As not only this class comes to a close, but my undergraduate education does as well, I can clearly see the disconnect some engineers have when it comes to creating their designs from my classes I have taken, and the amazing outcome that can be produced when an engineer factors in the aesthetic. In many cases, how visually appealing the product appears often gets neglected. This was very evident at the Senior Design Expo as many projects clearly did not look visually appealing to others.
I originally wanted to have a functioning guillotine that you could actually be of use and have enough force to chop vegetables. I wanted to also create a guillotine that showed of the French colors and showed the patriotic like aesthetic. I can firmly say that after completing the project, I created a guillotine that reflected the aesthetic well however, the functionality is questionable. The blade does not always stay in the slots well and there is certainly not enough force from gravity itself to cut into a vegetable or fruit. Going forward, if I was to recreate this, I would look for a way to make sure the blade stays slotted correctly and maybe invest in a heavier blade or find a way to make the blade go down with more force. As far as the aesthetic and appearance of the project, I am extremely happy with how it turned out. Going forward, I do plan on possible remaking this as I had a lot of fun being able to express my imaginative side, something I feel like rarely occurred in my undergraduate education at CU.
I enjoyed the way the class was structured as we got to learn about different projects going on and learn about the different techniques used to create them, as well as receive feedback from our pod members. The thing I learned while making this project was all the different machines available to cut and manipulate wood. It was fun to learn how to use these machines as up until now, I have not had the opportunity to do so. I like working with wood more than metals like aluminum or steel. I like the softness of wood and how robust it is. I also don’t enjoy working with lubrication when it comes to machinery and enjoy how easy it is to work with wood.
Moving forward I want to hone in on my woodworking skills and maybe create other crafts with it and allow my imaginative side to come out.
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The chopper guillotine you made was great! It’s so cool that at the same time of being aesthetically pleasing, it’s also technically functional. I would rate it project of the semester if there’s ranking system haha. Good work!
Hello Shalil, I think your project came out really professional looking. It was a cool idea to incorporate the colors of the French flag to your guillotine since that’s where the device was invented I believe. Also, I like that you left the top facing portion unpainted. It would have looked a little tacky had the entire thing been painted in my opinion so great call on that! In terms of the functionality, I could definitely see how that blade would not be heavy enough. Rather than trying to find a heavier blade, which may prove to be a very difficult task, try adding a weight to the blade. Maybe attach some extra steel or iron to the top of the blade. You could also use springs to give the blade an initial thrust. That may be a little more difficult since you would have to design a trigger that would release the blade, but I think that would work really well. In terms of your manufacturing experience, I agree that would is a lot of fun to work with. Unlike metal, you can modify wood rather quickly and it is a very forgiving material. The one thing I don’t like about it is that depending on the quality of the wood, there may be some warps and imperfections that can cause difficulties further down the road. In my case, I built a frame and the wood was slightly bent prior to manufacturing which made the pieces not fit exactly when dry fitting them. But, since would is forgiving, I was able to clamp and glue the pieces tightly to one another. I think my favorite aspect of your project is actually the rope string you used! It adds to that older look that a guillotine should take on. It makes the mini version look that much more realistic! Also, this project was pretty unique and creative, so overall, great work!