YAME (yet another musing on engineering)

  • Thread starter Thread starter jehan60188
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Engineering
AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on the value of engineering projects for personal development and portfolio enhancement. The original poster reflects on their experience building gadgets and considers creating a hexapod but questions its necessity and contribution to the field. They emphasize the importance of making projects that are not only educational but also useful in real life. A suggestion is made to focus on projects that solve practical problems, like a solar tracker, to maximize learning and utility. Ultimately, the conversation encourages creating meaningful and functional engineering projects.
jehan60188
Messages
201
Reaction score
1
I'm studying engineering. In order to pad my resume, and improve my portfolio, I try to make various doo-hickeys, widgets, and gadgets.
I grew up building from simple soldering kits (radio, line follower, i call it "legos with soldering"), and now I'm playing around with more open ended stuff.
I got an arduino, and made a countdown timer. And I'm ready to do more.
As I was looking at various hexapods online, I concluded I need 18 servos (6 legs, 3 points of articulation each)
That cost will add up!
So then I thought- "why?"

why should i make a hexapod?
it's already been done.
Will I be contributing something worthwhile to the world?
Besides practice in drafting, wiring, software, etc, what is there?
And if that's all there is, is it worth it?

Just something I've been kicking around. I've got some servos to order!
 
Engineering news on Phys.org
jehan60188 said:
I'm studying engineering. In order to pad my resume, and improve my portfolio, I try to make various doo-hickeys, widgets, and gadgets.
I grew up building from simple soldering kits (radio, line follower, i call it "legos with soldering"), and now I'm playing around with more open ended stuff.
I got an arduino, and made a countdown timer. And I'm ready to do more.
As I was looking at various hexapods online, I concluded I need 18 servos (6 legs, 3 points of articulation each)
That cost will add up!
So then I thought- "why?"

why should i make a hexapod?
it's already been done.
Will I be contributing something worthwhile to the world?
Besides practice in drafting, wiring, software, etc, what is there?
And if that's all there is, is it worth it?

Just something I've been kicking around. I've got some servos to order!

So that's really the point. Make things that are useful and fun for you. If you make a little robot, make it so that it can vacuum your place or something. The projects that you design and build to learn should also be useful for you in real life, if possible, IMO.
 
Thirty-four years ago I had a few primitive silicon solar cells. I wanted them to follow the sun all day long to gather the most energy possible. So I built a simple solar tracker (powered by the cells). The point is the same berkeman makes above: make something useful, something that solves a problem.
 

Thread 'Bubble formation in 4 mm gap vessel'

How did you find PF?: Via Google search Hi, I have a vessel I 3D printed to investigate single bubble rise. The vessel has a 4 mm gap separated by acrylic panels. This is essentially my viewing chamber where I can record the bubble motion. The vessel is open to atmosphere. The bubble generation mechanism is composed of a syringe pump and glass capillary tube (Internal Diameter of 0.45 mm). I connect a 1/4” air line hose from the syringe to the capillary The bubble is formed at the tip...
View full post »
Thread 'Physics of Stretch: What pressure does a band apply on a cylinder?'

Thread 'Physics of Stretch: What pressure does a band apply on a cylinder?'

Scenario 1 (figure 1) A continuous loop of elastic material is stretched around two metal bars. The top bar is attached to a load cell that reads force. The lower bar can be moved downwards to stretch the elastic material. The lower bar is moved downwards until the two bars are 1190mm apart, stretching the elastic material. The bars are 5mm thick, so the total internal loop length is 1200mm (1190mm + 5mm + 5mm). At this level of stretch, the load cell reads 45N tensile force. Key numbers...
View full post »

Thread 'Find 3D Printer & Software Resources for Prototype Creation'

I'd like to create a thread with links to 3-D Printer resources, including printers and software package suggestions. My motivations are selfish, as I have a 3-D printed project that I'm working on, and I'd like to buy a simple printer and use low cost software to make the first prototype. There are some previous threads about 3-D printing like this: https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/are-3d-printers-easy-to-use-yet.917489/ but none that address the overall topic (unless I've missed...
View full post »

Similar threads

PF Fan Fiction: Mathematicians in Love
Replies
2
Views
4K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top