APPLIED ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT

Morehead State University

Cyra Jones
IET 330: Industrial Design
LAB 1
AET Light Board Project
INSTRUCTOR: DR. WANG
GROUP MEMBERS:
Austin Crosswhite
Kansas Cox
Tyler Vanderpool
DATE: 03-03-2015

Objective:
The purpose of this lab was for our group to use the engineering design process to
complete a project. We were to design a board that contained a letter assigned to us, use
equipment in the labs to create our design, and use electronics equipment to wire the system. We
were to work as a group to complete all the steps in the process and create the finished product
of the light board.
Equipment and Materials:
For this lab we used the following equipment and materials to complete our light board:
-XYZ Machine
-Table Saw
-Wood Planer
-Bread board
-8x8x1.5 wood board
-Soldering Iron
-LEDs
-Wire
-9 V battery
-Battery Clip
-Switch
-Paint
All of these materials and pieces of equipment combined throughout the process to create our
board. Since we each had different skill sets we had to utilize our different knowledge and talents
to use all of the equipment effectively. But through this use of knowledge we were able to
complete our project.

Procedure:
The project began by selecting groups and being assigned our letter. Our group was given
the letter A and we began designing. Using SolidWorks, we designed a board that had our letter
A inset into the front of the box. There was a boarder around the edge of the front face for
added detail. He also designed the box with the holes drilled through portions of the A for the
LEDs to shine through and illuminate our letter. On the back side of the board he designed a cut
out to house all of the electronics and also designed lips to hold a plexi glass back covering. This
design was transferred into MasterCam. After a great deal of struggle to find the correct origin for
our part we were able to set up the code file to be milled out on the XYZ Machine. Below are the
SolidWorks renderings of our part.

Figure 1: Front of the Board Design

Figure 2: Back of the Board Design

Before we could mill our part we had to select wood to create our project out of. We went
to the lab and found a long board with very few splits or defects and decided to use it. We cut it
down to a manageable size and used the table saw to fine cut the board. We then ran the board
through the planer to smooth the faces and create the best possible finish to cut our design into.
Once our board was planed and smooth, we were ready for the machining process.
After the code file was transferred to the machine we set to machine up and prepared to
mill out our board. The milling process had to be completed in two parts; the front and the back.
We started out with the back side on the XYZ Machine first. The process took over an hour to
complete as we had to use an 1/8th inch mill to mill the entire back pocket out. We completed the
process and flipped the board over to mill out the front features. This process took about as long
as the back side but that was due to the detail and small holes that we had to mill out. We had to
use a vacuum to keep the wood shavings from backing up in the mill and hindering our machining
process. Once the machining was complete we removed the wood block from the XYZ Machine

and sanded down the rough edges and removed excess debris from the holes and edges. Below
are pictures of the finished board after being milled.

Figure 3: Front of Milled Board

Figure 4: Back of Milled Board

After the milling process we painted the board and installed the electronic components.
This process was first completed on a bread board to determine how the LEDs should be wired.
Afterwards we installed the LEDs into the backside of the holes and wired them in parallel with
one another to prevent the circuit from not working if one LED were to burn out. The wiring was
all housed inside the back panel we milled out and the plexi glass cover was placed over them.
This created a clean smooth look for the entire box. We then touched up the paint and finished
the entire project. Below are pictures of the completed project.

Figure 5: Back of Completed Project

Figure 6: Front of Finished Project

Conclusion:
Overall this project was much more involved than we originally anticipated. We spent a
great deal of time out of class working on the project because we had to learn how to use
MasterCam and the XYZ Machine. But after all the problems we created a very nice project we
were all happy with. Everyone in the group contributed and we were able to make the project as
good as we had originally hoped. I am glad we did this project even though it is not in my area of
study and I am unfamiliar with most of the stuff we had to use. It allowed me to learn some new
things and gain some useful knowledge along the way.