Thinking like an Engineer

As a project for my engineering/auto technology class we were assigned to identify a specific problem in the workshop and  find a particular solution that will peoples life easier. Me and my partner Joel discovered that the "air tool" drawer was incredibly disorganized. here's a picture of it.

       What a mess!! From here me and my partner began to "think like an engineer" which is the purpose of this simple but ironically complex assignment. I had a brilliant idea to create a container for one specific tool, this container would have a slot in the exact shape of the tool and a grapple slot to be able to grab it. However, most students have no clue what an air tool is used for!! so we designed a QR code scannable with a smart phone that will automatically lead to a site where you can learn everything about the tool. Here are some picture.

           Now these three picture right here were the start to what it ended up being. the first picture was just a disaster , we the cardboard was dull and weak, it was horribly cut and traced. so we improved it by using stronger cardboard and using a fine edge box cutter , plus, we even sanded the sides for a cleaner look. now the objective was to convert it into a box by attaching walls with tape and glue. However, there was a problem, our hot glue gun broke!! which brought us to a new and very interesting learning experience. Here are the pics.
                                                                                                     
                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                     

Okay so here is the "hot glue gun dilemma" as we tried to apply the glue
on the wall as you see in the first picture , we heard a snap. The jig inside the gun which held the trigger that pushes the gun out had snapped as you see in the
second picture. therefore, we glued the jig back with epoxy and created
a cardboard container which will hold the jig until the epoxy dries.

After this it was smooth sailing. We glued the walls , sanded the edges,
attached the QR code. And additionaly added wooden blocks inside
as support beams , to give this "air tool case" durability. Here are our
long anticipated results!!

                 

 As you can see the QR code is placed, a cut out section to easy access and grabbing,

In this picture you can see how the container is sturdy and
withstands the weight of the air hammer. You can also see the
precise outlined cut in accordance to the shape of the tool.

As I mentioned earlier we installed wooden blocks inside the container for additional support and sturdiness to the container.


All in all this was a great learning experience and definitely a good way to begin to THINK LIKE AN ENGINEER.

                      -special thanks to Mr.Grossinger