Journal 36: Wed. May 28th, 2014

G Building Complete

So I finally got G building done. It didn't take too long, it was very similar to H building, just a little different. As of right now I do not have the roofs of the building modeled and ready to cut out, I plan on doing that last. I am mostly focused on getting the sides of the buildings done first. I am definitely running out of time! With all the senior events coming up I know I am going to be crazy busy. Let's hope I can stay focused.

Journal 35: Mon. May 26th, 2014

Plan for presentation and location

So my presentation is on Thursday, June 19th at 11:00 AM. It is going to come up real fast and I am kind of nervous. I am definitely going to have my presentation in Mr. Cowell's room. I think that I will be able to explain and show my project a lot better than if I was in another room. I want to hook my laptop up to the smart board and show everyone what SketchUp is, and how to use it. I want to show them my SketchUp file and show how I used that to help me with AutoCAD. I will have to plan and practice explaining these things a few times because it can get confusing, I want to make sure that everyone can understand. I want to get the audience involved so I want to show them something with the laser cutter. Maybe make a sample piece and show everyone what the laser cutter can do? I am not quite sure yet. I think the first thing I need to worry about is getting my project done on time so I am going to go work on that now! I will update you on my progress soon!

Journal 34: Thurs. May 22nd, 2014

J building complete and backwards planning

So I got J building done (the main office) and I am pretty happy with the pace I am going at. This is just a snapshot of what it all looks like so far. This 12"x24" area includes H and J building. It also includes the walkway between G and H building.

Now seeing what pace I am going at I can now backwards plan and make sure I finish this project on time!

By Fri. May 30th: Have G building done

By Fri. June 6th: Have K Building and the new and old gym complete

Mon. June 9th: Start cutting out all the pieces

Tues. June 10th: Continue cutting, and start working on reflections and commentary

Thurs. June 12th: Turn in everything to Ms. Lord and evaluators to review

By June 19th: Have everything glued together and ready to display for presentation

Journal 33: Tues. May 20th, 2014

H Building Complete

Here is a snapshot of H Building complete in AutoCAD. To some people it may just look like bunch of red and blue lines but if you look closely, you will see they are all windows!

As you can see, there are some parts of the building that have no windows at all. These are the parts of the building that are connected to others. When I assemble all the pieces, those parts will be attached to adjoining buildings. The blue windows represent the parts of H that have no real windows. The laser cutter will engrave these, but not cut all the way through. 

Journal 32: Monday, May 19th, 2014

Busy Week Ahead

I just got back from my Physics trip to Darien Lake and I am sitting here thinking about how busy my week is going to be. I have another field trip on Thursday, and am doing volunteer work for my Government class. It is a lot to handle. Who ever said senior year was a breeze was wrong!


My goal for this week is to complete G building. I am still getting used to AutoCAD on my laptop, but for the most part it is going really well. It seems to be taking a lot longer than I thought, but I will get it done!

Journal 31: Wed. May 14th, 2014

Working hard on AutoCAD

AutoCAD is going really, really well! I am moving right along. Here is a snapshot of what I have so far with G and H building. 

If you click the picture to make it bigger you can see that all the little red boxes are windows! The red lines tell the laser cutter to cut all the way through, and the small blue lines tell it to just indent. I am still working on H but hope to get it done by the end of the week. 

Journal 30: Mon. May 12th, 2014

Scariest moment so far in this project

Today in class we did something that I was not prepared for. We picked the date of our presentation. When Ms. Lord said that we were going to do this, it really hit me that I only have a couple more weeks to work on this project. I signed up to present on Thursday, June 19th at 11:00 am. The location of my presentation is still in the air though. I have two places in mind. The more comfortable place for me would be in my WISE class room. Earlier this year I did a presentation in the class and I have been in there all year. The second choice is Mr. Cowell's room. I think it would be great to be in a room where I have the opportunity to show everyone the programs I use, how they work, and also show them the laser cutter. I was thinking about giving a quick demo on how to go from SketchUp, to AutoCAD, to the laser cutter. It would be really cool to show hands on work and maybe even get people I am presenting to involved and have them do something! I know the better choice would be Mr. Cowell's room, but I'm not even sure I can use his room or not. I will have to talk to him at my next mentor meeting. We will have to wait and see! I hope it all works out.

Journal 29: Sun. May 11th, 2014

H Building started in AutoCAD

I know this picture won't make much sense but I hope after this journal entry, you will understand it better. 

The white box in the picture represents the "space" I have to work within. It measures 12" x 24". This is the size of the stock board used in the laser cutter. Each white box represents one sheet of stock board. The red lines tell the laser cutter what to cut. When I get to this part later in the model, blue lines will represent what I want the laser cutter to indent (not cut all the way through). The red boxes on the right hand side are the sides of H building. They are 135' in real life, but come out to be about 8" in my model. Tomorrow I hope to add the windows into my model. I will be showing a lot more snapshots as my project continues. Once I get the windows and doors in AutoCAD will make a lot more sense to someone who doesn't  know the program very well. 

Journal 28: Fri. May 9th, 2014

AutoCAD at home

Downloading AutoCAD on my new laptop. This journal is definitely short but I am really excited that now I will be able to work at home. And I really like my computer too. I will be posting all of my modeling soon!!

Journal 27: Thurs. May 8th, 2014

Mentor Meeting and AutoCAD Work

FINALLY! I am starting my AutoCAD work! Today I went in 5th period to see Mr. Cowell, talk about my project, and start the modeling. We decided that 1/16 scale would be best for the size of the school. What that means is every foot of the school in real life, will be 1/16th of an inch in my model. G and H building will be about 8" x 8". Today I got H buildings shape modeled and now I just  have to get the window dimensions and I can start putting those in! Hopefully tomorrow I will get my laptop and I can do it from home too!

Journal 26: Wed. May 7th, 2014

Measurements of E Building

In my Engineering Design and Development class today, I was sitting outside with my group and I saw a measuring tape, and a window, and I thought I should just do it. I measured the window to be 5'6" x 5'6". The windows in E, D, some of F, and the cafeteria are the same size, so I have all of those measured. I also measured the height of E building and it came out to be 15' exactly. Looking around, it looks like all of the one floor sections of the school are about the same, so for my purposes, I will have all the buildings except G, H, and the gym be 15 feet.

Journal 25: Mon. May 5th, 2014

Out of the Rut

In today's weekly meeting we talked about much time we really have left for this project. It's not a lot. We should really be done by June 9th, so we have enough time to give Ms. Lord all of the required papers 5 business days before our presentation. We have about a month left and that really scares me. Ms. Lord gave us a sheet that really broke down the planning for the next couple of days. I think planning is a huge part to this project. This was a great way to get organized and see what I need to get done.

PLANNING:

7 things I want to accomplish in the next week:
-Get my laptop and download AutoCAD
-Get the dimensions of the windows and doors of G and H  buildings
-Complete G and H buildings in AutoCAD
-Talk to Mr. Cowell about the laser cutter and see when he is available for supervision when I want to use it
-Start to get dimensions of the other buildings (Windows and Doors)
-Watch videos on AutoCAD to enhance my knowledge and see if there are any tips on speeding up the process

Supplies I need to get:
-Laptop
-Stock board for the laser cutter? (Talk to Mr. Cowell)
-Hot glue sticks for the assembly of the school

3 things I should talk to my mentor about:
-When to use the laser cutter
-Do I need to buy my own stock board
-What kind of laser cutter is the one we have. I can use this for research of possibly importing my SketchUp model and saving a ton of time.

Things I want or need to know more about:
-Dimensions of the school
-What are the size of the bricks on the school (If I have time, I can make the laser cutter just make lines on the stock board and not cut all the way through, so when it is done it will look like bricks. I think it would look really cool, but it will be very time consuming).

Journal 24: Sun. May 4th, 2014

Problems with AutoCAD, but possible solution?

When I got home from Delhi, the first thing I did was go online to see if I could download AutoCAD at home. I can! It was downloading, everything was going great, and then a error message came up saying that my computer was too old for the program and I didn't have enough room to download it. I. Was. So. Mad. But I have a solution to all my troubles. Thankfully, as a graduation present, my grandparents are getting me a laptop for college. If I could get one a little early, I could download it on my new computer and be on my way with my project. I am planning on getting a new laptop on Friday! I can't wait. Working from home will be so much easier and faster! Lets cross our fingers and hope everything works out!

Journal 23: Fri. May 2nd, 2014

SUNY Delhi Accepted Student Day

Today I went to an orientation like event at the college I am attending (SUNY Delhi). One of the things I did on my visit was talking to the professors. When picking out classes I mentioned that I am already using some of the programs that they use in college, and then of course, I brought up my WISE project! I explained to him how I plan to use AutoCAD, and then use the laser cutter to make my pieces. He said that his students are doing a similar project right now. They are working on a hotel/retail complex that they are now drawing up in AutoCAD and cutting out. I forgot how it got to this point but he mentioned that now I am accepted to SUNY Delhi, I can get a FREE version of AutoCAD!!! The Autodesk package (all of their programs) is about $4,500. When I heard that I could get a free version now that I am going to Delhi, I got REALLY excited. When I get home, I plan to download it, and now I will be able to work on my project at home, instead of using the computers in the Technology Department at the High School. This will definitely help my project speed up!