Wednesday, May 17, 2017

5/17/2017 Blog #28

Hi,
this week we presented our final PowerPoint presentation in room Engineering 141. We also worked on our paper.
This coming week, we will be finishing up our paper and uploading everything into the Spartan Superway Archive. We will also be bringing it to Maker Faire while recording the process of assembly and disassembly for future reference. This is our final blog (I think) so thanks for reading!

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

5/10/2017 Blog #27

Hi,
this week we finished our additions to the track: adding holes and countersinking them to properly include the wider U-brackets. The U-brackets (old and new) were slightly off tolerance which we needed to file down - it was quite time-consuming. We also created the remaining slots for the vertical supports. We made some last few purchases (a few more screws, washers, and tubing). We also completed quite a bit of our presentation that will be done by Friday (May 12th).

This week, we will need to grab a few pictures and videos for the presentation. We will then also need to rehearse what we need to talk about.

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

5/3/2017 Blog #26

Hi,
this week we ordered another set of screws because we have plans to upgrade to the wider U-brackets which require more screws than the thinner one. We also came up with a quick fix to a problem we have been having with the guideway corners being slightly too high (the bogie is at risk of falling). We taped some scrap corners from previous years to it so that the bogie would connect with the corner sooner (therefore, effectively "lowering" it by decreasing the distance that the bogie drops to lean on it).
This week we will be drilling holes into some parts of the track so we can incorporate the wider U-brackets with the extra holes. We will also be slotting the vertical supports. And of course, we will finish up our presentation powerpoint by next Friday.

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

4/26/2017 Blog #25

Hi,
this week we focused on our third paper and printing the remaining fatter U-brackets. Jez's 3D printer stopped working because of the thermistors and so we purchased a set. It will come in by tomorrow. We only need to print three more, but are unsure if we still need more PLA. If we don't, we will be cutting it very close.
In the coming weeks, we will be working on the final presentation on May 12. Since the track is done (for the most part) and not broken, we have no plans to do anything else to it, other than switch out the weaker U-brackets.

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

4/19/2017 Blog #24

Hi,
this week we finished our presentation and reassembled the track on Wednesday. We did it fairly quickly. The reassembling process takes about an hour and a half. We discussed some future changes we wanted to make to the brackets and track. Also, we will be documenting our receipts to give to the A.S. to get refunded for.

We did not do much since the track is finished and meets the requirements of the other teams. For this coming week, we will be slotting holes in the vertical posts and figuring out a way to create a ramp for the bogie to enter the track more smoothly. We've come up with one design so far but it would require a different set of bolts which is not preferred. As you can see below, it acts as a shoe that we could slip on, but the issue is once again, the different set of bolts (longer) which makes it annoying. We also might need more PLA since we will be printing out several more of the wider brackets to replace the U-brackets at locations that create more strain.

Monday, April 10, 2017

4/12/2017 Blog #23

This week, we wrapped up the entire second track. We filed a bunch of stuff, drilled a bunch of holes, welded back a bunch of pieces, etc. We finished it for Paseo Prototyping Festival and our exhibit was successful. There were some issues but we fixed them along the way. We did most of the presentation #2, which will be completed by Wednesday (today is Monday).

After the second presentation, we will finally have some breathing room and can start working on tiny modifications and additions to better our track for future usage. We will be assembling the track so that other teams could add more stuff or test their components. We will also be creating a few slots in the vertical posts and adding a tiny ramp to the entrances of the two rails for smoother interactions between bogie and track.

After all of this hard work, we all obtained a better understanding of time management with respect to the physical labor, time, communication, and teamwork it took to complete the project.


Monday, April 3, 2017

4/3/2017 Blog #22 **Most recommended blog to read for future teams**

Hi,
this week I came into the Design Center: Sunday 10 AM-5 PM, Tuesday 4-7 PM, Thursday 4-8:30 PM. I grinded out a lot of the welds because the bogie's bearings got stuck wherever there were welds. I drilled and countersunk an innumerable amount of holes into the second track. I measured, scored, and cut a bunch of aluminum pieces to fit the new corners. I grinded a bunch of rough/dangerous surfaces. I did a bunch of test-runs with the bogie to check tolerances and smoothness. Honestly, it has been one huge blur and I can't remember every specific thing I did to tabulate properly. However, my advice to next year's team would be to try assembling and disassembling once in the beginning of the semester just to get an idea of how long/inconvenient the process is. The physical aspect takes WAY longer than expected and I do not know how to emphasize that anymore than I already am.

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

3/22/2017 Blog # 21

Hi,
this week we came into the design center on Wednesday night, all of Saturday, Sunday morning, and most of Tuesday to assemble. We started running out of screws and so we put in an order for those. One u-bracket broke and so we're glad to have extra PLA. By the end of Sunday, we had finished one entire loop. We ran a bogie through the track and there were several notable problems at this point: unlevel, tight, and weld obstructions. Tuesday, we grinded down most of the weld hindrances and are in the process of finding a fix for the tightness.
Assembly has taken an extremely long amount of time - more than expected. So our goal will be to finish it during spring break

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

3/15/2017 Blog #20

Hi,
this past week we did more welding. On top of that, we ordered nuts, bolts, PLA, and some aluminum adhesive. The aluminum adhesive does not work for us so we will be proceeding to Plan B which is to screw the top guideway to the top of the L bracket. We got approved for our PLA because we will be using it to print the bogies and control arm for the bogie team, print the RFID bracket for the controls team, and the collar to stabilize the support post for the solar team. We also changed our collar design as shown below - less PLA material and more aesthetically pleasing, but will require a nut and bolt for each leg.

This coming week, we will be attempting to create a functional loop of the track so that other teams could test their parts onto the track.

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

3/8/2017 Blog #19

Hi,
this week we worked on creating a jig that would effectively, quickly, and accurately fit the two pieces for welding together to speed up the welding process. We have welded three total corners, but since it is so time-consuming, we might need to buy some aluminum adhesive for the top guideway to the top of the L-bracket. We completed Gantt chart and worked on paper and presentation. We also 3D printed more U-brackets, which we should be done with by the following week - needed to help 3D print some stuff for Ernest from the Bogie team. Also, completed collar design for solar mount with the third picture showing how the three legs will be attached. Fourth picture shows the collar from a different angle.

Below are pictures of what we accomplished this week.

 

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

3/1/2017 Blog #18

Hi,
this week we created a few utensils that were used to simulate the bogie with its maximum and minimum tolerances. This served the sole purpose of ensuring that the bends were within spec so that the bogie would not fall or get stuck. We also finished up a drawing of the support mount that would fix the support post to one position without moving. It would simply slip onto the pole and then three legs of dimensions 1"x 0.25" would be placed into the three remaining slots. We also began working on the presentation, but that is not our utmost priority right now as we need to finish welding ASAP because the tech shop will be closed starting Friday, March 3 until March 16. We have been maintaining communication with the other teams and attempting to draft a Bill of Materials since time is running out and we are depending on other teams for their numbers and SolidWork files.

This next week, we will be attempting to finish most, if not all, of the welds. We will be working on our papers, completing our presentation, and ordering the last of the stuff we need.



Wednesday, February 22, 2017

2/22/2017 Blog #17

Hi,
this week our team worked out what we need to accomplish with the other subteams. We asked the positioning and controls team to give us a map of where they will be placing their magnets and corrugated metal strips along with its dimensions so that it would not collide with other teams' needs. We also obtained information of what the solar team needs from us (how much aluminum material and what they request of us from the support posts). AJ and Jez went to learn welding this week and did a few practice runs, it is more time-consuming and more difficult than expected. We also did some research on trying to FEA a % in-fill 3D printed part, but we have been fruitless with finding the properties of a certain % in-fill. We managed to fix the 3D printer this week, but the bed of the printer is not sticking and the z-axis is misaligned - we are doing our best to fix it, so we can resume manufacturing the U-brackets that we need.
In this coming week, we will be working on the presentation and everything the rubric asks of us. Also, we will continue welding and should have a proper design for the support that the Solar Team wants. Optimistically, the 3D printer issues will be resolved by this week as well.

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

2/15/2017 Blog #16

Hi,
this week we started marking all of the metals and have cut a few. We ran into a quick problem with dimensions but should be able to fix shortly. Another problem arose, however, and it is regarding the bending of the metal. Kevin from the Track Manufacturing Team took some of the cut metals home to bend, but the bending reacted differently from the previous metals. We have confirmed the metal numerous times and could not figure out why. Thus far, we have researched aging, heat treating, and length of metal, but cannot find anything that answers our dilemma. We will be sending an e-mail to CoastAluminum, VanderBend, and a materials engineering professor of ours to try and find out the answer. Also, we have asked the Solar Team to swap the older metals in storage with our newly bought metals, but even so, we will not have enough material - currently, waiting for them to reply.

Jez and AJ have signed up for a Tig Welding class, officially. Also, we will be working on the support post with the Solar Team today since the design they have seems top heavy. We also established a Gantt Chart for all of the subteams so that we all know what days each team will need to be done with their respective parts because we are heavily reliant on each other.

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

2/8/2017 Blog #15

Hi,
over the winter break, our team ran into a problem when 3D printing the U-brackets because the hot end of the 3D printer broke. And since Jez (the owner of the printer) was not in town, we delayed fixing it until he returned. Other than that, we also obtained a quote from CoastAluminum for some pieces of aluminum. We then obtained approval from Eric to make the purchase.

When we returned from winter break, we followed up on the quote and the parts we ordered - the shipment will be arriving today the 8th of February. We have also set up a tentative Gantt Chart on the white board in the design center to follow for the next month and a half (since we need to be done by the 22nd of March). Jez and Andrew will also be signing up for a Tig Welding class, February 18 for future production. We also coordinated with the other teams to align dates and necessities.

In the coming weeks, we will be manufacturing the new parts for the 12th scale track and solidifying the dates whilst coordinating with the other sub-teams.