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Little Inventors

Making blog

All the latest news and updates from our incredible inventors and magnificent makers
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Digitized Ideation sketches
Posted by Alexander Lauxmann about Chase's Electric Stepper

I took my pen and paper sketches and inked them in a program called Clip Studio Paint. It includes ideas for the walkway itself, some features like lighting and materials, and designs for a battery housing to store electricity generated during the day.

First Timing Test
Posted by Anton Steenken about Chris's Super Wings

It's day 2 of working on this amazing project from Chris, and the first block-out and timing test is done. I do these to make sure the composition and timings work, but the style and look of the animation will of course be made way more beautiful with actual characters and the Super Wings later on! 
These tests showed me that the timing was still a little too fast, so I will work on that before going deeper into animation and the Super Wings.

Kick Off Meeting
Posted by Ascent Aerospace about Neyla's Drive-O-Meter-3000

We had our kick off meeting for the Drive O Meter 3000. A kick off meeting is when the people working on a project come together and discuss our goals, scope, timeline, and responsibilities.

Designs!
Posted by Ascent Aerospace about Neyla's Drive-O-Meter-3000

Take a look at our designs made in Catia. We have taken pictures of the different layers so you can see the inside of the design!

First meetings with Ariana for Hammoglow!
Posted by TARUS Products about Ariana's HammoGlow

TARUS met with Ariana and her teacher for her idea of Hammoglow, a swing-powered generator that can light up lights or charge a phone when swinging.  

We discussed her initial idea, what inspired her to come up with the idea, and our plans to make the product. She told us the colors she wanted, the specifics of the swing, how it would work and its design and features.

Stay tuned for the next phase where TARUS and Ariana work on the construction of this exciting idea!

Ideation, sketching, and testing AI tools
Posted by Alexander Lauxmann about Chase's Electric Stepper

The first thing that is produced when I work on a project are sketches. These help me get what is in my mind onto paper and start to narrow down what I would like the final design to look like.

For my ideations on this project I decided to try using a new tool. Viscom AI is a generative AI tool that can help with refinement and editing. In this case, I fed it my sketches to see what it would render from them. I found this useful because even though they are by no mean perfect renders, they do help me think more outside the box and get inspired. The image included is the workspace I created within Viscom to test rendering my sketches.

Getting things started!
Posted by HTI Cybernetics about MIchael's Pressure Energy

The HTI team met this week to start brainstorming how we can bring Michael's invention to life, showing the transfer of energy though pressure points. Stay tuned for more updates!

Drive-O-Meter 3000 Catia Design
Posted by Ascent Aerospace about Neyla's Drive-O-Meter-3000

Ascent's Mechanical Designers created a 3D Model in Catia, a design software, of the Drive-O-Meter 3000! This will help our engineers create the real-life model by using this design as reference.

Storyboard from Chris!
Posted by Anton Steenken about Chris's Super Wings

After the amazing and inspiring meeting with Chris he sent over his inspiring storyboard. I will do my very best to match his great vision in the animation!

Ideation Sketching
Posted by Andrew Germann about McKenna's My Heated Bed

Getting clarity on the components of the design.

Our first meeting!
Posted by HTI Cybernetics about MIchael's Pressure Energy

This week we were able to meet our client, Michael, and his teacher. We got tell him about what we do as a company, and he was so impressed! We also got to learn all about where his idea came from and let him know how excited we are to make the Pressure Energy a reality. Can't wait to give him an update next week!

Tallhouse Reveal!
Posted by PTI Engineered Plastics Inc. about Lily's The Tallhouse

We had a great time at the Little Inventors Celebration with Lily, her family, teachers, and all the other Little Inventors from Macomb County.  There was so much creativity in each project, from the Inventor's sketches, prototypes and ideas to the Maker's brought to life versions!!

It's a Wrap!
Posted by Makers Making Change about Summer's Picker-Upper

The project is all over and we're happy with the final results.  It was a fun journey, and I'm really happy to have had the chance to work with Summer and Jaxon on such a cool project.

Keep on Inventing!

The unveiling event!
Posted by HTI Cybernetics about Logan's Water Tank

It was such a great night at the MISD at the Little Inventors Unveiling Event. We were so excited to present the Water Tank to Logan and showcase how we brought his invention to life!

Putting on the final touches!
Posted by HTI Cybernetics about Logan's Water Tank

The last week has been busy with the team coming together to put the finishing touches on the Water Tank. Can't wait to present it to Logan today!

Bringing the Dog Entertainment Cave to life!
Posted by Jeffrey Baroli about Hadley's Dog Entertainment Cave

We've been working on Hadley's fantastic idea using 3D modelling software to visualise the design.

Baby Playtime Crib
Posted by Caitlin Warren about Scarlett's Baby Playtime Crib

Here’s a look at my 3D Model I created, will update you with a final shot, of what it looks like in a setting. These aren’t the final colors, those will be updated in the render I’ll be posting soon!

Tallhouse Finishing Touches
Posted by PTI Engineered Plastics Inc. about Lily's The Tallhouse

The Tallhouse is nearly complete! Steve is putting the final touches on the support box that holds the actuator & mechanisms for the house and we are ready for the big reveal later this week.

Getting ready for the mail
Posted by Makers Making Change about Summer's Picker-Upper

After some more prototyping, testing and tweaking I'm happy to say that the Picker-Upper has come to life!  

While I could keep working on a few of the finer points I'm happy with the results.  It's also time to get them in the mail so they can arrive in time for the big event on May 30!

I hope Summer and Jaxon like the Picker-Upper!

(no pictures this time as I don't want to spoil the big reveal!)

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