Tri-Grip Ear Plug 3DM

I've been designing around these ear plugs for the iAm project. I decided after I modeled them to release them on GRABCAD because there are currently only two ear plug models on there. I think this file is valuable because I've designed it specifically for the Tasco Tri-Grip Reusable Ear Plug that I've been buying through the Ear Plug Superstore. I like it when models I find online are specific to actual products available for purchase.

Below are images documenting the creation of the ear plug. 

Compact Progress - Capacitive Touch Sensativity & Other Buttons

iAm - milling aluminum

Frankie showed me how to use the tormach with pathpilot last week. He helped me mill the top portion of iAm, and then over the weekend I wrote the code and milled the bottom half. The tolerances between the top and bottom are just right - makes me super happy!!! I will finish assembling this next week.

iAm - Functional?

When I came up with iAm, I hadn't considered its actual use to be part of the project, but today I am starting to feel different about its function. On multiple occasions, from members of my graduate committee, other professors, classmates, and visitors to my studio, I've been given the suggestion to place "more directives" near the iAm socket, such as footprints. I've never been entirely into this idea of footprints because it reminds me of childhood experiences at the zoo and museums... But while the footprints in the museum did make the adventure of locating the Tyrannosaurus skeleton more suspenseful and thrilling, those feelings have never been what I've been aiming for with iAm object itself. I want iAm to be a boring object, so the directives must be more subtle. It is my hope that this will allow the adventure, thrill and suspense to be something that can occur in the viewer experience. With all of this being said, I was, however, curious about the stance a viewer might take near iAm when being used. So, today I decided to take a piece of newsprint, some uncompressed charcoal and use iAm. Keeping in mind people may spend varying amounts of time at the object, I set an alarm and decided I would do a 25-minute standing meditation plugged into iAm. So, I set up a video timelapse on my iPhone, rubbed my feet with charcoal, stood up, and plugged into iAm. Immediately upon plugging myself in, I start to follow my breathing and posture, like how I start a normal meditation and then the first thought pops up - I think "How am I going to clean this up?" Eventually, I was able to let this thought go, and remembered that I should just simply enjoy this beautiful 25-minute break from worry, thought, the past, and the future. My body began to relax, and I started to notice that with my inhales and exhales my body was moving ever-so-small-ly towards and away from the wall. "iAm a buoy." I was tethered, connected, secure, and comforted by the distance between my body and the wall. The wave of experience could not knock me from this place because I was designed to float, to be anchored, to be a symbol. (Wow, who knew 'being a buoy,' could be so powerful?) I didn't anticipate this, but my alarm didn't go off. I ended up standing comfortably at iAm for 50 minutes before coming out of my meditation, knowing that what I had experienced was enough to satisfy me for today.

iAm Samples - Design for CNC Machining

I added three bosses for three tiny flat head screws. 

Interface & Interaction Design

I stumbled upon this website and am blown away with how thoroughly they cover this section on Interface and Interaction Design. It's free, you just have to sign up for an account. Check it out.  This section is written by Martin Charlier.

https://www.oreilly.com/ideas/interface-and-interaction-design

Trumpet Adapter Redesign - King Cleveland 600 Trumpet

I designed the first iteration of the King Cleveland 600 Trumpet adapter. I took the files from the Bach student trumpet and slightly modified the height and location of the holes for the tubes to extend out, based on a couple photos that were sent to me from a family that is interested in an adapter for their son. I'm going to send a test print to the family to see how it fits on the trumpet, and then make any necessary revisions.

Bach on left, King Cleveland on right. 

UPDATE 11/14

Pictures on the King Cleveland 600 Trumpet