As a capstone project for my Product Lifecycle Management minor, I lead two similar, yet separate projects. The first was a team of 8 students in the creation of a plague awarded to the CEO of General Electric to commemorate his visit to campus. Inscribed with the words “Past Partners Taking A New Step Forward,” the plaque referenced our shared work on the Apollo Moon landing. The second was a team consisting of two members of the first team (plus myself) that created a manual outlining the install and use of the laser scanner and associated softwares used in the first project as none existed.
The “Bootprint” Plague
In 1969 mankind’s first footprints on another celestial body were left by a pair of General Electric made boots that just so happened to be attached to a Purdue University Alum by the name of Neil Armstrong. These bootprints were then duplicated in concrete (as seen above) outside of the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering on campus. They were copied once again by my team and I by using a laser scanner to create a point cloud of the shape that was then both machined in aluminum and printed in resin. After tragedy struck the aluminum version, the backup resin-simulant one (created from the same file but on a ObJet inkjet-style 3D printer instead of a CNC mill), along with the wood insert containing the names of all those who touched the project, was given by university President Mitch Daniels to GE CEO Jeff Immelt commemorating his visit to the campus.
General Project Stages and My Role in Them:
- Learn the Technology — after teaching myself to use the scanner and software from only a few archaic notes, I taught my team and even gave two class demos
- Scan — having the most experience, I performed scanning on the original concrete form (see video below)
- Clean Point Cloud — after discovering our scanning software licence was expired, I worked with our professor and vendors to re-instate it, then others could do basic corrections
- Point Cloud -> Mesh — GeoMagic Design X (update purchased by the university at my request) was then used to create and clean a surface from the point cloud data
- Mesh integration — the surface was then exported to CATIA V5r21 to be integrated in the plaque as designed by the team and I
- Computer-Aided Manufacturing— the complete plaque design was then approved and exported to the CAM workbench which generated the G-code for the CNC
- Inlay Inscription — while machining was taking place, I created the wood inlay for the back using a laser engraver (having experience with one)
- Assembly and presentation — after securing the back and front inserts in the version to be presented, the finished plaque was then handed up the chain for presentation
What I learned:
- Isolating a team from managerial pressure
- Importance of ensuring communication throughout an organization regardless of position
- Working under deadlines and high stress while dealing with unknown variables
- Re-enforced my ability to network with corporate upper-level staff
The Scanner Manual
Our team of three focused this project on the components we knew the most about after having finished the respective parts on the “Bootprint” project; Software Install, Scanning, Point Cloud Conversion, and Geometry Cleanup, as well as comparison of alternative techniques and software. As stated on the cover page, the manual focused on use of this particular model of scanner and software as purchased previously by the university: a manual for Purdue by Purdue (including license specifics). This completed manual was included on a CD of the following copies of which were distributed between the scanner case and multiple other parties for safekeeping.
Included on the final CD:
- Manual (Link)
- Software Installers and Licenses
- OEM References and Contact Information
- Demo Files