How do i transfer my projects from my iPad onto a hard drive?

In no particular order…

For copying specific files, plug in a Lightning or USB-C flash drive into the iPad, and copy the projects and photos over using Files app. There are also USB flash drives with multiple connectors.

… Connect external storage devices to iPad - Apple Support

If you want to back up the iPad to a Windows PC:

… Back up your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch in iTunes on PC - Apple Support

If your photo library is enabled for iCloud (if iCloud Photos is enabled), your photos are already backed up at Apple. You can make an additional local archive of your iCloud data:

… Archive or make copies of the information you store in iCloud - Apple Support

(With iCloud Photos enabled on Windows in iTunes, the photos will be accessible there, too.)

You can also activate an SMB file share on Windows, and iPad can mount and copy files to that over the network:

… https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/file-sharing-over-a-network-in-windows-b58704b2-f53a-4b82-7bc1-80f9994725bf

… Connect external devices or servers with Files on iPad - Apple Support

A hard disk drive draws way too much power to connect directly (solely) to a USB-C iPad, though a hard disk drive with external power might or will work. iPad can’t supply a whole lot of power to run USB-C connected devices.

Ok I get how frusturating this can be, but lets take a deep breath. Ok so I would actually recommend using a computer, or the easiest option would be to email them to yourself, downloading them on a computer, and then putting them on the hard drive if you need it on the hard drive and you're not just trying to get it off of the iPad. Another option which is slightly more complicated because of folder names would be to directly plug the ipad into a computer and transfer the files that way and then put them onto the hard drive. The folder names on basically everything are just numbers and so that makes it more difficult and you sometimes have to go through every folder until you find it. Another thing if you are trying to turn it in for homework, it is IOS exclusive so what I would do is export the file and email it to yourself or else, unless your teacher is grading on a iPhone or iPad, will not be able to open it.