Day #11: Shooter Redesign

Prototypes

Shooter

Several changes are being made to the shooter prototype.  First, students began installing smaller diameter wheels in place of the larger diameter wedgetop treaded wheels.  This is because the smaller wheels would have lighter weight and would allow the shooter to occupy less space.  In addition, a team on Chief Delphi forums tried them out and reported that this method worked well for them.

Next, the team is in the process of turning shooter upside down to allow frisbees to be fed from the bottom.  This would make it easier for the intake and conveyor system to feed frisbees directly into the shooter.

Smaller wheels (left) vs. the wedgetop treaded wheels (right)

Manufacturing

Today was largely focused on the manufacturing of various aluminum parts for the drive chassis and prototypes.  Students used the mill, lathe, and other machines to manufacture parts.  The lathe was used to create axles for drive gearbox.  In addition, students scotch-brited bearing housings and deburred parts.

Manufacturing parts on the mill

Manufacturing parts on the drill press

Students scotch-briting the bearing housings

CAD

Students continued designing the robot bumpers in Solidworks.  The pool noodles and wooden frame of the bumpers were designed, but the team still needs to create a couple more pool noodles.  Upon their completion, the noodles and the frame will be assembled in Solidworks.

Other students created weld drawings for drive chassis.

Designing the bumpers in Solidworks

Programming

The programming team conducted tests of the VEX light sensors.  The team hopes to use some sort of sensor to check whether a frisbee in the shooter is right-side-up or upside-down.  However, the VEX light sensors seemed to have a difficult time differentiating between the two.  The error margin or difference between the two values were too small and close to be used effectively.  The team believes that the ambient light in the NASA lab may have contributed to this.

Next, the team tried connecting a photoelectric sensor to the robot for testing.  However, there may have been an error in wiring or code that gave the students inconsistent and incorrect values.  The team will look more into infrared sensors to accomplish the goal.

Action Items

• Continue CAD of bumpers
• Re-assemble shooter
• Check PDM for parts to manufacture
• Manufacture parts on mill and lathe​

Lab closing time for the night was 11:45