It is only fitting that for their final term the 2025-2026 Senior ACES are tasked with the ultimate group project in preparation for the reality of what lies ahead in university and beyond. The past three years have nurtured and solidified the particular engineering domain strengths of each ACE to the point that their coordinated talents are likely to result in the success of an ambitious undertaking.

The Team

Based on their skills and strengths revealed over the past three years the guidance and responsibility for steering the project to a succsseful conclusion by Tuesday May 26 falls to the Project Director and his three Domain Leads.

			Project Director (Gantt / Github Repo)
HARDWARE/Electrical			SOFTWARE (AVR Assembly)	DESIGN (3D Printing/Acrylic/Fasteners)
Lead			Lead	Lead
Hardware/Electrical Team Members			Software Team Member	Design Team Members

The Project

The goal of this project is to create a class set of 12 desktop fans which can be serve to cool ACES down in their stuffy first year residence rooms in September. For inspiration, the 2019 Desktop Fan Project can be used as a starting point.

Required Elements

• Personal Safety (Engineers and Operators)
• Ongoing Gantt/Github Log (Project Director)
• 12V 4-Wire PWM/Tach Controlled DC Fan (ie. Sunon MFC0251V2-1Q02U-S99)
• PCB: SMT (hand soldered where possible)
• 12VDC Power supply with sufficient Amperage
• AVR 8-bit MCU
• AVR 8-bit Assembly (see 2018/19 Assembly Tasks)
• LCD Display of (Pot, Duty, RPM, Tach (interrupts/s))
• Variable speed
• On/Off
• Quiet/Rubber feet/Esthetically appealing

At a point in the Spring of 2019 it was determined that a fitting tribute to the intense AVR Assembly software investigations of the common, 12VDC 4-wire Cooling Fan by the ICS4U ACES would be best served by engineering a compact desktop device for each student to enjoy in his stuffy September dorm room.

Kreher F-A, Mr. Elia, and I quietly partnered in developing 10 units of the device that appears to the right. Click to enlarge. A custom PCB, in-house 3D printed case, a pair of ViaCAD-designed, 1/4" laser cut underlit, acrylic panels and an LCD panel were brought together and driven by the very assembly software the students developed over their final ACES term, confirming its applicability. Click here to see the fans prior to final assembly.

On the last day of classes, an unsuspecting Mr. Elia was presented with his unit at the very moment a large tour of prospective families appeared at the door of the DES making the moment even more special. Well-intentioned ideas often turn out even better than one could have imagined.

The 2018/2019 DC Fan device, along with their many projects and DER, stand as tangible reminders of three productive years for our seven graduating ACES.