# Project Guidelines

If you're wondering what you're allowed to build, here's a quick guide on what we generally look for! Please keep in mind these are just guidelines, so always feel free to ask in #highway!

*above all though, the bottom line is this: build something awesome, something that you would be proud to keep in your room for the next 5 years, and something that you would be proud to show other people*

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## Overview

Here's an overall list of criteria that applies to all tiers, regardless of your budget/points.

### Originality & idea

Almost every idea out there has been thought of before - what matters is that when designing it, which means that you do *not* do the following:

- Directly copy paste schematics
- Directly copy paste layouts
- Directly copy paste entire programs
- Directly copy paste 3D printed / manufactured models (reference parts are OK)
- **In general, do not copy paste stuff directly - use them as references**

Generally speaking, each project must be closer to a product than a demo - that doesn't mean go ultra advertising mode, but that does mean that a breadboarded together project with no case *doesn't* count

(more to be added)

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## Tiers & examples

**I want to make it clear that there is *no* idea that wouldn't qualify for at least 6 points. It's all about how you implement it and the level polish you add**

### 4 points ($50, 8-20 hours)
This is the cheapest tier. It's meant for smaller projects that take roughly 8-12 hours to design & physically build. Examples include:

- DIY Macropad
- Small mini PCB business card

### 6 points ($150, 20-50 hours)
This is the middle tier! It's where most projects should fall under. Generally speaking, you're expected to have both a set of electronics and 3D modelled case, unless you have a particularly complex PCB (i.e a devboard)

Examples include:

- DIY Game console w/ case
- DIY minecraft jukebox
- Full split keyboard
- DIY PC audio to FM radio usb adapter

### 10 points ($350, 50-200+ hours)
This is the highest tier. It's for projects that take anywhere from 50-200+ hours. Many of these take multiple iterations to contiunously build and work on. These are usually CAD heavy, as PCBs are very hard to iterate on unless you have an SMD setup

- Custom 3D printer
- Battlebot with custom attachments

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## Examples
**Here are some examples of great projects by Hack Clubbers:**

- @Ducc's <a href="https://github.com/Dongathan-Jong/SpotifyDisplay/" target="_blank">Spotify Display</a>, a Spotify Car Thing Clone
- @Cyao's <a href="https://github.com/cheyao/icepi-zero" target="_blank">Icepi Zero</a>, an FPGA development dev board
- @vk6's <a href="https://github.com/ading2210/ender-x4" target="_blank">Ender X4</a>, a 4-toolhead 3D printer

**Here are some examples of what *not* to build:**

- Arduino alarm clock
- Humidity display
- Distance sensor

**Here's some examples of how you could make those projects better:**

- Arduino alarm clock, but it has custom LED lighting that syncs with the time of day & also has a slide switch instead of a button to control it
- A humidity display that's part of a larger weather station setup and compares the internal readings of your house to the outside world 
- A distance sensor that checks if someone is coming to your room & sends an alert to your phone if they do
