So the end of the semester has come and it seems that my laser cutter is not done. I am very disappointed in myself for this. I wish I had had more time to spend on it. It is probably not complete because I got stuck in the digital world more than the real. I know I got hung up in both my structural build and my electronic build. Electronics mostly because I haven’t really dealt with them before. And structural because I wasn’t exactly sure how things were supposed to look and what the specific measurements were. There was no guide for it.
I will say though that I learned a lot from this incomplete project. I learned that there will probably never be enough time to finish things. I learned that you should always have a backup plan in case something doesn’t go the way you were expecting too. I learned that sometimes there is no such thing as perfect. I learned that electronics are tricky and I don’t really have a nack for it, but there is always the ability to learn. I learned that I shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help. I also learned that I am capable of doing things without help. I learned that once I give myself permission to do something I can, probably, do it. (It’s kind of a confidence thing I guess)
Pros of this project
- The knowledge of how to bend acrylic sheets and the fact that I enjoy it.
- figuring out how to start a 3D print.
- the knowledge that there is no such thing as perfect.
- Even though I didn’t get it done yet, I will continue to have opportunities to work on it.
- There is still more to learn.
- I am still, somewhat, happy with what I was able to get done.
Cons of this project
- Working with non-specific directions sucks.
- trying to guess what someone means when they say something sucks.
- No matter how many times you measure something it can still not be right.
- there is a balance between the digital world and the physical that sometimes teeters in the wrong direction.
- There’s never enough time.
- There’s never enough time.
- There’s never enough time.
There are a large number of things I would change and do differently. There are things I am going to keep working on. And there are things I am not going to want to have to deal with again. I am going to keep working on this. I am going to acquire better, more precise, materials. And I AM going to finish this.
