Schedule Update (Nov 30)

http://bit.ly/2MUoRd

This Google Spreadsheet contains the most recently updated team schedule.

To Do List...
1. Finish Machine
2. Test Machine/Make modifications as needed
3. Finish blog
4. Attend competition

Update #4 (Recap week of Nov 23)

Photographs of MCM (Extending Arm Module)

Picture of the release pin mechanism

Picture of the inner arm attached with pulling string

Photograph of Steel Plate

Photographs of the Outer block attached to the taped threaded rod

After a late party at the Dude last Tuesday, we finalized all of our engineering designs including car, winch holder, and all the components associated with our machines. We also made a few changes to our original design. First, we add two slices of polyethelene to the inner arm; according to Saint Venant's principle, this can prevent jamming of the telescope. Secondly, we changed the location of the string attachment from the outer arm to the inner arm. After testing our design, we found that there is a major friction existed between the inner and out arms. Pulling the inner arm helps tremendously on overcoming the friction and allows the arm smoothly scoop the PPBs over to the other side. Lastly, we inserted a treaded rod inside of the inner arm; this rod guilds the spring and prevents jamming.

With only a hand full of working days left before the contest, there is still a lot of work needed to be done. We are definitely ready to spend hours and hours in the shop to finish all the machining by the end of this week. This is the most critical stretch of this project. We can see the light of victory, those who stay will be champions!

Update #3 (Recap week of Nov 16)

Corwin Cutting the Inner Arm


During Wednesday's Lab session, Corwin and Michael did a great job cuting the taper on the band-saw. The finished surface was very clean and smooth. Besides finishing the parts for MS7, we took a further step in terms of finalizing our design. Since we had some problems with using a string to constrain the sping inside the outer arm, we are now adopting the idea of using a rod to keep the sring in line. We also added another hole on the inner block to make this design possible.


Simplicity has been a key design principle of our project. As our car design is being remodeled, we will continue to keep everything simple while functional. Majority of parts for our car are given in the supply kit and avoid complicated machining.




Picture of Machined Outer and Inner Arm

Update #2 (Recap week of Nov 9)

Update#2

We recently redesigned our car which now has a more stable base and double-motor feature. We are also in the process of ordering parts that are provided by the class. Some of the parts include rubber wheels, nylon, and countersunk screws. Over the past weekend, we finished manufacturing our inner and outer arms. Mac helped the team drill the required holes on these arms. We also experienced our first incident in the machine shop. Mac accidentally broke the drill bit while working on drilling a hole on the block and left a flaw on it. Definitely, this is something we will try to avoid in the future.

As the due date of MS7 is coming up, we still have to finish cutting and adding filet to the end of inner arm and laser cutting a steel metal sheet to make the winch base. Also we are planning on remaking the inner block and possibly moving on to the next stage of our manufacturing plan. Hopefully, after this busy week, we are going to finalize our design for car and all the arm components.




Picture of Machined Outer and Inner Block



Picture of Platform in CAD



Picture of Car in CAD

Update #1 (Recap week of Nov 2)

Update#1

For this week, we ordered the spring off of McMaster and purchased the Outer Arm, Inner Block, and Outer Block for Speedy Metals (See above Bill of Materials). We are holding off cutting the spring until we complete the rest of the machining because we spent our own money and don't want to replace it if we make a modification to another part that will effect the required length of the spring. We have completed the CAD model for the MCM (arm module) and continue to think about modifying the CAD drawing for the rest of the components. We will work on the CAD models for the car and the mounting modules in the weeks to come.

Picture of Spring



Picture of MCM (arm module) Drawing



Picture of Outer Arm Drawing



Picture of Inner Arm Drawing



Picture of Outer Block Drawing



Picture of Inner Block CAD/Drawing