This semester I chose to join the elective Materials Technology. This course allowed us to learn and execute a variety of skills on a semester long project. The end goal was to produce a LED trophy by planning and drawing our own unique design, making the housing and clear acrylic top, soldering together a circuit and polishing the final product. To be able to do this, we had to complete a variety of tests and practises on different machines until we were capable of moving on to the project.

The capabilities that I think were required throughout the entire semester included problem solving and creativity.

Problem solving: This capability means to find solutions to a problem or issue. I think I mainly had to use this in the designing process. We had to ensure that the battery pack fits, choose the location of the switch and draw a to proportion design. This included from a front, side and bottom view. There were other little parts in the process that included problem solving of different levels such as I chose to keep a thicker amount of wood around the outside of the housing to prevent other issues from occurring like cracking from using machines. I have included one of my designs below. Altogether, this capability is very important and I think I continued to develop it throughout the semester.

Creativity: This capability means to use the imagination to produce something. I think I used this the most when designing my image to be laser cut into the clear acrylic part. My image that I chose was a jellyfish with bubbles around it. To do this, I found the jellyfish image I wanted and fixed up some parts like making the lines thicker so that they can be seen. Then I found an image of a bubble, fixed it up then placed them all around. I could have used any image that was already made online but decided to use my creativity and create my own final design. I think I mainly chose a jelly fish due to the amount of detail they provide. I also made the base of my trophy blue to represent the water. I liked the idea of using up most of the space provided on the trophy top because otherwise it would be very plain and not much light would be emitted. My design is below. Also, my choice of wood was timber due to it’s lighter colour. This ties together with the base plate colour being a light blue and my vinyl sticker a white. I chose to follow a light theme because the light that would shine through the image is white as well. I have also attached an image of this colour scheme below. I think doing this project helped with my creativity greatly.

Altogether, this project has helped me develop my capabilities in a variety of ways specifically but not limited to problem solving and creativity. I personally really enjoyed producing my own design and also being able to use different machines. Below is an image of my final LED trophy.

By Samantha