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 KITDesign 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 KITDesign 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 KITDesign 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-UPSuccesses 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
