Final Bill of Materials

Here the link to our final bill of materials:

https://spreadsheets2.google.com/ccc?key=tm6TosOqiMLhFg-2JDcz02A#gid=0

10 Days Until Competition

This week our group put in our longest days of the semester. It was worth it though, because we managed to get EVERYTHING completed.  We finished our brackets, bent the cage wall perfectly, added holes to our pulley tower, pivot arms, and cage walls. And to do this, we only broke one drill bit and two taps.

Our greatest accomplishment of all, however, was the completion of our secret weapons: the rollers. The rollers are a key component to our bot if we want any chance of winning the competition. At the beginning of the project, we found that the squash balls do not easily roll when pushed by a plate at any angle. By experiment our team was able to discover that the balls roll with extreme ease when being pushed by a rolling rod. Our conclusion was this: in order to score, we need to push balls; in order to push balls, we need the inside of our cage to be lined with a circular rod. For the entirety of the project, the rollers have been an afterthought--something we would deal with at the end if we had time. And thanks to our long hours in the shop, we were able to have the time needed to plan and execute our golden plan. One group member, Neil, was able to solve the problem of how to attach the rollers to the inside of the cage walls. Once the idea was formed, our bot really started to come together. The rollers were created for the long threaded rod given to us in our kit, and cut into sections. The sections were then mounted to the inside of our cage in such a way that they are still able to freely roll. Because of this accomplishment, our team might actually stand a chance of winning...that is, if we figure out how to the thing turn...

We did still have problems, however. Breaking off bits and taps into some of our parts was a bit of a set back for starters, and a few other problems presented themselves as well. During our first attempt at running our bot, something in the gearbox broke. Not only did this mean that we had almost no time to plan around with driving the thing, but it also meant that the double gearbox had to be taken apart and fixed. The pivot arms also presented a few problems. When they were screwed into the front wall, they wouldn't sit straight at first. If the pivot arms didn't sit straight, then it also meant that they wouldn't fit between the brackets we made for them. By playing around with the configuration a bit, we were able to fix it. Some of the other obstacles were minor, and for the time being, it looks as if we have conquered them all.

As for this week (the week of the competition), we will be making a few minor adjustments I'm sure, and also we plan to practice driving and such so that we can be ready for the game.

I hope we win!!!!

New Calendar Link

Calendar Update

10 Days Until Competition

This week we ran into problems. We realized that our design had some major flaws, such as our gears didn't fit onto the motor shaft or rotate with our axle. We had to design a few new components that luckily worked with our current design. We were able to design the solutions, but were not able to manufacture them in time for MS7. Unfortunately, our bot is still not functioning. We were however able to assemble most of our MCM. Even though it didn't work as we wanted, what we have created thus far is an exciting accomplishment for everyone in the group : ] We anxiously await the day when our bot is finished and working.

This next week we have a ton to do, even more than we had originally anticipated because of our modifications. Considering that we have almost no time for error, hopefully everything will run smoothly this week. If we are able to work according to schedule, our bot should be done by Friday.

Here's a sneak peak:

18 Days Until Competition

The competition is almost here and we still have a ton to do for our machine, but it's all coming along nicely. Our main module will be complete and driving by thursday (knock on wood), and then it should all be down hill from there. So far we haven't come across any huge obstacles, and hopefully things will keep running smoothly. I have to give huge credit to my teammates-Neil Anderson, Julius Roberts, and Ryan Doherty-for all of the machining they've done so far. All of our pieces have turned out great. Hopefully by next post I'll have some awesome pictures of us running our partially built machine : ]

23 Days Until Competition

Since the last post, our team has begun the manufacturing portion of the project. We have been working on the manufacturing of our base plate, axles, and brackets. For the base plate, we used the laser cutter and it turned out beautifully. The axles and brackets still need to be completed, but are being done on schedule. Our bot is looking to be very promising : ]

32 Days Until Competition

This week The Hit List focused primarily on completing the Milestone 6 Assignment. The CAD model (as seen in the photograph) was finalized, and the engineering drawings created. All needed information for manufacturing was compiled and made ready for the upcoming week in the machine shop.