Hello, friends, family, and fellow community members! As we approach the holiday season here at our vocational high school, the Engineering & Robotics shop remains a hub of focused innovation and practical design work.
Senior Reid continued to refine his snowboard hanger project with a keen eye on material efficiency and structural integrity this week, building directly on prior stress tests that proved the design’s strength. He strategically removed the top support and conducted new tests, confirming the hanger still reliably held the required weight. Pushing further, Reid shortened the overall length and reduced the extension from the wall—reasoning that the original protrusion was excessive and that a closer mount would lower the risk of snapping under load. These thoughtful modifications highlight his growing expertise in balancing functionality, safety, and minimalism, bringing the hanger ever closer to a robust final form.
Lila made steady advancements on her drawer shelf system, starting with hands-on testing of the previously cut drawer to verify its fit within the shell and cubby—where it performed well overall, though she noted excessive depth when loaded with items. Spotting an opportunity to optimize vertical space, she decided to shorten the drawers to 3, 2, and 1 inches respectively for improved capacity and usability, promptly updating her Fusion 360 CAD model with new parameters and minor shelf tweaks. A small challenge emerged with the shortest 1-inch drawers lacking room for finger pulls, prompting a clever plan to glue on beads as handles. With the design nearing readiness, Lila aims to export it to Inkscape for laser cutting next week, determined to maximize progress before break and even continue at home if needed.
We love hearing from our community—drop a comment below with your thoughts or encouragement! Check out more of Reid’s design journey at Reid’s Blog, and follow Lila’s creative builds at Lila’s Blog. Stay tuned for next week’s updates as our students continue to engineer the future, one project at a time.
MVTHS Engineering 
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