The goal of the Student Choice Project #1 in my Engineering Concepts class was to design and create anything related to the things we had learned recently (woodworking, CAD, and CAM). I decided I was going to create my own automatic pencil sharpener. This project is most related to woodworking and electrical engineering. I constrained myself to use very little materials and complete it in a little over a week. My criteria was to have a working on/off switch or button and to spend no money on this project, as well as an overall working and completed mechanical pencil sharpener. 

I wanted to make a pencil sharpener because I think it is a great mix between mechanical and electrical engineering, both of which I want to learn more about. I looked at a lot of previously made automatic pencil sharpeners from which to derive my design. Many high tech ones have sensors for when the pencil enters the sharpener, but I decided that was too complex. My design came out to be a simple box with a motor connected to a handheld pencil sharpener blade in the center. This box has a small hatch to throw away any pencil shavings, along with a hole for the pencil to enter. Throughout my build phase, I had to keep in mind that I wanted to use as little materials as possible and to also work quickly. My timeline was to get this project finished in about 1 and a half weeks, finishing the electrical portion during the first week and completing mechanical aspects the other 3 days. I was the only one in my group, so I was going to do all the building and wiring for this.

I made the pencil sharpener in a very defined order. I first started with wiring the electrical components. I used a breadboard and a micro bit breakup board, along with breadboard wires, to complete this. I also added a button to turn off and on the sharpener. During this, I faced many obstacles. For example, as soon as I would add the button, the breadboard would start to not work. I overcame this by receiving help from a professional and learning how to complete the wiring. I then used wood glue and thin wood pieces to make the main box of my sharpener. I cut the pieces with a miter saw and handheld saw, then connected them with wood glue. I had many problems with the amount of time the wood glue took to dry. I had to hold it for over an hour. The first picture to the left is the step in my project before I put the actual sharpener in. I decided to not include a hatch due to the lack of proper materials in this build. I was unable to access a hinge or something of the type due to the criteria I had set for myself. 

I then continued by attaching the pencil sharpener to it, drilling a hole for the pencil, and completing the pencil's path to the sharpener. I added a collection system for the pencil shaving so they wouldn't get in the way of the overall function of the sharpener. This completed my project and is shown in the picture below.

I tested my pencil sharpener by sharpening pencils in it. I took various types of pencils and made sure it worked for each. Everything works very well, and I even added a collection system to increase its efficiency. I completed all of my goals such as an on and off button and spending no money and showed their completion in my testing. In the future, I could put money into it and create an easy distribution system for the pencil shavings. But for now, there is nothing left to do but sharpen pencils!