MEGR 2156 Portfolio
My name is Daniel Vo, but my friends call me DVo, I grew up in Cary, NC. I decided to study mechanical engineering because for as long as I can remember I have been interested in how things work and why they work that way. As I grew up I became more interested in math and science along with being hands-on in taking things apart and putting them back together. What I am most excited about and interested to learn about in the mechanical engineering program is how to use CAD and bring the schematics that we make to fruition in the machine shops.
I think that in the past 150 years of engineering design the combustion engine, internet and electricity have had the greatest impact on mankind's prosperity and increased quality of life. The combustion engine helped mankind move from one place to another at greater speeds with the inventions of the automobile and the airplane which both were or still are powered by combustion engines as a means of power. Electricity and the internet helped mankind to stay connected to each other as faster lines of communication. Electricity powers almost everything in our daily lives which intern gets our internet up and running which is now the fastest way of communication and information sharing. Without these improvements in engineering technology the world as we know it would be a lot different.
A simple household product that I use every day and find very useful is the fork. The fork is a utensil with 2 or more prongs that are used typically for handling food. The fork that I analyzed had 4 prongs that are isosceles triangles. The shape of these prongs helps the user to better hold on to the food that you are trying to eat. The handle is in the shape of a teardrop and this shape helps the user hold on to the utensil better and not lose their grip. It also helps to balance out the fork. The fork is made of metal and if it was made of a different material like plastic it is durability would be less since plastic is subject to deforming with heat. It could also snap like in the picture if too much pressure is applied. An alternative to the fork would be chopsticks which are widely used in Asia instead of the fork. Chopsticks are two thin tapered sticks of wood, plastic, metal, etc. The fork that I chose to analyze was produced by Oneida, an American owned company that produces kitchenware and cutlery. Oneida has flatware that is produced in Toluca, Mexico. They start with pieces of stainless steel and cut it out to the general shape of a fork. Then they use a press to cut out the final shape of the fork and use another press to cut out the prongs and stamp the bend into the fork. And the process is finished with polishing and cleaning of the cutlery.
(Click Here for an example of Oneida silverware)
(Click Here for an example of a fork a patent)
With all classes being online due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a lot of time being spent at my desk a problem I would like to solve for my 2156 project is my desk organization. Specifically in cable management along with other devices that are hooked up to my laptop and monitor.
This project took me 5 to 6 hours to complete. Most of that time was remembering how to code with html and the formatting and layout of my portfolio.