Full documentation from inception of the idea to creation of the final project.
All sketches/pre-search from your designer notebook
Timeline of how you completed the final project using photos and paragraphs
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Summary Paragraphs of What I've Learned
Throughout this process, I've learned many important lessons. The first is about setting realistic deadlines for myself. I originally intended on my Gantt chart to have the entire body modeled and fabricated within two weeks which was incredibly unrealistic. Even if I had gotten my materials immediately, it still took several weeks just to design the body. Additionally, a lot of my time was spent making other projects very intricate like the heat press project and 3D redesign. If I could go back, I would choose between putting my time into those or something else. At the very least, I would have changed the objective from making a playable guitar/bass to making the components for one since I can always assemble it later after the course ends. I'm currently going to be coming into the innovation center during second semester to finish the project, but it would have been good to have that notion going in. It's hard to make unrealistic deadlines, so I'm less inclined to try and more inclined to try to be a perfectionist and finish something to the greatest quality I'm of which I'm capable since it's late anyways. In short, I can't let the perfect become the enemy of the good, and realistic deadlines will help with that.
Additionally, I need to get materials as the first step of the process. Having the materials allows me to start fabricating as soon as I finish designing the part. If I had had all my materials on the first day, I probably still wouldn't have finished the project in its entirety, but I would have gotten significantly closer. I was confused at first about how to get the materials and spent several weeks going on failed trips during the weekends to home improvement stores and getting the materials a couple boards at a time. I didn't get the wood for the body until the week before finals week, which really hurt me in the long run even though I still didn't have most of my CAD files done then.
Finally, I learned a lot about various technical aspects of the process. I learned how to buy wood (mostly), and how to glue pieces of wood together to make the right sized pieces for my route. I learned about the importance of the double sided tape on the mill holding the stock down because when it wasn't held down well enough, it would just come off. I learned about sanding wood to the right thickness and using a sanding wheel, creating a harness to hold wood in place while I route it. I also learned to line up thing I mill with the corner of the base to make aligning it easier in the future. Overall, it has been a learning experience, and I'm really glad I had the opportunity to take Big IDEA this semester.
Additionally, I need to get materials as the first step of the process. Having the materials allows me to start fabricating as soon as I finish designing the part. If I had had all my materials on the first day, I probably still wouldn't have finished the project in its entirety, but I would have gotten significantly closer. I was confused at first about how to get the materials and spent several weeks going on failed trips during the weekends to home improvement stores and getting the materials a couple boards at a time. I didn't get the wood for the body until the week before finals week, which really hurt me in the long run even though I still didn't have most of my CAD files done then.
Finally, I learned a lot about various technical aspects of the process. I learned how to buy wood (mostly), and how to glue pieces of wood together to make the right sized pieces for my route. I learned about the importance of the double sided tape on the mill holding the stock down because when it wasn't held down well enough, it would just come off. I learned about sanding wood to the right thickness and using a sanding wheel, creating a harness to hold wood in place while I route it. I also learned to line up thing I mill with the corner of the base to make aligning it easier in the future. Overall, it has been a learning experience, and I'm really glad I had the opportunity to take Big IDEA this semester.