Luka Marko Pravica Project 2 laser cutter

 Process:

The process began by modeling the stackable pencil box in fusion 360 I found this considerably harder than last time as I made many mistakes and had to repeat several times. I then began to think of my own design. For my own design. I had to make only a few changes to my fusion 360 design, namely I made the length of the sides all equal,I added  an area for the reaction to take, a hole to dump reactants, and an entry point for a magnetic stir rod and thermometer. Finally I uploaded my drawings and began using the laser cutter. I messed up this process the first time, because my fusion 360 model was incorrect. I remolded my fusion 360 model and tried again. The second time work successfully I removed my pieces from the laser cutter and fit them together to ensure they worked. After this I Placed my top piece back into the laser cutter to engrave a design on it. I finally, I glued the pieces together 

 

Result:

Im overall fairly happy with the result. I really enjoyed the process of using the laser cutter, and I was proud of my model for the most part. The main issue with my design is the top component, I accidentally modeled this component incorrectly by creating extrusions where I meant to make indents the primary issue with this is it creates gaps of space in the celling. This would allow gasses to leak through making the contraption not truly constant volume. However, In the center I did model a small box which in the actual model would be a small metal chamber which could contain the reaction and keep it at constant volume. The other issue my model does not look aesthetically pleasing, because the underside of the wood displays on the outside.

Reflection:

When I began to think of my own design. I started by trying to think of a storage based thing that could be useful to me. In my chemistry courses I had been learning about thermodynamics and I was particularly interested in constant volume calorimetry, because when the change in volume is 0 the change in internal energy is equal entirely to the heat. So for my design I decided I wanted to make a prototype for a constant volume calorimeter. I initially wanted to make a prototype for a constant bomb calorimeter, but quickly realized it would be far too complicated. So I decided to make a prototype for a simple constant volume calorimeter which  have a simple top component to conceal the chemical reaction. I drilled placed 2 holes in the sides, one to place a magnetic stirrer and stir rod and one to place a thermometer. Overall I learned a lot during the process about how use the laser cutter, and about things adjacent to it like how the engravers  laser intensity drops off with distance. I really want to use the laser cutter again and try to remodel this design with a different less reactive material. The process has again shown me I still have a lot to improve when it comes to learning and designing(specifically I need to be better with my attention to detail, I also want to build an open and closable lid on the entrance for the reactants

.). I hope I can remodel and improve this design soon!