo-yos is an added bonus.

[splash-the-cat.livejournal.com]

HEE! That's fantastic.

[ultranos-fic.livejournal.com]

I thought you'd approve!

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

WOOT! THOSE ARE AWESOME! I'm very impressed by how awesome they look--and the fact that they work is just so cool. I hope you get a great grade for this.

(I don't suppose I can get one....)

[ultranos-fic.livejournal.com]

Hee. Thanks! I'm still a little stunned by how well they turned out. I hope we get a great grade too! We worked hard for it!

(Um. Quite possibly, if you seriously want one.)

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Seriously, yes. I actually kinda like yo-yos. I'm not actually GOOD at them, but I like them. *g*

[kalquessa.livejournal.com]

Ooo, cool! And gives me flashback to the days when I worked for my father-in-law's shop: we did a lot stuff like this back in the day.

[ultranos-fic.livejournal.com]

You did? That's awesome. This class, and this project, has given me new appreciation of stuff like this. :)

[kalquessa.livejournal.com]

It's pretty cool to make stuff like this from scratch, isn't it? You're all "I MADE this. Not like I put it together from pre-fab parts and put the stickers on where the directions said, I actually cut the parts and soldered and glued and threaded and painted and I MADE it!"

[ultranos-fic.livejournal.com]

Oh totally. I mean, we started with blocks of aluminum, plastic pellets, plastic sheets, and paint. :) And holding the finished product in my hand just totally gives me the "I MADE THIS!" glee. And stupid grins.