HS+DT+S2-Cherub

= Design Folder- Cherub =

= INVESTIGATION =

Unit Question:
====It is vital for kids to develop their motor skills at an early age and have fun at the same time. How can we develop a product that will help them augment their motor skills and give them the opportunity to observe the mechanical world?====

Unit Question Interpreted:
Children spend a lot of their childhood playing games. They develop a lot of their basic skills and abilities in this time phase. Interviewing and research shows that most kids in our community are either visual or kinesthetic learners. Auditory skills are develop in later years, such as Grade 1 and 2. Teachers at AISD also stress that it is equally important to be in touch with the physical world as it is for the virtual world. I always see kids in the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten playing some sort of game. At one point I felt that they were not learning anything. Recently, I went in to Ms. Lingle's class and I saw kids playing with a maze. I realized that the game would help them develop their hand-eye coordination skills, even though they did not notice it. Thereafter, I decided on making a product which they would enjoy playing with and also develop some skill at the same time.

Design Brief:
We will make a product that the kids will enjoy playing with but will also help them develop their motor skills, and get a chance to observe the mechanical world and explore ideas such as gravity. Thereafter, we plan to make a marble game / marble machine that will entertain the children and will also give them a glimpse of the mechanics in the real world.

Design Specifications:
There should not be any sharp points, edges or objects in the overall product as it may hurt the children. // TEST // : **Run your finger along the edges and the surfaces of the project to make sure that there are no sharp edges or surfaces that can hurt a kindergartner.** The product should not be inflammable in any way. // TEST // : **Put a matchstick under the product for ten seconds and check for anything such as explosion.** The product must not use any toxic materials. // TEST // : **Make sure not to use any toxic materials and check the packing materials being used.** The main material used is wood. A strong, hard wood is recommended. // TEST // : **Product should not have any elasticity.** Metallic objects should be avoided, as they can be dangerous for children. // TEST // : **Product should not be magnetic.** The product should not be worth for more than thirty dollars at the most. // TEST // : **Check the price that the product is being sold for.** It should financially be in the reach of majority of the society. // TEST // : **Check the number of pieces being sold daily.**
 * Safety
 * Materials
 * Economy


 * Size-

The size again should not to be too big for a child to handle.

// TEST // : **Give the product to a child after completion- check to see if the child can play with ease.** Try to use scrap pieces of wood if available rather than new ones. The project should have colors so that the kids can learn them as well. // TEST // : **Give the project to someone else and ask him if he can see a different color on each of the shapes.**
 * Sustainability-
 * Aesthetics-

The product must be appealing and have movement to attract children.
// TEST // : **Run a marble along the path to see if it constantly moves.**
 * Robustness-

Must have a variety of support pieces of different heights to maintain stability. // TEST // : **After completion, remove the support pieces to confirm that the product does not function without them.** // TEST // : **After completion, try to move the product from one place to another.** **//Guiding Questions://**
 * **The marble game should be portable.**

How will we measure the fun factor?
**We will conduct a user test after the product has been successfully tested in the DT lab. **

How will we measure aesthetics?
**We will ask a teacher to assess the aesthetics by giving them a set of guide lines. **

How many base, specialty pieces do we need?
**TBD **

How high should the supports be?
**TBD **

How much time do we have?
**Till the end of the semester? ** ====What is a marble game? What type of marble game do we want to make? ==== **A marble game is a game where a set of marbles follow a track to go from the beginning to the end without disturbances in the run. We want to make a marble run game, with features including base and specialty pieces that will probably continue to function by itself. **

For what age group is a marble game suitable?
**This marble game is suitable for elementary students more specifically from kindergarten to grade 2, similar products on the market. Existing products are known to be aimed towards kids that are above 5 years of age. We know that this age range would enjoy this because of a survey we conducted. **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">How big are our marbles?
**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Our marbles are 1.4cm wide, and thereafter the paths created for the marbles will be 2 cm wide. **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What is our available material?
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Wood from the DT lab:
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Pine
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mahogany
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bamboo
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Plywood
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Heavy gauge wire
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Acrylic plastic

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What kinds of pieces are needed?
**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The marble run game should be portable. ** **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It should be modular which means that there should be multiples of certain “base” pieces. ** **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There will also need to be support pieces so that the height of the tracks can be raised. ** = PLAN =

Production Plan:

 * 1) Get a plank of wood and cut it into a rectangular shape with a length of 44cm and a width of 30cm (close to the size of an A3 paper). The piece of wood should be about 1cm thick. Use the combination square to check that edges are straight and meet at 90 degrees.
 * 2) Get a piece of wood that is approximately 1m long, 3cm wide and 3cm thick. Use the precision bench-top router table to create a track for the marble, which will be approximately 2cm wide.
 * 3) Cut the piece used in step 2, into 8 different pieces. 6 of these pieces will be 11cm long. The two other pieces will be 14cm long. These pieces will serve as tracks for the marble.
 * Get two dowels that are approximately 35 cm long.
 * Create a platform, which will hold the two dowels in place.
 * Create another piece, which will act as a a lift, to carry the marble up to the highest track.
 * Create a rotary piece with grooves, which will serve as a pulley and will also serve as a track for the rope.
 * Create a rectangular piece which will be placed right below the circular "disc". This piece will be placed at an angle, so that the marble can touch it and move on to the tracks.
 * Create another rectangular piece, at the base of the angled one. Drill a hole into this piece to put the rope through it; one end of the rope will be attached to the lift and the other will go though this rectangular piece.
 * As stated above, attach one end of the rope to the lift, which will go around the rotary piece and through a rectangular piece to meet the user's hands.
 * 1) Use two wires to connect the track at the bottom to the lift of the pulley. Thus, the marble will travel from the track to the wires to the lift.

Supposed Materials List

 * 1) Band Saw
 * 2) Table Saw
 * 3) Thickness planer
 * 4) Edge planer
 * 5) Precision bench-top router table
 * 6) Hand sanding machine
 * 7) Various sanding papers (40, 80, 120, 240)
 * 8) Various filers
 * 9) Ear protection
 * 10) Goggles
 * 11) Tri-Tix Rubber Cream Glue (Non-Toxic)
 * 12) Elmer's wood glue (non-toxic)
 * 13) Marbles 7-8
 * 14) Combination Squares
 * 15) Rulers
 * 16) Measuring Tapes
 * 17) Various drill bits
 * 18) Nails
 * 19) Hammers
 * 20) G-Clamps

Creating Individual Pieces:
precision bench-top router table. The track should be no more than 2cm wide. **April 18**: Create the rotary piece? Buy it? If it will be bought, work on arranging the wires.
 * March 25**: Cut out the main back board of the marble game. Make sure all edges are straight and it is not more than 1cm in thickness.
 * March 28**: Get the piece of wood which were be used to make the tracks of the marble (100cm x 3cm x 3cm). Cut out the tracks using the
 * April 9**: Cut out the large track into the 8 smaller pieces; six of these will be 11cm long and the other two will be 14cm long.
 * April 11**: Get the two dowels that will be required to make the whole pulley system. Cut them out to the right length, and make sure that they are both exactly the same. Work on the lift mechanism:
 * Create a platform for the lift and the two dowels.
 * Create the 'lift' piece. This piece should have a slight curve in it to make sure that the marble does not go out of place.
 * April 16**: Continue working on the lift mechanism. Create the two rectangular pieces- the first one will be used to move the marble from the pulley to the tracks and the second one will be used to put to keep the rope in place.

Assembly:

 * April 22**: Tape the tracks on to the board. Rearrange multiple times at 5 degree angles, till the tracks are perfectly placed, and the marble falls smoothly.
 * April 24**: Continue to work on improvements to the positioning of the tracks.
 * April 26**: Attach the dowels to the platform. Drill two holes into the lift and put it through the dowels. Attach a rope to the lift and the other end of the rope should go around the circular piece and through the rectangular piece.
 * April 30**: Continue working on the pulley mechanism.
 * May 2**: If both pulley and tracks are working fine individually, paint / stain them.
 * May 6**: Continue with staining / painting.
 * May 8**: Gloss everything (all the pieces).
 * May 10**: Begin to put the pulley and tracks together. DO NOT permanently attach them to the back board. Continue with adjustments to both the systems (pulley and tracks).
 * May 14**: If all steps above have been perfectly executed, move on to putting the two mechanisms together on the board.
 * May 16**: Work on any possible improvements.
 * May 20**: ** PRODUCT COMPLETE **

Plan Evaluation:
I feel that my plan at this point, my plan make good use of time and resources. This is because, I plan to complete the whole product by the 20th of May. That will leave me with an additional six classes, just in case I get delayed in some part of the production plan. My plan overall is well-rounded and the major things to the minors have been taken care of. The plan ranges from big ideas such as the pulley to the little things such as the wires. But again, I will have to work very effectively as it seems to be potentially challenging to complete the product, and complete it with mastery and good craftsmanship. I feel that anyone can follow my plan and use the pictures of the designs to ultimately finish the product. But that 'someone' must have some basic background in DT because the product requires attention to detail, and working without any experience will consume quite a bit of time to adapt to the environment. The plan is more or less logical as it follows a step by step pattern and gives clear guidelines on what to do and not do. Plus, there are no leaps in the plan to confuse us or someone else trying to make the same product. The plan can be easily apprehended and someone who has a basic idea on how to use the machinery and some background should be able to make the product.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Design 3- Semester 1 Group Design
<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">

Process Journal:
April 22nd 2012 We finished up the three designs today and finally moved into the creation phase. We just found a large board from the box of scrap wood. Clement and I plan to use this piece as the main back board of our marble game. We have chosen to use ply wood for our project. There were no major reasons behind this decision, other than the fact that it would save us some time and we got the size that we were looking for. We kept the board aside for the time being and decided to find a long piece of wood, which would serve as the tracks for our marble game.

April 24th 2012 We managed to find a long piece for the tracks. We decided that we would not paint our tracks as they already had a nice texture and it would complement the color of the board. We then moved on making the tracks for the marbles to run on. Before doing the actual tracks, Clement and I decided that it would be a good idea to prototype with the Kreg precision bench-top router table. We decided to do this because none of us including Mr. Hassan was an expert with that machine. Thereafter, we spent the rest of the class on experimenting and setting up the router table. At the end, we were all set to cut out the actual tracks for next time.

April 26th 2012 Today, I cut out the actual tracks under the supervision and support of Mr. Hassan. We simply ran the long piece of wood against the rotary blade. The top edges of the track turned out to be a lot thinner than we had expected, but we decided to leave it at that as they were aesthetically pleasing. We then cut out the long piece of wood into 8 smaller pieces. Seven of these pieces were 8cm and the one at the top was 11cm. For the rest of the class we worked on sanding the insides of the tracks as they were not uniformly smooth throughout. We started with the 120 sand paper and went all the way up to 360. The tracks were really smooth at the end and the marbles were moving with ease.

April 30th, 2012 Today we decided to get back to working on our main back board. It was warped a little and the edges were not straight either. So, we used the plainer to make sure that the piece was absolutely flat. After doing that, we made sure that was the edges were straight. We used a combination square to do that and then we used the table saw to cut out the excessive bits of wood. After we finished working on the back board, we decided to look for two dowels, that would be used in setting up the pulley mechanism. We needed something that was about 33cm long and 6mm thick. We found two orange colored florescent dowels made out of acrylic in the lab. We thought that these would be suitable as they were strong and flexible, and the colors were attractive as well.

May 2nd, 2012 Since we had the dowels already, we decided to make a piece which would hold the two dowels against the back board, and would also serve as a platform for the lift. We cut out a 6cm x 5cm x 2cm piece and we decided to use this as the platform for the dowels. After making the platform, we tried to put in the dowels to see if they were setting properly. The hole in the platform was too big and the dowels just slid through. Thereafter, we made another platform and we changed the size of the holes that were being drilled into the platform. This time we used a 5.5mm drill-bit to make the holes. We also sanded the platform and it was working fine towards the end with the acrylic dowels. May 6th, 2012 Today we decided to tape the tracks to the board to figure out the correct placement. But before any of this could be done, we decided to paint the back board, as it would be difficult to do after the tracks, the platform and the pulley were installed. We painted on two coats of white on both the front and back of the board. While the board dried up, we put numbers on the tracks so that we would remember the order in which they were to be placed. May 8th, 2012 Today we did what we planned to do last class- tape the tracks to the board to figure out the correct placement before permanently glueing them. We used different angles for each of the tracks and after lots of experimentation, the marble could smoothly come down without falling to the floor. Thereafter, we drew lines at the base of each track to make sure that we knew where they were to be placed once the tapes were taken off. We then took off the tapes and glued on the tracks. To make the bond as strong as possible. we clamped the pieces in-between two pieces of scrap wood. After a while, we un-clamped the pieces and checked if the marble came down smoothly. IT DID NOT. Thereafter, we quickly used a filer and a hammer to remove each of the pieces and position them again under Mr. Muller and Hassan's supervision. We re-clamped the pieces again and set them to dry for a while. After some time, we removed the clamps, but the game was still not working properly. The marble kept falling off the tracks. We then tilted the whole board a little towards the back and it started to work! All that was required was a slight change in the centre of gravity! Therefore, we ended up glueing up all the tracks except for the ones on the top and bottom as we knew that these might have to be adjusted in the future to make the whole machine work. May 10th, 2012 Our goal for today was to finish off all that we had to do with the tracks today. We wanted to make sure that the marble had no chance to fall off the tracks. To pursue the thought, we came up with two solutions to the problem. We firstly decided to add small stoppers i.e. a small rectangular piece at the end of every other track. These would prevent the marble from falling down. More importantly, we added a long rectangular piece to the left edge of the main board. We painted it black so that it would be a nice contrast to the white board. Moreover, it would also be a stopper as would not allow the marble to fall off the board.We made these modifications today and the marble did not fall even once. May 14th, 2012 Since the tracks were basically complete, we decided to get down to working on the pulley today. To start off we needed to make some type of a lift, which would take the marble up and come back down. We decided to make a 'lift' out of pine wood. It would have the same dimensions as the platform, except that the lift is 4cm thick. We cut out the lift and made the holes as well. We used a circular sanding machine to make the slant in the lift and a place for the marble to rest. After completing the piece for the lift, we tried it out with the dowels. After experimenting for a while, we discovered that the pine wood was too light and something heavier was required to make sure that it would fall by itself. Thereafter, we made another pulley out of mahogany wood this time. We followed the exact same routine for the new lift, as for the old one. We tried the new lift with the dowels, and it worked. We left the lift by itself for a while and when we tried again, the lift did NOT work. Thereafter, to avoid any risks at all, we decided to change to dowels from acrylic to wood. There was no real advancement in the product today, but we did get to learn quite a bit about dowels and how they worked. Plus, we were all set for next class, as we got enough practice on this task today.

May 16th, 2012 After lots of experimentation from last class, Clement and I felt that we could finish off the lift today. To start us off, I used a hammer and a nail to take out the acrylic dowels from the platform. Then, we used two wooden dowels and attached them in place with the platform. We then went on and set the lift as well. Unfortunately, it still was NOT working properly, as the lift often got stuck in the middle. Thereafter, we thought of oiling up our dowels to see if that would make any difference. Just as we were about to do that, Mr. Hassan suggested that it would be better if we used wax instead of oil. Thereafter, we separated the dowels from the platform again and waxed them continuously for at least 3 minutes. We re-attached them to the platform, and the lift worked perfectly. Since this was done, we decided to work on setting up the wires. To experiment, we took a scrap piece of wood and drilled two holes into it. We then used some wires that we found in the lab, and attached it to the scrap piece of wood. After, readjusting the wires multiple times, the marble moved with ease. But, we could foreshadow that it would be relatively difficult to make it work in the actual game, because a lot of things such as the angle of depression (of the back board) and the speed of the marble along with the right landing into the lift, had to be taken into consideration.

May 20th, 2012 We realized that we needed to do something before we could set up the wires. To be more specific, we realized that we had to drill holes in the last track and glue it on as well. We added a little enhancement to the regular hand drilling machine, and that allowed us to use the smallest drill bits. We used to make out holes and we tried to use the wires that were available in the lab, but they turned out to be too thick, and wouldn't set in place. Thereafter, we used the wires available in the MS art room. We got a variety of wires, made of different materials and various thicknesses. We then tried each of them with our piece and took the best ones available. The next step was the straighten them out using a hammer. After that was done, we moulded them into the right shape and attached them to the last track. Again, after many tries, the marble finally moved properly and landed right into the lift. Without any further delay, we glued the platform to the back board and then glued the last track as well. After the glue had dried up, we checked to see if the marble could cross the wires and move into the lift. We were delighted as the marble ended up in the lift, every single time!

May 22nd, 2012 Today we decided to glue up the first track as well, as that was the only one which was left. Prior to glueing, we figured out the highest point of the lift and marked it underneath with a pencil. Then we placed the track right next to the line and taped it up again. This was done to see if the marble came on the track with ease. Since it did, we drew a line underneath the track as well and took off the tapes. We glued up the first track and then we checked to see if the marble actually came on to the top track. Since it was working, we realized that there had to be a piece which would restrict the lift and not allow it to come off again. To do that, we decided to add two pieces which would impede the marble's movement, once it got to the top. We made those pieces and glued them on to the board. They needed some readjustment, but at the end of the class, they solved the purpose and the lift was now restricted in between the platform and the two pieces at the top.

May 24th, 2012 According to our plan, we were going to work on setting up the pulleys today, but Mr. Muller reminded us of something extremely important- a stand. We looked at the binary adding machine outside and we thought of making two pieces which would be attached to the back. Therefore, we cut out two pieces which were of exactly the same size and were shaped like trapezoids. The crucial part was figuring out the angle which would best solve the purpose. Instead of doing this mathematically, we used trial and error. Each time the game did not work, we sanded of a little bit of the stand and checked again. After a couple of tries, it worked properly. Thereafter, we glued the ste two pieces to the back board. Now, we did not have to worry about anything other than the pulleys and ropes. I decided to bring in a pulley by next class.

May 26th, 2012 I brought in a pulley today from Hassan Hardware and the first thing we had to do was to remove the metallic pieces using the hack saw. After doing that, we decided to place the pulley right in above the first track and in between the two dowels. Thereafter, we used nails to set the pulley where we wanted it to go. After doing that, we had to figure out a way to attach a rope to the lift. To do that, we drilled a hole into the lift and attached a nail to it as well. We then tied up the rope to the nail, and put it around the pulley. After a little readjustment, the pulley mechanism was working just fine. We thought we were done today, but Mr. Muller suggested we add two more pulley. One of them would go right next to the one on top and the other would be placed next to the lift at the bottom.



May 28th, 2012 Today I brought in the two other dowels to class. The first step like last time, was to remove the metallic components along with the hook, using the hack saw. After doing that, Clement and I place the other pulley right next to the one on top. The procedure was the same as the first one. After doing that, we placed the third pulley as well. Now, instead of pulling down vertically, the user has to pull across horizontally. The pulley stopped working after a while! Clement and I were frightened. But, we simply waxed the dowels again and it was working fine. We are almost done and the next class will be utilized in cleaning up the product and giving the final touches.

May 30, 2012 LAST DT CLASS EVER. I'm extremely moved at this moment. I've learned so much from this class, more importantly from two great teachers. Time to get to work. Today, we decided to paint over the glue marks and also erase any pencil marks to make sure that the product looks neat and presentable. Thereafter, I got to work with the painting, while Clement worked on erasing any remaining marks. After doing that, I just took a paper towel and wiped the whole product once. WE NOW OFFICIALLY DONE WITH THIS PROJECT!

= EVALUATE =

Product Evaluation:
I personally think that this was by far, the best product that I have made over the two year period in DT. I still can't believe that Clement and I have actually finished the product, and it's in working condition. We took this as a challenge and we battered it real hard! Our product is fairly sturdy and strong, but requires some maintenance and need to be handled with care. The movement of the marble can draw a lot of attention and is fascinating for almost any age group, be it adults or children. The use of three pulleys instead of one, compliments the product and exhibits good craftsmanship. The product relates to the unit question as it will help kids to develop their motor skills and will also give them a little snapshot of the mechanical world. More importantly, it will integrate education and entertainment. The product is very simple to use as well. Basically, the client just has to pull on the rope and the rest is done by the machine itself. Materials have been used effectively as well. This is a product that has been made completely out of scrap wood. Plus, a variety of machines were used to complete it. The user can really only be benefitted from this product. It is something that should be relatively cheap and amusing as well.

Evaluating against the specifications:
There should not be any sharp points, edges or objects in the overall product as it may hurt the children. Meets // TEST // : **Run your finger along the edges and the surfaces of the project to make sure that there are no sharp edges or surfaces that can hurt a kindergartner.**
 * Safety

The product should not be inflammable in any way. Meets // TEST // : **Put a matchstick under the product for ten seconds and check for anything such as explosion.**

The product must not use any toxic materials. Meets // TEST // : **Make sure not to use any toxic materials and check the packing materials being used.**

The main material used is wood. A strong, hard wood is recommended. Meets // TEST // : **Product should not have any elasticity.**
 * Materials

Metallic objects should be avoided, as they can be dangerous for children. Does not meet due to nail being used // TEST // : **Product should not be magnetic.**

The product should not be worth for more than thirty dollars at the most. Meets // TEST // : **Check the price that the product is being sold for.**
 * Economy

It should financially be in the reach of majority of the society. Meets // TEST // : **Check the number of pieces being sold daily.**

The size again should not to be too big for a child to handle. Meets // TEST // : **Give the product to a child after completion- check to see if the child can play with ease.**
 * Size-

Try to use scrap pieces of wood if available rather than new ones. Meets
 * Sustainability-

The project should have colors so that the kids can learn them as well. Does not meet (black, white and brown are the only colors) // TEST // : **Give the project to someone else and ask him if he can see a different color on each of the shapes.**
 * Aesthetics-

==== <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The product must be appealing and have movement to attract children. <span style="color: #087105; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Meets ==== // TEST // : **Run a marble along the path to see if it constantly moves.**

Must have a variety of support pieces of different heights to maintain stability. Meets // TEST // : **After completion, remove the support pieces to confirm that the product does not function without them.**
 * Robustness-

// TEST // : **After completion, try to move the product from one place to another.**
 * **The marble game should be portable. Meets **

Process Evaluation:
Our progress was quite slow-paced. We planned to finish the product in a shorted period but it ended up taking till the end of the semester. I personally feel that it's perfectly fine because, we gave in our best and we enjoyed making the product. We also used the idea of trial and error MULTIPLE times. I thought that it was really helpful because doing something directly for a complex product like this, could possibly result in a mistake somewhere. Making the product turned out to be a lot harder than I thought. By looking at that YouTube video, I did not get a chance to look into crucial things such as the centre of gravity and the pulley mechanism. I often ventured off into doing my individual 'Ninja Star Project' while Clement often worked by himself. I thought that was a good chastisement for all the absences! But at the end of the day, it was a pleasure to work with him and we shared our ideas and provided solutions to potential problems. If I were to do this project again, I would start by working on the pulley mechanism first as that's the most crucial part. Putting up the tracks accordingly is really just a piece of cake as compared to the pulley! Time management was definitely a big issue. We got down to the last class to finish it up. But again, we did something that we thought we wouldn't be able to do. I learned a lot about the centre of gravity from this product. Plus, I learned about the way different dowels work, and how to set up pulleys. I did that for the first time and I learned that it requires hard work and precision. To come to a conclusion, I would like to say that I have really enjoyed making this product and working with Clement. By far, I feel that this has undoubtedly been the best of the four semester's I've had in this class.