We pass through the most significant stages of our lives but once. Graduation from high school is one of those milestones. You have a choice to either end it with a whimper (senioritis) or respect yourself and those that support you by fully applying your skills and talents to a remarkable achievement to look back fondly on for the rest of your lives. This will be your decision. For me, the ACES' years I remember the most are the ones in which we focused on a third term culminating project and created a significant memory (2015, 2016, and 2019 to be precise). How will this year end? I try every year. Will this be one of those years? You have the skill. Do you have the will or will senioritis get the better of you? We'll see.
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. Working collaboratively to develop a commercial-level project with scale (12 units) affords you exposure to the joy and challenges of next-level engineering. Imagine ending your DER with a BANG....
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.
| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
| 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
Second Iteration. 2026 Desktop Fan Project Preparatory Tasks: Assembly Language Sequence Frame Player
First Iteration. 2019 Desktop Fan Project
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.
