What is Project Darwin? Project darwin is the project undertaken by me to work on my passion for engineering and design to create an FDM 3D-Printer from my own design. I chose this project because for the past 4 years I have been running a 3d-designing and 3d-printing business on my own. I previously only had 1 machine which I had purchased as a kit from a seller. However, since the machine was getting old I had to replace it soon. This is where I got the idea to build a 3D printer on my own. I name the project Darwin since it is an evolution of the previous version.

LO1 Identify your own strengths and develop areas for growth:

During this project, I realized that I have strength in mechanical aspects of engineering and integrating my prior knowledge to suit my needs. I was able to undertake such a massive project all on my own and keep it on track. I was also successfully able to design all the fixtures and mechanisms for the Printer on my own without much external help. However, I did notice that I lacked in coding skills which were also integral to the project. Hence I had to spend a significant amount of time learning to code the particular language on my own.

LO2 Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process:

This project was one of the biggest risks that I have taken financially since it involved an investment of nearly Rs.20,000 without any guaranteed outcome. Even though I have had training in this field and have experience in building and repairing similar machines, building one from scratch using my own design proved to be even more difficult than I had thought. One of the issues that I faced was coding. Since I am more mechanically inclined it is difficult for me to work with code and especially obscure languages such as Marlin. However, with the help of mentors and external guidance, I was eventually able to figure out all of the various issues with the firmware of the machine and was able to get it up and running. Another challenge for me was the logistics of the entire project.

LO3 Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience:

The planning for the project began in January 2022. I began first with a month of research and documentation to understand the nitty gritty of the machines and figure out a concrete plan for how I wished to proceed. Moving forward I started by creating a CAD model of the entire printer on Fusion 360 (a CAD software) to simulate the functions of the printer without investing my money into it. Finally I listed the materials required for the project and began building the machine. Managing the materials and their deliveries was a very challenging the time-consuming job, since most of the parts needed to be brought in from various cities and usually took upwards of a week to arrive, I had to plan the entire project 2 months in advance to get the parts right when I needed them.

LO4 Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences:

This project took me over 5 months to complete, with tiring days and sleepless nights in between. It took me immence patience and strength to complete the project and persevere. Several times I felt like giving up, my parents supported me and got me in touch with experts in robotics to help me out. I learned a lot from the experts in the field and understood how I could tackle my issues with proper solutions.