SHIFT Learning by Design light table

This paragraph appears in search results and previews for this page. In three to five sentences, summarize the whole project from background to result: what you designed, for whom, where and when, why it matters, and how it turned out. Write this last. It should make sense to someone who has never heard of your project, your client, or Humboldt County.

Describe the background of the project, covering who, what, when, why, and where: the client, the site, the course (Engr205 Introduction to Design at Cal Poly Humboldt), the semester, and your team. This page will be read by people around the world and in the future, so give enough context that a stranger understands it. Refer to your images in the text, e.g., Figure 1 shows the site before the project.

Images uploaded to Appropedia must be free to share and uniquely named. Start each file name with your project name, e.g., CCAT_compost_bin_background.jpg. Use File:Default.png as a placeholder until you have the real image. Give every image alt text (alt=) that describes it for readers using screen readers; the caption is what everyone reads, the alt text is what the image shows.

Our names are Axel, Ethan, Isaiah, and Nick. We are students of Mechanical and Energy Systems Engineering, attending Engineering 205 Introduction to Design.  We all agree, we are very fortunate to have been selected for the multipurpose light table project. Members of our team have already been brainstorming on designs and solutions for this project and have come up with some good ideas for the lighting part of it.

The objective of this project is to design, build, and test a... Write this so that a reader would know when the project is complete. You will refine this statement throughout the semester.

The purpose of our team is to successfully design, build and test a multipurpose light table for the Child Development Lab at Cal Poly Humboldt

Criteria and Decision making for Multipurpose Light Table. Regarding our client specification, consideration, constraints, and usage.

• ~50"x38"x21"
• location: Child Development Lab
• $400 (extendable with approval to $700) from the SHIFT grant
• safe for kids 2-5 years of age
• Diffuse RGB Lighting with accessible controls (not a remote)
• Rounded Corners

• lighter color wood
• sustainability

Table 1:

Criterion	Constraint	Weight (0–10, 10 highest)
Cost	$400 ($700 max)	4
Aesthetics	Looks as good or better then the previous table	8
Durability	at least a few years	8
Ease of use	should be something intuitive for children to use	7
Accesability	Meets or exceeds ADA	6
Attractiveness	Ideally the kids will want to use it as much as possible	5
Adaptability	Should be usable for multiple activities	6
Ease of construction	How easy it is to build and design	7

The table will be used very often daily on the weekdays. There will be one table used by children ages ~2-5. the lifetime should be at least a few years. The main envisioned use will be as a tinker table but should be adaptable for other uses as well.

This literature review is an annotated bibliography covering the client, the material selection for a table, some basics on the electronics for the table, construction processes, and some examples of similar projects and products.

The client is the Child Development lab, and the client liaison is Larisa Callaway-Cole. The table will be used for the children there.

Client interview^[1]

Summary: Laris Callaway-Cole described the use of a multipurpose light table for the Child Development Lab designed for children ages 2-5. The table should provide storage, have rounded edges, use durable and light-colored wood, and avoid buttons or padding. The lighting controls should be securely mounted on the tabletop, with an on/off switch, and color-changing lighting. When the lighting is not being used, the table should be versatile for activities and tinkering. The design should also have child-friendly height that can accommodate children who use wheelchairs.

Relevance: The interview established the main design requirements for accessibility, durability, and versatility. The age range of 2-5 years requires the table to be sized and safe for young children, while rounded edges and securely mounted controls to accommodate our client. The wheelchair-accessible height allows the table to be used by children with different mobility needs. The multipurpose design also allows the table to be used for both a light table and an activity or tinkering table when the light is not being used.

Interview

Client website^[2]

Summary: The clients website goes over some of their history, who they serve and what their goals are.

Relevance: knowing as much about the client, their history and their customers is crucial for this and just about any project like it.

Web

Our customers will primarily be younger children from ages 2-5. Safety, durability, accessibility, and sustainability are our top priorities regarding our customers.

Inventive and Repurposable Childrens Furniture^[3]

Summary: This peer reviewed journal goes over the materials used and general safety for children’s furniture. It also discusses which materials are more sustainable for the environment and have more durability.

Relevance: Our biggest priority for our table is that it needs to be safe and durable. This article provides plenty of information related to that and will most likely be a valuable source of information. It’s also important that we make something that is safe for the environment and doesn’t use up too many resources.

Peer-reviewed journal

Home Safety^[4]

Summary: This book mainly focuses on safety regarding household chemicals and materials. It mainly covers air pollution, appliances, and other hazards, but it also goes over safety regarding certain finishes and polishes.

Relevance: Safety is a big concern for our project, so it is important to have a solid understanding of what materials are hazardous and what we should avoid. In particular, we may use specific finishes and polishes for our table, so this book may provide some important information regarding that topic.

Book

Childrens Product Safety^[5]

Summary: This is a website by the official United States Government regarding safety laws around children’s products. The website mainly focuses on laws about children’s toys and specifically “general use products”.

Relevance: Our table easily falls under the category of a “general use product”, so it may be important to have a solid understanding around safety laws regarding children’s products. It is also important that we follow ethical guidelines for our product, and this website can provide useful information regarding that.

web-source

materials used will most likely consist of wood, hardware and a clear top (glass or plastic)

Types of Hardwood^[6]

Summary: This article lists the 21 most commonly used types of hardwood, some properties of the wood (color durability etc.), as well as some pros and cons for all of them.  

Relevance: Our most commonly used material will be wood and so it will be crucial to pick a durable, relatively inexpensive wood for this project. The client has specified that it would be durable and will likely be in use for a long time and also given us some direction when it comes to the color of the wood, and this website gives some info on those properties for each of these types of wood. In addition the client has specified hardwood should be used so a source that focuses on hardwood is exactly what we need.

Web-source

Strength Testing of Various Hardwoods^[7]

Summary: this research article studies the properties of six different species of wood under shear stresses in planes perpendicular to the grain.

Relevance: sheer stress is one of the more common types of stress a table will face and since long term durability is important to the client this will be good information to know when choosing the type of wood we will use for this project.

peer-reviewed journal

Tempered glass VS Plexiglass^[8]

Summary: This website goes over the basics of plexiglass and tempered glass. it the talks about the pros and cons of each, use cases and why one should be chosen over the other.

Relevance: The choice of the surface material for our table will be very important as it is almost certainly going to be one of the most expensive parts of our project and will be the main part that will be interacted with.

web-source

This is an important area of knowledge as building a table that will last a long time is very important.

Carpentry^[9]

Summary: this book goes over many things relevant to this project including finishing material for wood, properties of wood and timber, hand tools, power tools, joints, fixings, and adhesives.

Relevance: all of the above topics this book covers are crucial elements of the construction of our device as well as the choice of materials used. A finish for example is something that the client has asked for and choosing one that will last long will be important for the longevity and safety of the table.

book

This is an important area of knowledge as building a table that will last a long time and is aesthetically pleasing and safe will require good joinery wook.

Fine Woodworking^[10]

Summary: This website provides information about multiple traditional woodworking joints, such as, mortise-and-tenon, dovetail box, dowel, biscuit, domino, and pocket-hole joints. It describes the different purposes for each of these joints, including how mortise-and-tenon joints can provide a lot of help with keeping parts aligned during assembly.

Relevance: Our table will need joints that can keep its components together and aligned while also providing enough strength for everyday use. This source will help us when deciding which joinery to use and compare the different methods for which our table will use.

Web-source

Carpentry and Joinery^[11]

Summary: This book provides information on carpentry and joinery techniques used in woodworking. It can serve as a reference for traditional woodworking methods on creating and assembling wood joints and understanding how different pieces of wood can connect together.

Relevance: Our table will depend on properly designed and assembled joints to connect its individual components. This book can provide background information on traditional joinery methods that will be useful when deciding which joints we will use for our design.

book

Decorative Joinery^[12]

Summary: This article presents an interactive computational design that transforms user sketch 2d surface patterns into interlocking, fastener-free 3D solid parts. It presents many detailed static analyses to evaluate and troubleshoot structural stability.

Relevance: Our project requires designing joints that are structurally sound. This source will help us understand how the geometry and stability of our joints that are chosen will be applied while also having a decorative design.

Peer-Reviewed Journal

A key part of this project will be the lighting for the surface of the table

DC Basics^[13]

Summary: This book goes over the basics of DC circuits, including: conductors, insulators, electron flow, safety, and many other components and rules for DC circuits.

Relevance: The lighting of this table will be DC powered.

Book

Lighting^[14]

Summary: This Article talks about many different kinds of lights some useful for the project and some not. it also gives some information on LEDs.

Relevance: Choosing the right kind of lights will be important for longevity of this project as well as cost and safety.

Web-source

Examples of similar commercial and DIY projects are very important when planning a project.

DIY Examples^[15][16]

Summary: These are two examples of DIY light tables.

Relevance: DIY examples are especially useful because they often come with instructions or even detailed technical drawings or CAD models that can be used during the design of your own.

Web-source

Commercial Examples^{[17][18][19][20]}

Summary: These are four examples of commercially sold light tables.

Relevance: Commercial examples are often useful because they tend to be more premium then DIY solutions. In addition for our project a premium feel is important, since it is a product for a client.

Web-Source

• Durability and safety are key parts of this project^{[1][2][3][4][5]}
• The main material used will be some kind of hardwood^[1][6][7]
• All wood should be finished and edges/corners should be rounded^[1][3][4][5]
• This project will use a mix of fasteners, adhesive and joints for construction^{[9][10][11][12]}
• electronics should be low voltage and last long. ^[1][13][14]
• Lights used will be LEDs^[1][14]

Here are some of the alternative solutions for this project. they focus on different methods of lighting and storage.

Introduce this section in one to two sentences specific to your project.

Cost

The price of the table.

Aesthetics

How good the table looks

Durability

How durable and long lasting the table is

Ease of use

How easy thew table is to use for kids ages 2-5

Accessibility

How accessible the table and its functions of the table are to all people

Attractiveness

How much kids actually want to use it

Adaptability

How easy it is to use the table for a multitude of activities and the number of activities it can be used for.

Ease of construction

How easy it is to build and design the table

A decision matrix was used which gave us scores for all the alternatives. The design that we thought would be the best in category was given a 10 and the rest were lower in relation to that score.

Table 2: Decision matrix. Scores are 0-10; weighted totals are the sum of weight × score.

Criterion	Weight	Alternative 1	Alternative 2	Alternative 3	Alternative 4
Cost	4	8	10	4	6
Aesthetics	8	6	3	10	7
Durability	8	7	7	10	10
Ease of use	7	8	8	10	10
Accessibillity	6	9	9	10	10
Attractiveness	5	10	10	10	10
Adaptability	6	8	8	10	10
Ease of Construction	7	10	10	8	8
Weighted total		422	398	466	456

The chosen solution will be the Wooden cubbies plus the bottom mounted light strips. the cubbies will make the cost go up a bit and make the construction a little harder but are a much more durable and much better looking solution than the 3D printed drawers. As for the light strips they would be a lot harder to design and build compared to the much easier bottom mounted ones so that will be the choice.

Show your most impactful prototypes from earliest to final. Include at least one prototype for function (does it work? e.g., testing a mechanism, material, or dimension) and at least one prototype for desire (will people want to use it? e.g., a mockup shown to the client or users for feedback). Each caption should say what the prototype is, whether it tested function or desire, and what you learned from it. Early sketches, failed attempts, and photos of materials and hands at work all help tell the story.

• 
  Prototype for desire: cardboard mockup of ... shown to the client. We learned that ...
• 
  Prototype for function: test of ... We learned that ...

Describe the final design, starting with the big picture and then going into detail. Use labeled images and refer to them in the text. This is usually a big section.

• 
  CAD drawing of ... by Yourname1.
• 
  Drawing of ... by Yourname2.

Give a complete description of how the final design is built, with lots of images, so someone else could replicate it. Use one {{Step}} per step. This is much easier to write as descriptive (what you did) instead of prescriptive (what another person should do), but you can take either approach.

Introduce the timeline in one to two sentences, then show it as a table with columns for date, description, and status. Post a proposed timeline early in the semester and update it at the end to show the actual timeline. Say how well your team met it and why dates changed.

Table 3: Project timeline.

Date	Description	Status
September 17, 2026	Project assigned	Complete
September 18, 2026	First email to client	Complete
September 17-20, 2026	Team contract	Complete
September 17-20, 2026	Section 1 - problem formulation	Complete
September 22, 2026	First client meeting	Complete
September 23-27,2026	Section 2 - literature review	Complete
September 23-October 10, 2026	Brainstorming	In-progress
September 26, 2026	Order electronics	Complete
September 26-October 12, 2026	CAD model	In-progress
September 30-October 4, 2026	Timeline	Complete
September 30-October 4, 2026	Problem analysis	Complete
October 14, 2026	Buy all remaining materials	not started
October 14, 2026	Prototyping	not started
October 14-24	Prototype photos and results	not started
October 15-20, 2026	Finalize design	not started
October 18-20, 2026	Print parts	not started
October 21-25, 2026	Project photos I	not started
October 21-25, 2026	Video storyboard	not started
October 21-November 3, 2026	Build	not started
November 4, 2026	Makerspace walkthrough	not started
November 4-8, 2026	Project photos II	not started
November 9-15, 2026	Practice slides	not started
November 10-15, 2026	Project photos III	not started
November 16-18, 2026	Presentation slides	not started
November 16-22, 2026	Appropedia draft	not started
November 22-29, 2026	Digital deliverables	not started
November 22-29, 2026	Videos	not started
November 22-29, 2026	Final report	not started
November 30-December 6, 2026	Final timesheet	not started
November 30-December 6, 2026	Final reflection	not started

Introduce the three kinds of cost below in one to two sentences.

Show the total human hours your team spent outside of class, grouped into categories (e.g., research, brainstorming, prototyping, construction, documentation). Three teammates working for one hour is three human hours.

Introduce the costs to build the design, including donations and reused materials. Note whether costs are actual or proposed. If replication would cost a different amount, say so.

Item	Amount	Cost per unit	Total
Thing - from the thing store — Purchased	3	USD 5.75	USD 17.25
Another thing - 3' x 2', yellow — Donated by ...	1	USD 0.00	USD 0.00
PrintGrand total			USD 17.25EUR 14.84 <br />GBP 12.59 <br />CAD 21.39 <br />MXN 359.66 <br />INR 1,291.16 <br />

Introduce the ongoing costs in time and money, usually per year.

Table 4: Yearly maintenance cost.

Task	Frequency	Time per year (hours)	Cost per year (USD)
Example task	Monthly	2	0.00
Total		2	0.00

Introduce how to use the design, then give step-by-step instructions with labeled images. Use {{Step}} if the process has more than a few steps. A short video is a great addition:

Introduce this maintenance section. Answer these questions:

• Are there any needed actions for maintenance?
• How often?
• Who should perform maintenance?

This is when to maintain what. Please keep the format the same as it can be used to auto-populate maintenance tables.

Daily

• A daily task
• A daily task

Weekly

• a weekly task
• a weekly task

Monthly

• a monthly task
• a monthly task

Yearly

• a yearly task
• a yearly task

Every __ years

• task
• task

Give step-by-step maintenance instructions, using {{Step}} if helpful.

Describe how you tested the final design and what the results were. Compare the results to your criteria, e.g., in a table like Table 5.

Table 5: Final design performance against criteria.

Criterion	Constraint	Result	Met?
Cost	Less than or equal to $3 per ounce	$2.50 per ounce	Yes

Discuss what the testing results mean.

Discuss what your team learned and what you would do differently next time.

Discuss next steps for the project as it goes on into the future.

Cover basic operating problems only. For complex issues, the suggestion might be to contact ________.

Problem	Suggestion
Example issue	Example solution or suggestion
Does not turn on	Make sure it is plugged in.
Another issue	Etc.

Include an inspirational video for sharing.

Introduce the team and semester, e.g., This project was completed in SEMESTER YEAR by Team TEAMNAME:

• Lonny Grafman
• Emilio Velis
• One bullet for each team member, in the format [[User:Username|Full Name]].