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Failures & Success
04/01/2025 - 06/06/2025
Failures:
01: Cracking Ceramics in the Kiln
* One ceramic piece from another group shattered, reminding us of the importance of fully drying clay before firing. This helped us develop a safer and more gradual heating strategy.
02: Exposed Nichrome Wire in Concrete Heater
* Our first cement heater failed to embed the Nichrome wire properly, due to both too little cement and the wire being tied too high. It was a reminder that structure and preparation matter just as much as materials.
03: Poor Cement Mixture and Aesthetic Issues
* Our initial cement mix (1 cup cement : 2-3 cups sand) wasn’t enough, and the result was both structurally and visually flawed. It showed us the importance of testing ratios and planning the mold shape.
04: Corrosion at Wire Junctions
* The meeting points of wires were prone to corrosion due to high resistance. While frustrating, this pushed us to explore more sophisticated insulation and wire connection methods, using scavenged stove parts.
05: Needed to be careful
* 2/3 of our pieces failed. 1) We failed to find an effective method to fill the concrete inside. 2) We broke the wire because we weren't being careful enough.
01: Machine Shop Certification
* Early on, we ensured everyone in our group was certified to safely and independently use the machine shop—a key foundation for our hands-on work.
Success:
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02: Safe Kiln Firing Strategy
* With advice from the Ceramic Architecture department, we developed a safe and progressive heating method to prevent explosions and cracks in our ceramics.
03: Stove Top Disassembly and Innovation
* We successfully reverse-engineered an electric stove to understand how manufacturers mitigate heat and corrosion. This directly inspired our corrosion protection experiments using magnesium oxide and aluminum oxide.
04. Iterative Problem Solving on Corrosion
* By cutting and modifying stove top pieces, embedding thick Nichrome wire, and experimenting with protective compounds like clay + aluminum oxide and cement + MgO/Al₂O₃, we took practical steps toward solving a tough technical challenge.
05: Team Coordination and Delegation
* Over time, we developed a clear system of dividing tasks—assigning heating shifts, cutting grids, or running different material tests—helping us stay organized and productive.
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06: Better corresion results
* 1) We got the first piece (cement + aluminum to get to 10 volts, which was more than before, but still failed. 2) The clay with aluminum mixture performed the best.
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