P10041: TEAK – SOUND & MUSICSheryl Gillow – Mechanical EngineeringHeather Godlewski – Mechanical EngineeringBryan Lozano – Electrical Engineering

Sponsors:The National Science Foundation and WE@RIT

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

TEAK – Traveling Engineering Activity Kits

The TEAK project involves the design and fabrication of 4 hands-on engineering activity kits that relate sound and music to engineering and engineering design

Kits are focused on teaching students in the surrounding Rochester community

CUSTOMER NEEDS CHECKLIST

Kits must operate safely in a classroom environment

Kits must relate music and sound to engineering concepts and design

Kits must be portable and durable Kits must be usable by groups of up to

30 students Quick set up and storage Kits must be well documented

DESIGN CONCEPTS

Xylophone Kit Electronic Keyboard Kit Communications Kit (Hearing Aid Kit)

CONCEPT SELECTION

Selection CriteriaWeight Rating Wtd Rating Wtd Rating Wtd Rating Wtd Rating Wtd Rating Wtd

Functionality

Meets size/weight constraints (portability) 13% 4 0.52 5 0.65 2 0.26 3.00 0.39 4.00 0.52 5 0.65

Can the activity be decomposed into meaningful tasks 10% 4 0.40 3 0.30 3 0.30 4.00 0.40 3.00 0.30 4 0.40

Ease of implementation in any available classroom 13% 5 0.65 5 0.65 4 0.52 5.00 0.65 5.00 0.65 5 0.65

Engineering Points Stressed

Make design decisions 18% 5 0.90 3 0.54 2 0.36 5.00 0.90 2.00 0.36 2 0.36

Observable Differences 13% 5 0.65 4 0.52 3 0.39 4.00 0.52 3.00 0.39 3 0.39

Testing Opportunities 8% 4 0.32 3 0.24 3 0.24 4.00 0.32 2.00 0.16 3 0.24

Solve a problem and draw conclusions 8% 4 0.32 3 0.24 4 0.32 3.00 0.24 3.00 0.24 3 0.24

Demonstrates teamwork 8% 5 0.40 3 0.24 3.5 0.28 4.00 0.32 2.00 0.16 3 0.24

Other

30 minutes of activity time 6% 3 0.18 3 0.18 3 0.18 3.00 0.18 2.00 0.12 3 0.18

Team has skills to create kits 3% 4 0.12 4 0.12 4 0.12 4.00 0.12 4.00 0.12 3.5 0.11

Total Score 4.46 3.68 2.97 4.04 3.02 3.46

Rank 1 3 6 2 5 4

Continue? Yes Yes No Yes Reserve Yes

CONCEPTS

Electric Guitar Push Button Keyboard Sound Booth Xylophone Thumb PianoSpeaker, Mic, Cup

Telephone

PROJECT RISKS

Scheduling Allocation of budget Ensuring all kits are engineering oriented

rather than just music oriented Provide adequate engineering analysis to

support proof of concept Ensure selected kit activity is not too

complicated Ensure kits are portable

XYLOPHONE KIT - KIT DESCRIPTION

This kit will allow students to explore the relationship between material properties and the sound that is produced.

By designing a xylophone utilizing a variety of bar materials and bar lengths, students will hear how the various properties affect the tone and pitch produced.

In addition, the concept of density will be introduced and students will measure and calculate material densities.

XYLOPHONE KIT - DESIGN SKETCHESKey Geometries Base Concepts

XYLOPHONE KIT – FINAL DESIGN

XYLOPHONE KIT - TESTING Durability Testing

Imagine RIT Used by 33 people No signs of failure

Drop Testing Can survive multiple falls Improved response anticipated when using

solvent bonding Weight/Size Testing

μKit weighs 3.6lbs (without containers) Total kit weighs 16.7 lbs (without

containers) Decibel Testing

XYLOPHONE KIT

Design Strong Points

Highly Portable No small parts that can

go missing Zero replenishment

cost barring damages Offers multiple test

scenarios Acrylic base looks

professional and has more of a “wow” factor

Design weak points Sounds produced were

not designed to be harmonic in nature as focus was on material properties

Base material is more brittle and has a slightly higher possibility to break

ELEC. KEYBOARD KIT - KIT DESCRIPTION This kit will offer students the

opportunity to build and modify the design of an electronic keyboard, modifying the gain of an inverting amplifier, and the filter type used to modify the tone.

Also, they will be able to test the effects of their design decisions

ELEC. KEYBAORD KIT - DESIGN SKETCHES

ELEC. KEYBOARD KIT – FINAL DESIGN

ELEC. KEYBOARD KIT - TESTING

Durability Testing Imagine RIT

Used by 23 people No signs of failure

Weight/Size Testing μKit weighs 0.6283lbs well under max 10lbs More portability testing pending purchase of containers

Decibel Testing At peak output volume the kit reached 97dB at a

distance of 1 foot. Thus the kit did fail the testing procedure but remains safe due to the limited exposure time associated with maximum output.

ELEC. KEYBOARD KIT

Design Strong Points

Highly Portable Offers multiple test scenarios Offers multiple design

variables Stresses engineering

principles of design, testing, and teamwork

Allows a meshing of creativity and enginuity

Limited interaction with required circuit components ensures durability

Design weak points

Batteries drain disproportionately due to +9V rail also powering microcontroller

8 keys do not allow for playing a multitude of songs

Lack of quality enclosure leaves kit potentially vulnerable to fall or misuse damage.

Vulnerable to damage if incorrect battery lead plugged into Synth. Shield

Will require some replenishment funds to purchase new batteries after several uses

HEARING AID KIT - KIT DESCRIPTION

The purpose of this kit is to help students understand how sound travels, both mechanically and electrically.

They will get to complete activities that demonstrate how a hearing aid works and use the engineering design process to optimize their own hearing aid!

HEARING AID KIT - DESIGN SKETCHES

HEARING AID KIT – FINAL DESIGN

HEARING AID KIT - TESTING

Durability Testing Imagine RIT

Used by 25 people No signs of failure

Weight/Size Testing Kit Weight – 12 lbs. (without containers) Kit Size – Same size as current kits

Decibel Testing At one foot, the maximum output is 67 dB

HEARING AID KIT

Design Strong Points Highly Portable Kid Friendly

Ease of circuit manipulation Durable

Snap Circuit has “wow” factor when compared with a breadboard circuit

Zero replenishment cost barring damages

Maximum output level not as high as other kits Activity won’t be

overwhelmingly loud when in a classroom

Design weak points Maximum output

level not as high as other kits Changes in volume

may be hard to hear Snap Circuits are not

customizable Can’t add resistor

values to create a bigger range of volumes

MEETING ENGINEERING SPECS Engr. Spec. # Specification (description) Unit of

Measure Marginal Value Ideal Value Pass /Fail

ES1 Flame Retardant Y/N None Y PASSES2 Toxicity Rating Rating None IV PASSES3 Explosive Material Rating Rating None TBD PASSES5 Shock Hazards # 1 0 PASSES6 Emergency Shut Down Y/N None Y N/AES7 Temperature Limit °F 100 <90 PASSES8 Decibel Rating dBs 90 <80 FAILES9 Laceration Hazards # 2 0 PASS

ES10 Follows learning objectives #/kit 2 3 PASSES11 Sound & Music Related Y/N None Y PASSES12 Total Activity Time min 25 30 TBDES13 Hands on Time % 60 75 TBDES14 Students engaged in hands on activity % 50 100 TBDES15 Life Expectancy Years 6 10 PASSES16 Class Size # 25 30 PASSES17 Number of Groups Each Kit can Accommodate # 5 6 PASSES18 Weight - Total Kit lbs 45 35 PASSES19 Weight - Individual Activities lbs 10 7.5 PASSES20 Dimensions - Total Kit in TBD TBD TBDES21 Handles on Carrying Bin Y/N None Y PASSES22 Time to Assemble/Disassemble min 10 <5 PASSES23 Relys on Presence of Computer or Software Y/N Y N PASSES24 Kit Turnover time min 30 15 PASSES25 Parts coming off shelf % 75 100 PASSES26 Related learning standards #/kit 2 3 PASSES27 Number of Kits # 3 4 PASSES28 Documents Included Y/N None Y PASSES29 Time to Familiarize min 90 <60 TBDES30 Avg. Length of Lesson min 55 45 TBDES31 Lesson Plan Adaptable to Other Age Groups Y/N N Y TBDES32 Kit Replenisment cost $/use 20 0 PASS

BUDGET OVERVIEW

$2,250 Allotment Some unnecessary

purchases were made, decreasing budget performance

Some expenditures still pending (Containers, dB Meters)

Still anticipate being under budget (Shipping costs omitted but have little effect)

Electronic Keyboard Kit (8 μKits) $655.86Hearing Aid Kit (6 μKits) $464.30Xylophone Kit (6 μKits) $239.46Unneccessary Expenditures $230.58Anticipated Container Expenses $30.00Xylophone Construction Expense $300.00

Total Expenditures $1,920.20Total Budget Allotment $2,250.00

Deviance $329.80

PROJECT WRAP-UP

Successes Created 3 functional kits Met the majority of

customer needs/specs Many mitigated by concept selection and product design

Stayed within budget Improved quality of kits

by using kid-friendly hardware i.e. PCB with sockets, snap

circuits

Failures Electric Guitar Kit Unable to complete in-

class testing Never found a solution

for having to work individually Overall quality reduced as

a result Did not manage budget

perfectly due to limited group interfacing and rushed design fabrication

FUTURE WORK

In-class testing of activities and lesson plans Xylophone Kit

Add more bar materials Add more types of mallets Replace 3” bar with an 8” bar Obtain more scales so each group can have one

 Electronic Keyboard Kit Expansion into polyphonic tone generation to demonstrate

harmonic combinations Physical Key Integration Professional Style Enclosure Integration Expansion of number of keys to allow higher function

(Multiplexing Input Push Buttons)  Hearing Aid Kit

Design a new amplifier to allow for a greater volume gain Improve snap to speaker connection