Experimenting

The bigger part of the Monday, we got into the practical work. We did one small prototype in cardboard to test how a connection could be made and to test the foam-as-springs idea. We also found a piece of plexiglass and tried to find the best way of lighting a tile up.

The biggest change from last week is that we realised that 32 tiles would be too expensive and a bit too much to make during the time of the project. We settled with doing 12 tiles instead, 3 times 4.

Cardboard prototype



Per took initiative to make a cardboard prototype, and was soon surrounded with cardboard, foam, tape and copper tape.


When the tile is pressed, the strips of copper tape get in contact, and the multimeter beeps

Illuminated plexiglass tile

We experimented with different lights: Small pocket lamp, RGB LED and 10W lamp. We also tried to cover and uncover the plexiglass with different material, to get the prettiest shine. 


The idea with the tin foil is to spread the light... 

... although it is easier to see the light when the glass is blurred.

The LED tend to make a spot, and not to spread...

 

... so we tried to block the spot with some tin foil...

... but then we did a little "spreader" in paper.

We realised that one single LED might not be enough for illuminating a whole tile of 30x30 cm, so we are now considering to use 10W lamps instead, using 12V power supply.

Today's conclusion
At the moment, we are aiming to make 12 tiles. Pre-cut plexiglass (30x30 cm) has been ordered, at a cost of approximately SEK 1000, after we found out that wood and plywood already exist. Lamps are yet to be ordered.