It is important to model an idea before making a final prototype, because the idea may not completely work. If a model is built, it’s easy to see what mistakes were made. Then, the final prototype can be made with no issues.
The furniture company could make building blocks with the scrap used to make our puzzle cube, which would allow people to make more than just one cube. There would be more possibilities and solutions.
Hardwood cubes would not be the best material to mass-produce cubes, because the wooden parts could give splinters to the kids. A safer and cheaper material would be plastic for a kid’s toy. The hardwood pieces will also not last as long as plastic ones.
The forms of technical communication I utilized during my work on the Puzzle Design Challenge were speaking with other students and my teacher to see if they could find issues. I used the website eLearn to find documents and instructions for the project. I also used the Inventor program and modeling(physically, with cubes) to communicate my solutions and designs.
In this project, we utilized the design process to find solutions to our problem.
Define the Problem - I reviewed the Design Brief provided by the furniture company to see what the problem we were trying to find a solution to was. I saw what constraints and requirements I had.
Generate Concepts - I created two possible solutions to the problem by sketching. From here, I chose one of these solutions to further design and adjust.
Develop a Solution - I used my chosen solution, and modeled it with cubes. From here, I drew each piece in its own multiview sketch. I made each of these parts in Inventor and modeled the fully assembled cube there.
Construct and Test Prototype - I built my parts with wooden cubes as a prototype for if a final product was made of it.
Evaluate Solution - I made sure that the parts built with cubes fit together, as they should for the final product.
Present Solution - I presented my prototype to the teacher so he could see if it met the requirements of the Furniture Company.