Category: Heels Up!

Final Project

• How it works: In its final form, the heel requires manual manipulation to adjust the height. In theory, an internal stepper motor will be attached to the heel via a spring. The rotation of the motor will enable the heel to expand and contract when activated by the Bluetooth sensor on the Adafruit board.

Final Poster

Describe how well did your project meet your original project description and goals.

• Goal #1: Adjustable Heel
  • I was able to design the heel components very similarly to how I originally planned. One pivot is that I initially wanted the heel to be covered, but I ended up liking the look of the exposed pieces better.
• Goal #2: Electronic Movement
  • I was able to work with Kevin to program the stepper motor to move the internal spring. However, in order to have the needed length, I had to solder two springs together and during the final testing of the movement the solder broke.
• Goal #3: Operated by Bluetooth
  • This was one aspect of the project that I was not able to get to due to timing.

Describe the largest hurdles you encountered.  How did you overcome these challenges?

• When I originally came up with the idea for this project, I think that I underestimated the degree to which the unknown elements would hinder my success. For example, in my head I was planning on purchasing the outer shell of the heel. Then when it became clear that the pieces did not exist in the form I needed them, I decided I would just make CADs and 3D print them, but I did not fully understand how hard that would be. I think that this portion of the project was by far the largest hurdle that I encountered and sheer persistence and crowd sourcing solutions from my classmates helped me to overcome these issues.

Describe what would you do next if you had more time

• If I had more time I would have liked to make the movement work and be operated by the Adafruit Bluetooth board that I purchased. As I was able to finalize the heel pieces by the end of the project, I was approaching this stage as the semester came to an end, so I do not think that that would have been an unrealistic goal. I think that having more time would have allowed me to purchase a longer spring, rather than having to solder two smaller ones together and just experiment more with the actual functionality.

• Naming
  •  Houston we have liftoff! Inspired by the aviation phrase, “wheels up”, that signifies that a plane has taken off, “Heels Up” is meant to evoke that with this product women are ready to “take off” on whatever adventures the day holds. Young professional women often travel frequently both for work and for pleasure, so they will be familiar with the term, and that duality also plays nicely into the fact that the shoe can be for either work or pleasure.
• Heel Components
  • The final heel components seem to be working, the next step here is adding one of the many motors that I purchased (with Kevin’s help please).

• Shoe Body
  • Once we are “Heels Up”, the shoe body will be specially constructed to fit the heel. If we don’t have a working heel prototype by Thursday, the shoe body will be constructed anyways.

• Last week
  • I started putting together the shoe pieces I already had so that I can build the base for the prototype.

• • I also redesigned the heel components so that they do not have to complete 2 full rotations to extend their full length; I increased the height so that they will be able to condense/ extend from 0.75”-4”; and I added loops on top so that we can test if springs will be able to attach and  facilitate rotation.

• This week
  • I plan on finishing the shoe base and testing the new heel components.

• Last week
  • After meeting with Rich in the printing room, I got re-inspired to work on my original design. I completed drawing the second version of the heel components and sent them to be printed. I’m glad that I know that there is a very affordable way to print the pieces, but the delivery timing is a bit unpredictable.
  • 
• This week
  • I am going to attempt to construct a hybrid of my two designs and a suggestion that Kevin (student) had that would allow me to use a hydraulic movement rather than the rotary motor.

• Last week
  • Looked for parts at American Science and Surplus and found several types of motors and a hydraulic lift kit. After some contemplation and a realistic look at the time remaining to complete this project, I think I am going to pivot to my back-up plan and make and adjustable wedge instead of a heel. This will involve using a hydraulic scissor lift, which is much easier for me to understand than the rotary motor.

• This week
  • Build scissor lift and shoe frame.
  • Work on understanding the Bluefruit component.

• Last week
  • Heel Components
    • The 1^st version of the 3D prints for the heel component arrived. However, they did not fit in each other, so I tried modifying the physical components with a jewelry file to see if I could get them to fit. This caused the threads on the largest of the rings to snap.
    • 
  • Platform work
    • I hollowed out the pre-existing platform of a heel that I own so that it can be used in the shoe until a custom platform has been fabricated. 
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• This week
  • Heel Components
    • I will continue to modify the 3D components and order the second version of the design.
  • Bluefruit
    • I will start to experiment with the Bluefruit components to see if I can get the device to work.
    • 

• Next week
  • Heel Components
    • If the second version of the components function properly, I will order the final version in metal. Otherwise, I will continue to iterate and order new versions.
  • Motor
    • While in Milwaukee, I will go to American Science and Surplus to see if they have recommendations on small motors for the shoe.
  • Bluefruit
    • Once I have the motor, I will begin experimenting with the Bluefruit board to see if I can get it to spin the motor in two directions.