Visualizing Silver Patches      Challenge    I needed to print silver nanoparticle patches onto a glass substrate and a polyimide film, but I also  needed to check the effect of the number of printing layers and the sintering temperature in the  sheet resistance of the silver patches I was going to print. I had a limited amount of ink that I had  synthesized so I needed to design a set of setups. It was easy to calculate that I needed 18 patches  (number of substrate types x number of sintering temperatures x number of layer count) but I could  not figure out how to print them when I needed to consider the size of glass slides I had, the  unevenness of the heat distribution of the hot plate I was using (among other concerns), and the  fact that patches cannot be printed on the same slides as patches that were not going to be sintered  at the same temperature.    Selection    I chose the Visualization tool to help me draw a situation where I needed to print the eighteen  patches. Visualization helps people communicate their ideas to others more effectively because  images and diagrams aid in getting information across. Simply relying on an extensive, wordy  explanation becomes unreliable at times so visual aids are a must.    Funnily, in my challenge, I needed to communicate something to myself. I knew what I needed to  do because I had already planned the variables that I needed to test in my printing of the silver  patches, but I had difficulty actually executing the idea. As an attempt to make things clearer to  myself, I dropped my lab notebook and proceeded to look (or stare) at the materials I needed to  better visualize how I needed to execute my plan.    Application    I took 75 mm x 25 mm glass slides and laid them on the table so that I could figure out how I could  split them according to the specifications I had planned. I rearranged them and tried covering half  of them with Kapton tape. It then occurred to me to cut the glass slides the way I would cut them  using a diamond cutter whenever I would prepare my XRD samples. How? Because the glass  slides were right beside the cutting board I usually prepared my XRD samples on.     I then tried cutting the glass slide and covered half of it with Kapton tape. I then realized that on  each half of the half-glass slide (basically a quarter of the original glass slide), I could print one  silver patch. The half-glass slide also perfectly fit at the center of the hot plate so that heating  distribution between them would be more or less equal. I figured out that I needed to prepare nine  of these half-glass slides, each assigned to a certain number of printed silver layers and a certain  sintering temperature. In the end, my printing plan ended up like this:

Insight    Looking back, I could have easily planned all of this in my head without the need of actually  grabbing materials I needed and moving them around. However, I learned that relying on such a  technique could help me visualize plans that I needed to clarify even to myself. I think the  Visualization portion of this course focused on communication between people. I guess I took it a  step further (and made it slightly meta) by using this technique to communicate with myself.     Honestly, I am not sure if this fulfills the assignment, but I did think of what this course taught me  while working and somehow I applied it in a scenario that is different from what was described in  the class.    Approach    Next time, I could bring this lesson whenever I am planning events or experiments with other  people. I used the tool in work I do alone, but innovation usually requires teams of people  collaborating to achieve a certain goal. Whenever I get stuck trying to concretize an idea with a  team, I will invite everyone to stand up from our chairs so that we could try and play around with  materials we might be using so that we could better visualize the right ways to execute our ideas.


Visualizing Silver Patches Challenge I needed to print silver nanoparticle patches onto a glass substrate and a polyimide film , but I also needed to check the effect of the number of printing layers and the sintering temperature in the sheet resistance of the silver patches I was going to print . I had a limited amount of ink that I had synthesized so I needed to design a set of setups . It was easy to calculate that I needed 18 patches ( number of substrate types x number of sintering temperatures x number of layer count ) but I could not figure out how to print them when I needed to consider the size of glass slides I had , the unevenness of the heat distribution of the hot plate I was using ( among other concerns ) , and the fact that patches can not be printed on the same slides as patches that were not going to be sintered at the same temperature . Selection I chose the Visualization tool to help me draw a situation where I needed to print the eighteen patches . Visualization helps people communicate their ideas to others more effectively because images and diagrams aid in getting information across . Simply relying on an extensive , wordy explanation becomes unreliable at times so visual aids are a must . Funnily , in my challenge , I needed to communicate something to myself . I knew what I needed to do because I had already planned the variables that I needed to test in my printing of the silver patches , but I had difficulty actually executing the idea . As an attempt to make things clearer to myself , I dropped my lab notebook and proceeded to look ( or stare ) at the materials I needed to better visualize how I needed to execute my plan . Application I took 75 mm x 25 mm glass slides and laid them on the table so that I could figure out how I could split them according to the specifications I had planned . I rearranged them and tried covering half of them with Kapton tape . It then occurred to me to cut the glass slides the way I would cut them using a diamond cutter whenever I would prepare my XRD samples . How ? Because the glass slides were right beside the cutting board I usually prepared my XRD samples on . I then tried cutting the glass slide and covered half of it with Kapton tape . I then realized that on each half of the half - glass slide ( basically a quarter of the original glass slide ) , I could print one silver patch . The half - glass slide also perfectly fit at the center of the hot plate so that heating distribution between them would be more or less equal . I figured out that I needed to prepare nine of these half - glass slides , each assigned to a certain number of printed silver layers and a certain sintering temperature . In the end , my printing plan ended up like this : Insight Looking back , I could have easily planned all of this in my head without the need of actually grabbing materials I needed and moving them around . However , I learned that relying on such a technique could help me visualize plans that I needed to clarify even to myself . I think the Visualization portion of this course focused on communication between people . I guess I took it a step further ( and made it slightly meta ) by using this technique to communicate with myself . Honestly , I am not sure if this fulfills the assignment , but I did think of what this course taught me while working and somehow I applied it in a scenario that is different from what was described in the class . Approach Next time , I could bring this lesson whenever I am planning events or experiments with other people . I used the tool in work I do alone , but innovation usually requires teams of people collaborating to achieve a certain goal . Whenever I get stuck trying to concretize an idea with a team , I will invite everyone to stand up from our chairs so that we could try and play around with materials we might be using so that we could better visualize the right ways to execute our ideas .