Week 5: October 11

Prototyping

Team: Laura Rodriguez, Katherine Herzog, Josh LeFevre, & Newell Khale

This week we are making the final elements of our prototype and user testing.

Over the past week we have continued to create additional materials for the kit. We also identified a method to create an alternative to our concrete objects. In order to create this new version, we placed ball bearings inside of 3D printed objects to give them the desired weight. We then covered the objects with a stone like finish.

In addition to creating the objects for the kit, we also created a container for the objects using plywood cut to form a box. We created separate compartments for each type of material, size, and color and the connectors. We painted the box grey to contrast with the objects.

Based on our initial tests, we recognized that people prefer to have a space provided in which to work. While a marked area on a sheet of paper worked well for the 2D kit, for 3D we needed to provide something different. We created wooden and clear platforms for people to construct their objects on. We also put holes into the platforms so that they could start their objects with a connector should they so choose.

This final prototype will be tested prior to sharing our process and findings on October 18th.