Assessment questions:

1. List the materials that were used in the construction of your vehicle; for the construction of my vehicle I used a drill, a sanding machine, a strip heater a dremel, a hot glue gun and a solder.

2. Describe some environmental problems which are caused by the overuse of plastics?; the environmental problems are that it takes many years for plastic to break down so we burry it which damages the soil and animals that may eat things in the soil. It is also causing pollution in oceans and is killing many animals e.g. Turtles, because they think they are jelly fish.

3. List three situations where a remote control device is used in everyday life and comment on the advantage of these remote control devices.
1. TV remote, 2. Car key, 3. Garage door opener. The advantages of these remote controlled devices are that instead of going to trouble to do things they can easily be done. I think the most useful one out of these three is the garage door opener because people use to have to lock it to the ground so people couldn't get in and every time they came home they would have to unlock it, lift it up, drive in, close it and lock it again. Now with a 'clicker' I find that it is much simpler.

DECORATING!

Today was a fun day, because I had completely finished my car so I got to decorate it. It was so much fun also because I got to see other people creative ideas for their car as well as putting lots of ideas into mine.

Wiring part 2.

Today we did the second part of the wiring, but before we did that whe had to plat the three wires together so the didn't bat tangled. After we did that Mr Ward brought up the wiring diagram again and we connected the car and the handle via the wires and the car worked! I went into the workshop and Mr Ward solderd it altogether for me. What I enjoyed most about today was the relief of having my car done but also when I was done, helping other people with there's.

Wiring part 1.

Today we started to first part of the wiring, Mr Ward showed us the wiring diagram it didn't take me long to figure it out. I ended up being the first one finished with the wiring but I still helped other people. What I enjoyed today was challenging myself with the wiring and I liked trying to figure out where everything went and where they connected.

Soldering

Today we started soldering our wires. Soldering is where you hold a piece of metel on the soldering iron and it melts onto our wires nut we had to be really careful because they were extremely hot. We also had to cut a piece of wire that would fit across from one button on the handle to the other. What I enjoyed most about today was using the soldering iron.

Hot glue gun

Today we were in the workshop because we were hot glue gunning the wheels, axles and tubes on. If we finished that we would hammer very carefully the small gears onto the engine and then hot glue gunned them on. Ruby and I finished early so we helped other people with there's. I enjoyed using the hot glue gun except when it burnt me.

Putting the wheels together

Today Mr Ward gave us a bag of essentials for our car. In that bag was;
Axel = steel
Gears = polymer (plastic) - polycarbonate
Tube = polymer (plastic) - polycarbonate
Wheels = rubber
Nuts = metal
Buttons = metal and polymer (plastic) - polycarbonate

We had to cut the axel in half and the tube into quarters. We would then hammer the large gears onto each axel, then put the tubes on either sides of the large gear. We would then put the wheels on each but only if it had 9-10mm in between the tube and wheel. Then we had to put the button in the holes in the handle, we then had to secure a nut around it so it wouldn't fall out.
What I enjoyed most about doing this, I may have been hard but our friends were all helping each other and supporting each other.

Wires

Today while other people were catching up Mr Ward showed us how to measure and cut the wires for our car. We used three different coloured copper wires so it would be easier when it came to wiring. What we had to do was hold the end of the wire on one side of the bench and then we would bring it all the way down to the other end then double it back half way. We would then cut it off the thing and we would use Crocodile cutters and cut the end of plastic off so we could see the copper wire sticking out we then twisted the copper together and we were done. What I enjoyed most about doing this was that I used new tools and techniques.

The DREMEL

Today Mr Ward showed us one of his favorite tools the DREMEL. Her taught us how to use the dremel and to make sure we did it right otherwise we might snap or crack our acrylic. I really enjoyed using the dremel because I had never heard of it before or used it.

Strip heater

Today I continued using the drill and the sander. After I finished using those things I was introduced to the strip heater that only heates up a strip if acrylic and because it's thermoplastic it can bend so I bent the handles.

First day in the workshop

Today was our first day in the workshop, we worked with a sanding machine, a grill, acrylic and I learnt not to be afraid of the sanding machine.

Plastics

Today Mr Ward took us through when we need to have everything finished, then he told us about the materials that we are going to use one is acrylic (perspex) it is a thermoplastic which means you can heat it up and mould it onto a different shape. It is available in many colors, it can be drilled, cut and filed and it can be either clear or full. I'm exited to work with it because I think it may challenge me when it comes to heat or drill it.

DF video

Today we watched a video on workplace safety this is what I got out of the video:
Risk management process:
Identify hazards
Asses and manage risk

Moving around the workshop:
Long hair tied back
No loose clothing
Leather shoes
Never run or walk quickly

Mess and spills:
Let someone know if u spilt something
Clean up after yourself

Food contamination:
Can be contaminated so Never bring food or drink in the workshop

Airborne contamination:
Working with wood, plastics, and metals can go into your mouth and can hurt your eyes

Manual handling:
Don't put anything up to high and try to lift heavy things with care

Tools must be retuned to where they belong because they can become hazards
Never turn a machine on if a teacher isn't in the room

Design futures 2012

On the first day of design futures we met Mr Ward. He explained to us what we were doing for the term. This term we are making robot cars. when I first herd that we were making robot cars I was a bit worried because it looked very complicated and we didn't have very much time to do it, but now I no with the help of Mr Ward I think I will be able to get it done. Looking forward to the next lesson!!
Portia Simons