ITERATION 1:

The basic prototype works in hitting the key and being able to incorporate movement with a spring. The sizing of the box, dowel and spring work well.

Everything about the project could be cleaner overall. The shape and size of many pieces including the button need to be rethought. Another problem was that there was only one spring of its size meaning we needed a new one.

The size and shape of many pieces will change in our next iteration as we also will attempt to layout as many buttons as possible on a keyboard. We will also try to shape a button and eventually 3D print it.

We made these changes because at this stage of our studio our project felt a little clunky, some pieces we felt were unnecessarily large. We knew that everything could be improved by 3D printing them.

ITERATION 2:

We have successfully made everything less clunky in rhino. We have improved all pieces of our prototype besides the spring, box and dowel.

Because we now have to use a new spring, the measurements we used to have it fit into our 3D printed pieces in incorrect. Therefore the spring does not fit, and the prototype will not work. Another problem we faced it the sizing of the buttons. Our group had recently decided that we wanted to be able to play every key in an octave compared to our 2 out of 3 previously.

The diameter of the holes in each piece will change in order to to fit the new spring. Our group will also cut each piece making them smaller so we may fit a button onto each key, doing this makes the whole piano playable.

We are making these changes so our final product will work in all aspects we wanted it to originally. Also we decided that if we the user were able to play all keys it would make for a better experience with the product.

Final :

Our project works well with measurement and size. All 3 pieces fit correctly together and the springs fit into our pieces perfectly too.

We do not have all notes of the octave from the 3D printer and the dowel pieces are not as precise as the rest of our product.

In the future we could add ways to play chords with one key or bar as well as finishing and creating more octaves so the whole keyboard is adapted.

It will add to our project and make our idea a bit more complex and also give the kids more flexibility to play more notes.

Final Post

Our groups original idea was to create a type of extension or adaptation of a pianos keyboard that would allow children with CP to this play a pianos music with ease. Most importantly we wanted young kids to have the basic ability to play notes. We designed our project to make the difficult activity of playing the piano more simple. Our group accomplished this by creating buttons that would sit above the small keys. We also made our buttons different sizes in the front and the back rows making it easier to play.  By doing this with the large buttons we have created larger targets and less room for error. 

We faced many problems designing this product, One of our larger issues was deciding how to make an instrument usually played with such precision and accuracy, playable by a child with CP. Another frequent problem we had was dealing with was the sizing and measurement of the button and separate pieces because of how compact and precise a piano keyboard is. Also dealing with the black sharp keys was difficult and got in the way of the measurement for the other keys .

Our project allows kids with cerebral palsy to participate in an everyday activity in which without this product, they would not be able to physically do. This not only makes them feel included in this hobby, but it lets them create something of their own as they do it.

Our groups original idea was to create a type of extension or adaptation of a pianos keyboard that would allow children with CP to this play a pianos music with ease. Most importantly we wanted young kids to have the basic ability to play notes. We designed our project to make the difficult activity of playing the piano more simple. Our group accomplished this by creating buttons that would sit above the small keys. We also made our buttons different sizes in the front and the back rows making it easier to play.  By doing this with the large buttons we have created larger targets and less room for error. 

We faced many problems designing this product, One of our larger issues was decieding how to make an instrument usually played with such precision and accuracy, playable by a child with CP. Another frequent problem we had was dealing with was the sizing and measurement of the button and separate pieces because of how compact and precise a piano keyboard is. Also dealing with the black sharp keys was difficult and got in the way of the measurement for the other keys .

Our project allows kids with cerebral palsy to participate in an everyday activity in which without this product, they would not be able to physically do. This not only makes them feel included in this hobby, but it lets them create something of their own as they do it.