Lea

Journal entries imported from the previous iteration of wisrd.org

lea

Update- February 5th, 2020

We have earned all of the e-NABLE badges, and we have been added to the chapters map. We are familiarizing ourselves with the hub, which has changed dramatically since we last were a part of it.

Update- February 1st, 2020

We have applied for the badges, which include the Fabrication badge, the e-NABLE Community Chapter badge, and the Assembly badge. Once these have been earned and a few more steps are taken, we will be re-added. These steps are written on https://enablingthefuture.org/e-nable-community-chapters/?filterN=Chapter

Update- January 25th, 2020

E-Nable has changed the requirements to get added to the chapter map, which is probably why we have been removed To get re-added to the chapters map, we need to earn 3 new badges on their web central. We are currently in the process of applying for them.

Update- January 19th, 2020

We recently noticed that we’ve been removed from the e-Nable chapter map. Looking into why, but it seems like we will need to reapply as a chapter.

Update- January 15th, 2020

White paper is still in progress. I’ll keep you guys updated on it. We found some super interesting stuff from this guy at Harvard who is conducting very similar research.

Update- January 6th, 2020

The new year has come around! We started a white paper about where stress is located, what it looks like, and what this means.

Update- December 14th, 2019

We successfully tested yet another subject and gathered data. We are on a roll here!! After break, we plan on looking into techniques to reduce stress that we can test and verify. We also plan on looking at the data we gathered and looking at any patterns we see.

Update- December 4th, 2019

We have successfully tested and gathered data from a subject! We tested them while they were doing homework to induce more stress.

Update- November 17th, 2019

This past week we have conducted extensive amounts of research to gain a greater understanding of the headset. We figured out a way to make the headset fit smaller heads: binder clips. We tested this on Bob and it worked very well. We will continue testing new subjects using this method.

Update- November 6th, 2019

We have successfully run the headset at 100%! We tested it on Joe, because his head size is perfect for the headset. We have tested it on 2 other students, however it didn’t work too well because they had smaller heads and had too much hair for the sensors to actually touch their scalp.

Update- November 4th, 2019

We had poster presentations yesterday and collected some data on G. Kaz as she was doing some math problems. This data may not be the most conclusive, however, because the connectivity was only at 34% since the headset is quite large on her.

Update- October 25th, 2019

We have run many trials and have a lot of data. We are currently working on understanding exactly which sensors connect to which emotions.

Update- October 23rd, 2019

We reached 94% connectivity today! We realized that the gel is most effective when pushed into the hole in order for it to make direct contact to the scalp and the sensor. Direct contact with the gel between the scalp and sensor is very effective.

Update- October 21st, 2019

We did some research, and have seen that High Beta waves are what correspond to high levels of stress. We are currently working on our poster for the poster presentation and will include what the different brainwaves mean.

Update- October 11th, 2019

We collected some more data today, and our next step is to research this data in order to understand it and understand where stress is meant to show up.

Update- October 9th, 2019

We found a solution to the initial connection issue. If the software can’t find the USB, don’t connect through bluetooth, even if it pops up. Here’s the solution:

1. Quit out of the software

2. Turn off the headset

3. Eject the USB

4. Reinsert the USB

5. Turn on the headset

6. Open the software

I believe the reason this works is because the USB and headset need to establish a connection between each other before they can connect to the software.

Update- October 7th, 2019

We ran the program without water, and the connection stayed! It did not fluctuate. We successfully collected data for the first time. The connection was around 84%.

Update- October 4th, 2019

We found a page online that said that using water to maximize the connection may seem effective, however it is not. This could provide some solutions to the issues we have come across.

Update- October 1st, 2019

We had no issues with the initial connectivity from the computer to the headset today. We also realized that we can collect data without the connection at 100%. The only issue was that as we attempted to run a trial and collect data, the headset immediately lost connection.

Update- September 27th, 2019

J. Wise came up with the clever idea of putting water in his hair to maximize the connectivity of the sensors. This was extremely effective. The connectivity reached 80%! The only issue with this is that every few seconds, the connectivity goes from 80% to 0% and back to 80%. Not sure what future problems this might cause but it can’t be good.

Update- September 24th, 2019

We tested the headset on J. Wise and it was much more effective. The connectivity reached 50%. We are still having some occasional problems with the initial connection between the headset and the computer. The computer has difficulty detecting the USB. We still aren’t sure why this happens, but are looking into it.

Update- September 20th, 2019

We continued testing the headset today. We tested it on our group member G. Kaz. Ideally, I think a subject with a larger head and less hair would be more effective, because it was difficult to get the sensors to make contact with her scalp. Next week we plan on testing it on J. Wise.

Update- September 19th, 2019

We tested the conductive gel today and it went much better than earlier. We got the connection up to around 40%. We still need to get it much higher, but we are definitely making progress. We used q-tips to insert the gel into the small electrode holes. Q-tips are probably not the most effective way to get the gel into the holes, because the gel sticks to the cotton and makes it hard to get off.

Update- September 16th, 2019

Just found out through online research that gel is needed in order for the electrodes to collect data. We ordered Ten20 Conductive EEG Paste from amazon. It’s getting here on Thursday.

Update- September 10th, 2019

The headset connected to the software yesterday, however I was not there to see it. Apparently they connected it through bluetooth and not the USB drive. Today we are having trouble connecting it. It comes up in the available devices on the software, but says that the headset is not ready to connect, and that we need to wait and then contact API again. Not sure what this means. No results online.

Update- September 5th, 2019

The headset is ready to go! However, the software seems to have trouble connecting to the headset. We’re calling emotiv support in attempt to solve this problem. The headset comes up as EPOCFLEX (F0000090), however, it doesn’t always even show up in bluetooth devices.

Update- September 4th, 2019

We just started assembling the headset. Placing the electrodes in the positions based off of the recommended placing, so we don’t take any risks since we don’t know the software well enough yet. Heres the website: https://emotiv.gitbook.io/epoc-flex-user-manual/

Update- September 3rd, 2019

The software is now downloaded on his PC. We needed to send in a photo of my ID as well as a photo of me. The process was quite confusing but we got it down. It’s important to download it on a PC rather than on an apple device. We plan on assembling the headset tomorrow. The username and password for Emotiv is on Dumbledore>Assets>Emotiv<readme.

Update- August 28th, 2019

The software for Emotiv is being downloaded on Joe’s PC. Having some trouble downloading it.

Update- August 26th, 2019

Just starting a white paper of anxiety, this includes: types of anxiety, long-term effects, etc. Plan on finishing it by September 6th in order to move forward with the anxiety lab.

Update- August 21st, 2019

The stress research lab is going to be more directed at anxiety. We will find a more specific question to dig into after we come up with our own definition of anxiety through research and test runs with the headset.

Update- August 19th, 2019

Just getting back into it again. Grace K. and I are planning on continuing most parts of the stress research with a new Emotiv headset called the Emotiv Epoc Flex. This requires a new software, which we will install this week.

Update- May 8th, 2019

The arm has been shipped! We got approval from admin to leave campus and buy a box and bubble wrap at staples. The box was a 18×12 inch box.

Update- May 2nd, 2019

We placed foam on the inside of the hole and the sqeaking stopped. We plan on sending the arm to our client next class.

Update- April 24th, 2018

The squeak in the arm comes from the strings of the fingers rubbing on the edge of a hole to connect them to the base. We plan on wrapping the strings in tape and putting foam around the inside of the hole.

Update- April 18th, 2019

We finished making small adjustments to make the forearm straighter. We did this using a heat gun and a ruler as a reference.

Update- April 12th, 2019

We successfully molded the hand, all we have left is making small adjustments to perfect it. There is also a slight squeak when the arm bends. We are working out a solution to fix this.

Update- April 8th, 2019

It’s the first day back from break. We are still working on the hand. We’re using the heat gun to make everything fit into the right place.

Update- March 16th, 2019

Assembling has been a lot harder than expected. We are doing some of the molding with a heat gun. It is very very hard. We needed to file down the pins a little.

Update- March 15th, 2019

We are trying to put the pieces together. We have everything printed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=369PX9LzUPs

This is how to make the mold part. Slightly complicated.

Update- March 12th, 2019

We are attempting to print the middle piece diagonally across the build plate with a dissolvable block surrounding it. It constantly said unable to slice because the print is so big. We made the block smaller and it is now printing. It is going to take 3 days to print.

Update- March 10th, 2019

We are trying to figure out how to print the middle part of the arm. It is too big to fit on the build plate. We tried calling a 3d printing place called Kapow! 3d, but they have the same sized printers as we do. Maybe we can split the file.

Update- March 5th, 2019

We are printing the files on the ultimaker with PLA. We have the automatic settings on and so far it seems to be going well. No supports.

Update- February 20th, 2019

We will be printing the unlimbited arm alfie edition, which is elbow powered. We are getting his measurements and looking at the files. We are contacting him through the e-Nable web central.

Update- February 14th, 2019

He is missing his hand and doesn’t have a functional wrist so we plan on printing an elbow powered wrist. Maybe the unlimbited arm alfie edition.

Update- February 7th, 2019

Still waiting for the headset. We got contacted by a person who found us through e-Nable and wants us to print a hand for him. He lives across the country but there are no other active chapters near him. We’re currently emailing him and asking what hand he would like.

Update- February 4th, 2019

We ordered the headset! Super excited for it to come so that we can continue our Wildwood stress research.

Update- January 30th, 2019

The protocol is done! We’re waiting for a board meeting so that we can propose it to the board. We also found a new e-NABLE client! His name is Arnold and he is missing his hand. He lives in Texas but cannot get ahold of a chapter closer to him. We’re in contact with him right now. We plan on printing an elbow powered hand.

Update- January 21st, 2019

The protocol is almost done, we’re still working on trying to get a school discount. The program also costs around $99 per month. We’re only going to be doing research on this for a few months, so we’re going to pay the subscription per month.

Update- January 14th, 2019

We’ve been working on making the protocol for the new headset. The cost of the headset is pricey, so we’re thinking of trying to get some kind of school research discount. I finished a whitepaper for our lab as well.

Update- January 7th, 2019

Today is the first day back from break, and we talked to Joe again about the new headset. He said that we need a protocol to show him. So we ran the test we want to run with the new headset on the one we have to prove that it doesn’t work. Steveen was our test subject. When Steveen moved, the headset would stopo recording data, which shows that the results are inconclusive.

Update- December 13th, 2018

We found a headset that costs about $2,000. We need to figure out where to get the money to pay for the headset is going to come from. Joe recommended that we raise money, but that seems like a bit of a stretch since we would rather get started as soon as possible with our actual lab, which tests the stress of high school students.

Update- December 7th, 2018

We are trying to get the new headset approved because the one we are using is not working. We are researching Emotiv headsets that seem more successful and reliable.

Update- December 3rd, 2018

We ran the test again and didn’t get any good results. They were are undetermined because the headset is so unreliable.

Update- November 13th, 2018

We conducted the lab and unfortunately found the results quite confusing. His stress levels barely increased, so they were hard to reduce. The only effective method was his method of choice, which was deep breathing. We did not attemp the exercise method, so that would be a method to try for a followup lab.

Update- November 7th, 2018

We are using Steveen Gomez as our test subject and testing his stress levels. We then will attempt to reduce this stress using dark chocolate, which has been found to help reduce stress, music, exercise, and a method of choice.

Update- November 5th, 2018

We have decided to focus on rersearching stress and how it effects high school students and reducing factors. We plan on running a lab later this week.

Update- October 30th, 2018

Dark matter day was today. Myles and I did the monkey in the tree experiment. Heres a video and a link to the explanation:

https://www.physicscentral.com/explore/action/monkey-hunter.cfm

Update- October 22nd, 2018

I am an editor of the WISRD magazine this year. I finished editing my coworkers paper. I focused on active writing and being clear and concise. I’m excited for the article to be included in the magazine.

Update- October 15th, 2018

We finished designing the lighbox on tinkercad! The small lights are going to be inserted where the labelled holes are.

Update- October 8th, 2018

We started working with Emotiv and their lightbox. They would like for us to 3d print a lightbox. The purpose of this lighjbox is to attach the emotive headset to tigger different lights to go off based on what emotion they are experiencing. We need to print a lightbox labelling the different lights with emotions.

Update- October 5th, 2018

We haven’t been working with e-Nable as much recently because of the new forums. For the past few months they’ve been transferring information from the old one to the new one, which  has caused a lot of mixups and we haven’t been able to get and clients. Since we are waiting for them to transfer, we decided to work with the Emotiv team.

Update- September 24th, 2018

We are waiting for the filament to arrive. While we are waiting we are working on our articles. My article about memory is coming along very well. I am just starting to piece together my bullet points and it’s starting to look good.

Update- September 20th, 2018

We attempted to print using a different kind of flexible filament, but it was too hard. The filament we need for this hand needs to be squishy.

Update- September 17th, 2018

We are attempting to purchase the ninjaflex, but something seems to be wrong with the website. Joe called the ninjaflex website, but they haven’t called him back. We may have to purchase it from another website.

Update- September 13th, 2018

Bad news, as we were attempting to assemble the hand, we figured out that the Flexy Hand 2 is supposed to be printed in Ninjaflex filament, which is a flexible filament. We will need to purchase this filament and print with it on the Lulzbot Taz. For future prints, we need to read the description of the hand more carefully.

Update- September 12th, 2018

Over the weekend we cued our prints from Emily’s computer. All of the prints are now finished. They are soaking in water to remove the water dissolvable filament around the print.

Update- September 5th, 2018

I am currently trying to  figure out the topic for my WISRD article. I would like to do something psychological.

Update- September 1st, 2018

The palm of the hand is complete! We printed it in red PLA with a water dissolvable filament cube surrounding the print to make it  even smoother on the new Ultimaker. The print was super smooth and clean. We’re super satisfied with the results. We also got a software called teamviewer which gives us access to the computer in  WISRD hat is connected to he printer. This allows us to print from our own  computers from anywhere.

Update- August 30st, 2018

We have decided to print the Flexy Hand 2 as a test print for e-Nable to enhance our skills. It’s the newest hand published on e-Nable. Super excited to get started.

Update- August 23rd, 2018

Emily and I finally set up the bulletin board in the conference room. Announcements, projects, etc will be posted on the board. We also have a new 3d printer. It’s an Ultimaker 3 Extended. It’s dual extruder, and has super easy access to the actual extruders, which should make it a lot easier to make changes and fix the extruder in  the future when they clog.

Update- August 21st, 2018

First day back! So excited for this new year. Still working with e-Nable. We now have a web page and are taking clients. Emily and I plan on finding a new 3d printing team to take over the 3d printers so that we can focus on e-Nable and maybe even start another project.

Update- May 7th, 2018

I finally fixed the Lulzbot Taz. I ended up not using the star washers because it worked fine without it. So happy it’s up and running again.

Update- May 3rd, 2018

Today we heard from some people who wanted us to print them a hand. We told them to reach us through the e-Nable website.

Update- April 30th, 2018

We had our poster presentation today and talked to Dean Ho about our project. He was very interested in our publicity and asked if we would like to write an article about e-Nable for more publicity. We will continue communicating with him about this.

Update- April 22nd, 2018

I worked on the ceramics printer today again. The clay was molded and smelled really bad, but Joe told us that it was ok to use the molded clay so we inserted it.

Update- April 20th, 2018

Today we reprinted anemometer parts for the Aerodynamics Lab.

Update- April 19th, 2018

We are working on our poster presentation, which is on printing in different materials.

Update-April 16th, 2018

Someone misplaced all the pieces we needed to reassemble, and when we found them, they had been taken out of the cup, and a star washer was lost. Joe ordered a new one. It’s a 4mm exterior star washer to keep the thermistor in place.

Update-April 13th, 2018

A new thermistor was needed, and since the thermistor is attached to the extruder, we got a new extruder too. Emily replaced these while I was sick. I started reassembling everything else.

Update- April 10th, 2018

The makerbot just needed to be cleaned. But now the Lulzbot Taz is broken. The screen on the printer says the heater isn’t responding. We figured out that the thermistor is disconnected. Trying to see if I can connect it again or if a new thermistor is needed.

Update- April 9th, 2018

First day back from break. Came back to a broken makerbot. I’m currently taking it appart and trying to figure the problem out. The printer just stops extruding after a while.

Update- March 16th, 2018

The attempted print with steelFill failed, because the filament is super brittle and snaps throughout the print because the extruder moves. We are trying to figure out a way to keep it from snapping

Update- March 15th, 2018

Today we worked with steelFill. We set the extruder to 230°, and the bed to 60°.

Update- March 7th, 2018

We attempted to print in bronze today on the Lulzbot Taz. There was some wood filament stuck in the nozzle that caused half of the print to be in wood, so we cleared it out*. We then changed the heat settings to 210° on the extruder and 60° on the platform.  We are currently polishing the bronze print.

*note: if you change the filament, run a random print first with the new filament in so extrude any filament left over from earlier.

Update- March 5th, 2018

Emily and I printed with a new software, using the Kinect software from Xbox, through a program called Skanect. The program scanned my face and made it into a 3d print file. We then printed it! Something to keep in mind if this is done again is to make sure that your hair is out of your face, as it can interfere with the scan, and to move slowly, but not too slowly.

Update- March 1st, 2018

Today I helped Emily and Luke with the ceramics printer, and it successfully made a new print! Love watching the printer run because it has a completely different way of running than the normal 3d printers.

Update- February 28, 2018

Today we got the Credly badge!! We now filled out the google docs form to become a real chapter! It says it will take about 1-2 weeks and then we will be on the chapters map.

Update- February 15, 2018

The wood printed super well!! We also printed a ring out of copper with these settings: bed: 60° extruder: 210°. This worked very well. We also started trying to print with brass, but that seems a bit more complicated.

Update- February 12, 2018

We figured out that to get the file to the SD card, we have to put the SD card in the SD card reader connected to Dumbledore. Then you download the file from the computer onto Dumbledore and then move it from dumbledore to the SD card but as a g-code, not a zip file. We started printing in wood, but the print didn’t finish in time, so we will be looking at the print next class.

Update- February 8, 2018

Today we figured out that to change the temperature, you just go to temperature on the actual printer. We were trying to change it on Cura, which is wrong. We wanted to try different temperature to see if maybe there’s a better print temperature, so we made the bed 60° and the extruder 210°. We had some trouble getting our print file onto the SD card. For some reason the printer doesn’t like connecting to the computer via USB, so we have to figure out a different way to get it to the printer through the SD card.

Update- February 5, 2018

Still waiting for approval….. Now that the Lulzbot Taz is back and printing, we want to try printing with wood. We started looking at how to do so. It says online that the best settings are to have the extruder at 190° and the bed at 60°. We had some trouble figuring out how to change this temperature on the printer today.

Update- January 28, 2018

The Lulzbot Taz is finally put back together!! It is currently printing. We are still waiting for approval from the e-NABLE chapters page on credly. Apparently it can take several weeks for approval according to the forums page.

E-nable

Update- January 17, 2018

Today we worked on the clogged Lulzbot Taz. We are taking it apart and looking at what could have caused it to clog. The same problem occurred last year, but I unfortunately  can’t recall how I fixed it. We don’t know what to do now that we have taken the nozzle piece off since we can’t get only the nozzle off.

Update- January 16, 2018

E-nable has replied to our forums page!! We are beyond satisfied. We are still waiting approval for our badge thugh, which is the ticket to becoming an approved chapter.

Update- January 6, 2018

We looked at the credly badge we plan on claiming, and it wants evidence attached in order for us to claim it. Heres the link to the badge. It asks for a forums request page, so here is the username and password to the page we made:

username: WISRDenable

password: leaemily123

we posted a video we made of the hand and attached it to the forum. Here’s the link to our post.

Update- January 3, 2018

As we start 2018, we have made some goals. The first one is to get approved in January, so we can start the year off making hands. The second one is to make at least 3 different types of hands in 2018. And our third one is to focus on the hands this year and try to keep the 3d printers up to date and maintained so we dont end up having to focus on fixing them.

Update- December 14, 2017

Today is our last class of 2018. We leave e-Nable with a plan for next year. We started filling out the form, and the only space we have left to fill out is our credly badge, which is a badge that gives us approval for becoming a chapter. We will continue this in 2018.

Update- December 11, 2017

We just found a website where we can request to join the chapters map. We plan on filling this out next class. Heres the link to it: here

Update- December 4, 2017

A new narrative and reflection process has been presented in the institute, and there has been much success under these new standards. After writing reflections, we have continued to work on the long application process. We’ve filled out all the forms we can, created a youtube and our introduction video, been very active on twitter, joined the e-NABLE Google+ community under our new email, and completed a different form of request for becoming a chapter. We have also been in direct contact with members of e-NABLE, and they are following us on our Facebook page. Since our video is up, it is now pending approval again!

Update- November 28, 2017

The hand is completed! We are sending it in to get verified so that we can start our own printing center.

Update-September 30, 2017

We ended up using 4×40 bolts too. This worked super well. We are now focusing on fixing a printer that has been clogged.

Update- September 20, 2017

We are almost done with the hand!! We are trying to screw on the velcro, but can’t figure out what bolts to use. We know that the nuts are 4 40.

Update- September 13, 2017

We fixed the screws, but now something is wrong with the finger joints. When we bend the fingers down, they don’t snap back up. We are trying to figure out why this happens, and we think its either that the elastic is too loose or that the finger pins are too tight.

We figured out that the reason it did this was because one part of the finger was too thick and created friction between the other part. We fixed this. IMG_4640 2 As you can see in the video, the ring finger is still incorrect while the rest snap back into place.

Update- September 11, 2017

The screws that connect the string from the palm to the forearm were put in incorrectly. They were put in so that the holes faced each other, instead of facing out. We are currently fixing them by rescrewing the bolts.

The top one is screwed in the correct way, while the rest are not.

Update- September 7, 2017

The piece that we are currently working on should end up holding a screw based on the original plans. However, the screws are cracking our pieces, and bolts have proven to be very stable and more accountable. We are creating threads so that we can twist the bolt into place without any cracks.

Update- September 6, 2017

After reprinting the hand, we decided to stretch the holes using a screwdriver. We connected the forearm to the palm successfully, and are now working on attaching the flexsors to the forearm.

Update- August 31, 2017

Today we were assembling the hand, and the holes in the side of the hand were too small for the pins, so when placing the pins in the hole, the forearm snapped and we are currently reprinting it.

Update- August 30, 2017

The wrist portion of the hand just finished printing. Next it will be assembled to the palm and the flexsors will be threaded through the wrist, and then it will be complete!

Update- August 21, 2017

The e-nable team is back and working again!! We have a new member working with us, Emily R. We plan on sending in our test hand and getting approved so we can make a chapter as soon as possible.

Update – May 23, 20178

We are assembling the hand. We have all of the fingers put together and have the thumb attached to the palm.

Update – May 19, 2017

All is printed! We are currently assembling the second and final test hand.

Update – May 16, 2017

We are currently printing the last piece of the hand—the palm. Then we will assemble. We are also working on fixing one of the other printers that broke. It is almost done.

Update- April 14, 2017

The Makerbot printer that we have been working on for a while has finally been completely fixed! We had to completely take the printer apart, replace the wires, and then reassemble everything. It has successfully test printed a bracelet. We also have 95% printed the hand! Here is a picture of the hand and the fixed printer 

The only thing left to do is figure out how to tie the strings in a way that will make the hand sturdy but adjustable.

Update- April 12th, 2017

The hand is so close to being done!!! The printer is also fixed!!! All printers are back up and running!

March 29, 2017

We have finally printed the finger joints! Now all we have to do is assemble the strings. We have now used 3 3D printers for this hand: Makerbot for the fingers and forearm, Ultimaker for the palm and Lulzbot for the finger joints.

Update- March 24th, 2017

Everyone is back to working on the MakerBot. The motor just won’t click back into place. Might need to contact support.

Update- March 17th, 2017

The Lulzbot Taz is fixed. We needed to take apart the entire printer in order to loosen the grip on the clogged filament. It is up and running!

Update- March 4th, 2017

The Lulzbot taz is clogged. No directions on how to fix so I (Lea) took apart the nozzle. Working on fixing it. Can’t seem to figure out how to unclog.

Update- February 20th, 2017

The MakerBot is being fixed. We order a bunch of new pieces for the printer. Coming along well.

Update – February 6th, 2017

Fixed hand print by raising palm several mm’s and changing extruder #2 from dissolvable to ABS. This caused the first layer to be printed as dissolvable filament and the filament stuck to the platform. with the other setting, the dissolvable was printed on top of the ABS filament and it did not stick to it at all. (Joe)

Update – February 3ed, 2017

We finally fixed one of the printers completely. Now it is up to date and connected to the computer. It is currently printing the palm for the hand.

Update- February 1st, 2017

We got a replacement for the fried 3d printer… but only one of the parts we need. We also need the male connector that was fried. Joe is going to buy one later today.

Update- January 26th, 2017

Today we remodeled the lab! The 3d printers are now placed more practically. Easier to get to.

Update- January 12th, 2017

A few unfortunate things happened today… We ran out out of dissolvable, but more is on the way. The palm of our blue K1 hand also broke! As we were trying to reprint the palm, a wire in the wire encasement fried. 

We are not completely sure what wire this is, or why it happened. We will keep you updated.

Update- January 11th, 2017

We just recently, we found a letter written from a former student, concerning e-nable. One of the hands printed last year was sent in, but sent back because of a problem. The problem had something to do with the wrist. We are not completely sure what the problem was, but we are working on figuring it out. We will then have to do some paperwork and send it back in. We have contacted the former student and asked how to get the paperwork and what was wrong with the hand. We have not gotten a response, yet.

Update- January 4th, 2017

We are coming back from winter break we have made great progress. The hand is 80% done. The only thing left to do is assemble the thumb. We also learned that the strings running from the tip of the fingers to the wrist are supposed to be tied back to the space between the palm and the wrist.

Update- December 6, 2016

We have assembled certain pieces of the hand, but not all. While I was assembling the thumb, it broke so it is currently re-printing. Once the thumb is done we can finish assembling the hand. Here is a picture of the hand so far:

(The thumb is being printed and the pinkie is still soaking in limonene to get the dissolvable filament off).

Update- December 5th, 2016

The right fan in the Makerbot Replicator 2x was replaced. It is functioning very well so far. Heres how we did it:

1. Unload the sides you plan on replacing the fan in.

2. Turn off the Printer.

3. Take a 2.5mm hex wrench and remove the two front bolts as well as the fan shield, the fan, two plastic spacers, and the heat sink. Put all of the things you removed aside. Let the fan just hang.

4. Remove the stepped motor by unplugging it and then slide it our of place. Safely set the motor aside for later.

5. Using a pair of scissors or wire cutters, cut the zip tie securing the wire encasement to the extruder assembly.

6. Peel oped the encasement and locate the wire connected to the fan.

7. Unplug this by holding one side of the plug firmly with one hand and use pliers to unplug. Unplugging may take a while and a few tries, as the plug sits quite firmly.

8. Reinsert the new fan the same way you removed the old one. It should slide right it.

9. Organize the wires back into the encasement and close it using a small zip tie.

10. Reinstall the motor by sliding it back into place and plugging it back in.

11. Put the heat sink and the new fan back the way they were, and then attach the front bolts with the two plastic spacers, and the fan shield.

12. Screw the bolts back into place just a little more than hand tight.

Update- November 30th, 2016

We just got some flexible filament that we are excited to experiment with. It is currently in the Ultimate printer.

Update- November 20th, 2016

The hand is completely printed. We ended up not doing the acetone bath, because the fingers broke every time we gave them one, and we couldn’t just do the palm and forearm, because it would look weird.

Update- November 16th, 2016

All items have been printed, but the pinky. We have also tried the acetone bath. Here are the steps to completing a successful acetone bath:

Materials needed: your 3d print, acetone, a cloth, a small stove, beaker, string, something to attach the string to.

1. Set up the small stove in a hood.

2. Heat it to 100 C.

3. Place the beaker onto the stove.

4. Pour 1/4 a cup of acetone into the beaker.

5. Place your cloth over the beaker to keep in the heat.

6. Wait about 10 minutes for the acetone to start to boil. (you should be able to see small bubbles once its boiling.

7. While waiting, place the thing you plan on hanging your 3d print from, above the stove.

8. String or wrap your string around your print.

9. Once you have waited 10 minutes, tie the string that your 3d print is attached to onto the thing you plan on hanging it from. Allow your print to hang down fully into the beaker, without it touching the acetone.

10. Put the cloth over the beaker with your print in it, and close the hood.

11. Wait 5-10 minutes, depending how big your print is, and then CAREFULLY remove the print, using your cloth, from the beaker and place it on a paper towel.

12. Wrap or string the string around or through the opposite side of the print than where it originally was attached. (You do this to avoid unevenness)

13. Repeat steps 9 and 10. (If you feel like less or more time is needed, then do what is necessary.)

14. Wait 10 minutes for it to dry a little, but make sure to carefully flip it every few minute so it doesn’t stick to the towel, since the plastic is melted. (when flipping be careful not to get fingerprints on the print)

15. After 10 minutes, allow it to fully dry over night.

Cautions: DO NOT GET IN YOUR EYES OR MOUTH, wear goggles, try not to touch the acetone at all, make sure the string is strong  enough to hold your print in the beaker, don’t let it be in the acetone vapor for too long because your print will melt.

Example pic of everything is shown below. 

Update- November 14th, 2016

Today we had a poster presentation here at Wildwood. It went very well. Grace Kaz and I made a poster to present, which turned out very well. Visit the WISRD lab to take a look. During the presentation, we had the fingers reprint.

Update – November 9th, 2016

We have just printed the thumb. Once this is done, all we will have to do is reprint two of the fingers that did not turn out well. Then we will do the acetone bath. Lastly, we will assemble the pieces together. Here is a picture of everything that we have right now, excluding the thumb since it is currently printing. We have the palm, the forearm, 1 of 3 fingers, a pinkie and lots of joints. We printed more than enough joints just because they were easy and if we need them in the future we will have plenty. Once we do the acetone bath, they will all be shiny and smoother.

Update – November 3rd, 2016

We realized something weird with our prints. The palm and forearm get rough where the dissolvable filament was surrounding it. Here’s how we printed it: On makerbot, with a dissolvable filament box around the base of the print so that the print doesn’t get rough lines from the support and raft(which it ended up getting anyways), dissolvable filament from the left extruder, and ABS from the right, and with both extruders at 230 degrees. Unfortunately, we didn’t think to record the rest of the settings for the print, because we didn’t think we would be having this problem. After printing, we put the print in Limonene, so that the dissolvable around the actual print would dissolve. We are currently looking at the problem and what could have caused it. We will reprint it with these new settings:

Update – November 2nd, 2016

We are currently printing the joints for the hand. We are also preparing our poster and researching about flexible filament. We are thinking about using this for the fingers of the hand. This is a filament that is strong and durable, yet stretches easily and is very flexible.

Update- October 23rd, 2016

We have made a Facebook page for E-Nable. We are currently also making a donation page, and we are working on making a Trello Page.

Update- October 10th, 2016

We have now printed the forearm for the hand we are currently making. I will soon be printing the fingers.

Update – October 5, 2016

We decided to reprint the palm on the Ultimaker instead of the Makerbot, since the Makerbot was having some issues printing. Here is the new palm:

We are currently printing the forearm in the same material on the Ultimaker. Here is the forearm printing:

Update – September 21, 2016

This year we have so far started a Facebook page about our school chapter and have been emailing with the E-nable community. We have also been working on a test hand. We started with printing the palm. The first time we printed the palm, it didn’t work out because certain parts of it were so delicate that we broke them off unawarely. Then, we accidentally printed it in the wrong material (dissolvable filament). Finally, we printed it right and are now working on printing the forearm.

This is the printed palm:

This is the forearm in the process of being printed:

Olivia C.

Head of the E-Nable Project at WISRD

oliviac16@wildwood.org

Overview: The E-Nable Project is a global collective using 3-D printers to provide prosthetics pro bono to those with upper quadrant disabilities. 3-D printing is revolutionizing prosthetics in both function and cost, especially for children and adolescents. A prosthetic arm can cost around 40,000 dollars depending on technology and amount of function. Parents of a child with upper quadrant abnormalities might have to spend this every time their child grows. With 3-D printing all the parents would have to do is send in for a bigger part and add it to their own child’s prosthetic. No added doctors visits. No prescriptions needed. 3-D printing encourages customization making children with disabilities feel less like they are wearing a medical device and more like the E-Nable hand is just an extension of their own body. We often focus on the negatives when it comes to rapid globalization but the E-Nable Project uses the global community as a force for good in a changing, STEM-based world.

Plans: Wildwood and the WISRD Community both hope to stay involved with the E-Nable Project for years to come. We are thrilled that our 3-D printers are able to both teach our students exciting STEM-based advancements and help people globally who are less fortunate than us.

Bibliography:

https://enablingthefuture.org/