At the moment, we are into the 5th six weeks and time is going by fast. These past few weeks have made us more conscious of aspects that our group hadn’t thought about, such as other anatomical parts that will be covered/ protected by the protective gear.
Now having in mind how we might want our device to function and the appearance of it, we made our first prototype which consisted of a painters mask, popsicle sticks, cotton balls, staples, a shirt, rubber bands and many safety pins. During this process, we learned that there needed to be more conversations amongst our group in order to be able to have a clear idea of what exactly we plan on creating. More conversations need to be done because we discovered that we all had different ideas of the prototype such as how things would be attached.
After starting our first prototype, we took a field trip to a fabric and hardware store where we did research on possible materials, we came across things like buckles, flex foam, and elastic that seemed like good options for our product. We had trouble finding the right type of padding, the possible materials were not sturdy enough for what we are planning to make but when we went off to the hardware store we found the type of padding we wanted on knee pads, it was sturdy and comfortable enough to use.
Most recently our group split into two: Apolonia V. and Brenda V., Zaira R. and Vania N. Apolonia and Brenda went ahead and did textile training in order to be able to use those attained skills when creating more prototypes and developing the final product. They got hands on experience to develop and improve their sewing skills for future use and have a more presentable product. Before attending the training, Apolonia and Brenda worked on a workshop of web videos and worksheets where they got a better idea of how the sewing machine works and how to properly handle it. During the training, Apolonia and Brenda got basic training in preparing the sewing machine after watching the video “Getting to Know Your Sewing Machine” created by Mrs. Mauser. Besides from learning how to use a sewing machine they learned the utilities names, and where they belong exactly, and also how to properly put away all materials. Zaira R. and Vania N. did 3D printer training and learned about the Ultimaker as well as the Taz. Before being introduced to the printers, we had the opportunity to play with stl files (the type of files which the printers use) in TinkerCad, which is the program that will be used to create the prototype. The Taz at the moment seems like the printer we will be using when making another version of prototype because the Taz is commonly used for bigger projects. We learned about the importance of having a leveled bed in order for it to be a successful printing.
Overall, things are going great for the OrthoDocs at the moment. We are all cooperating with each other and learning new things together and we are looking forward to the next step into this project.
StarPathDesign 
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