This week I worked on the final presentation and the content of the modules, made the cases for the two experiments, and along with Mudit and Aaron, integrated the Ampere’s law experiment with the web application. For the final presentation, I updated the block diagrams and contributed to the verification and validation sections. I also edited the content of the intermediate level module and added 8 questions to the quiz.
Similar to the integration of the Faraday’s law experiment with the web app, we used ADALM and libm2k to transmit the measured voltage across the solenoid in the Ampere’s law experiment to the web app. Initially we were perplexed because we were only able to observe the transient response of the circuit — the voltage rises when the direction of current is switched, and quickly drops to 0. After realizing that AC coupling was selected on the BNC adapter for the oscilloscope (which is why the DC component was not present), we were able to display the desired plot on the web app.
To fabricate the cases for the experiments, I first came up with a few designs and shared with my teammates to get their feedback. The main design tradeoffs that I considered were whether to enclose the LEDs in the Faraday’s law experiment, and whether to show the breadboard used to make electrical connections. Ultimately, we decided that the LEDs should be enclosed so that users cannot remove them; and that the breadboard should be hidden to avoid confusing people who do not know the internal workings of a breadboard. After sketching the case on paper, I made a 3D drawing of it in TinkerCAD. Then I used CoralDraw to generate the drawing to be laser cut. Initially, the kerf setting for the parts was a little off, so the boxes fit too tightly, but overall the case satisfies our needs.
I believe I am on track. This weekend I will try to find the optimal kerf value through trial and error, and finalize the case for the Faraday’s law experiment. Next week, I plan to make the case for the Ampere’s law experiment, and work on the educational content.