Mid-Point Progress Presentation
The mid point progress presentation was a presentation that we gave in front of our class to report our progress on our project so far and the next steps that we would take to complete it. We detailed all of the reports that we had written including the classification scheme and life-cycle assessment, including all of the diagrams and sketches that we had created. For each step we detailed who had worked on each part of it.
Design Defense
The design defense involved both a slideshow and a voiceover. The purpose of this assignment was a prove that we had designed a good product. We had to include all the details about our project. We also included 3D models created on Onshape. One of the most important parts of the design defense was the experiments that we conducted and the results.
Simscale
Part of this step was completing a set of tutorials on Simscale. This is a tool that is connected to Onshape. You can upload your 3D models, set a material and perform simulations involving a variety of different things, including pressure, force, and temperature. I used Simscale to test our domes made out of ETFE. ETFE isn't one of the material options on Simscale but I was able to research ETFE and use the specifications to customize a material. I tested the dome under the force of gravity and the atmospheric pressure on Mars. This allowed me to find the week spots on the dome where we could add more support.
Reflection
During this phase my group greatly improved at many aspects of group work, especially at task delegation. Instead of all of us working on the same assignment, we all took on different parts of the project. I took on the 3D models and simulations, one group member took on getting ahead and starting to build the physical models, and we divided work on the reports. We also all started to do more work at home, instead of just working at school. We started this step very behind and worked efficiently to get all this done as fast as possible. I think we all collaborated very well to get this done under a serious time crunch, and we were still able to do a good job on it.