Today, the minibot group worked to put their minibot design into the computer. Furthermore, another group worked on finalizing the arm design. It was decided that the arm would need to be longer in order to properly grab the tube.
Manufacturing
The manufacturing team was working hard today to finish some parts. The parts are coming along great and we hope to finish all welded parts by tomorrow.
Programming
Today, the programming team was hard at work installing another encoder so that they can better drive in straight lines.
Today, the minibot prototyping group continued to work on their small prototype utilizing small, machined concave-style wheels. They attached tread to the wheels and worked on weight distribution.
Manufacturing
Today, the manufacturing team was working on all of our machines in the lab. The lathe group worked on drive gearbox spacers. The mill team was drilling holes and preparing the rear supports for the elevator. Finally, the CNC group was milling several gusset plates for the elevator rear supports.
At the end, we were able to assemble one of the drivetrain rear supports.
Programming
Today, the programming team was here working on several crucial parts of the code. Groups were working on the robot, simulator and dashboard.
Today, the prototyping team was hard at work on another minibot prototype. This prototype has had much of the weight removed in order to speed ascension times.
Manufacturing
Today, the manufacturing team worked to finish the drivetrain cams and start several superstructure gusset plates and gearbox spacers.
Programming
The programming team worked today on their straight drive code.
Design
Today, the design team worked on finalizing a list of bearings for the robot and parts to be manufactured. Furthermore, the team worked to detail the arm gearboxes, belts and rollers.
Today was our 2011 Critical Design Review (CDR). The CDR follows the Preliminary Design Review and includes nearly completed detailed designs. Many of the items presented may already be complete or in progress. This review phase is considered critical because it is at a point in the schedule where the detailed design should be complete and manufacturing is partially in progress, costs and completion dates are better known, and the remaining details have been worked through to ensure on time and thorough completion of the project fulfilling the objectives outlined in the PDR. It is critical in the sense that any unforeseen hurdles, oversights, delays in schedule, or design challenges may cause the project to be delayed or become unsuccessful. This review gives the key players (mentors, sponsors, and involved students) the opportunity to address concerns and to give a critical analysis of the design decisions made and the path forward being taken to ensure their time, money, and resources are being spent in the best possible manner.
Prototyping
Today, the prototyping team was hard at work working on the minibot. They developed a new concept for a clamping latch which has functioned well in the prototype tests.
Programming & Controls
Today, the programming team reached several major milestones. The simulator team successfully modeled a basic dead-reckoning autonomous mode. Furthermore, the robot team was able to successfully control Onslaught's pneumatic system.
The controls team also came up with a preliminary list of sensors for the robot.
2 Drivetrain Encoders
Drivetrain Gyro
Elevator Encoder
Arm Potentiometer
2 Roller Encoders
Roller Limit Switch
Manufacturing
Today, the manufacturing and assembly team was very hard at work. We received the water jetted base plates from our sponsor BAE systems and assembled the frames. On the mill, the team was working on several parts for the elevator.
Tomorrow, we will bring our first batches of parts to the anodize and welding sponsors.
The design of the robot is coming along spectacularly. Since Saturday, we have continued the detail work on the various robot gearboxes and have continued on into Subsystem #4: Minibot Deployment. We have decided to build a secondary linear slider that will extend out the back of the robot, very similar to a horizontal version of our elevator.
We are building this instead of buying COTS linear sliders because off the shelf aluminum linear sliders cost upwards of $150 each and will struggle to get the kind of extension that is needed to get outside of the robot bumper zone.
Furthermore, we have begun the long and painstaking process of going through the models and picking out each and every fastener that is needed. We then must search the lab for the fasteners and if needed, add them to an order list.
Manufacturing
The manufacturing team was very busy today working on a myriad of parts. From tube standoffs to spacers and plugs, a number of parts came off the production lines on the bandsaw, shear, mill, lathe and CNC mill.
Prototyping
The minibot prototyping group was hard at work today changing up the design of the minibot. They are experimenting with different tread to see how it affects the climbing. Unfortunately, they blew a fuse on the minibot battery, so they are testing with an underpowered VEX battery for now.
Programming
The programming team has been hard at work! The robot team is working to implement PID control of the robot to ensure perfectly straight driving during autonomous. Furthermore, today they started looking at implementing control of the pneumatic systems of the robot.
Furthermore, the simulator team has successfully added a 3D view to the robot simulator and modeled the entire playing field and a mock-up of our robot with an elevator and an arm. The mock-up has the ability to hold on to tubes and score them on scoring pegs in all three dimensions of beautiful wireframe rendering.
Today, the prototyping group worked to improve the minibot's ability to clamp onto the pole. Last night's prototype climbed fine but didn't clamp too well. Progress was made and the next prototype should be done soon.
Manufacturing
Today, the manufacturing team was hard at work on several crucial robot parts. On the lathe, we were working on tapped plugs to be welded into the elevator.
On the mill, we were working on the battery tabs.
On the CNC, we manufactured several parts including the frame front and rear rails and plugs to be welded into the bottom of the elevator side rails.
Programming
Today, the programming team continued to work on getting the robot to drive straight. Furthermore, they worked on how to create a dashboard for the driver station and use it to send data to the robot.
Design
Today, the design team worked on detailing the various gearboxes on the robot. The roller system is coming along great and we started working on the Minibot Deployment system and the elevator support structure.
Today, the prototype group worked very heavily on the minibot design. Towards the beginning of the day, they successfully finished Minibot Prototype 1 and it climbed the pole.
After building the first prototype, the group started to discuss how improvements could be made to lighten the whole robot while making it climb faster. They decided that having a single concave wheel driven by both motors could potentially improve the design.
Minibot prototype 2 was built with one large wheel covered in tread and two stabilizers covered in slick teflon pads. It was not a significant speed increase over prototype 1 but it was much more stable.
In the next few days, we will work on ways to make it clip onto the pole more reliably and climb faster.
Manufacturing
Today, the manufacturing team was hard at work on several tasks. We began by finishing the front and rear bumper supports.
Furthermore, the team was hard at work starting on the tapped inserts for the elevator tubes.
Programming
Today, many programmers were hard at work both improving on the simulator and trying to refine their control of the robot. Recently, the simulator team worked to add a 3D view to the simulator so that the field can be better visualized. The robot team was working on using PID control to allow the robot to drive precise distances.
Design
Today, several members of the design team worked on the arm pivot gearbox. The gearbox is mostly complete.
Today, the prototyping group worked extensively on the minibot. After the addition of a fourth stabilizing roller, the bot was able to climb the pole very quckly. The prototype is improving. The next step is to brainstorm alternative methods of pole climbing, test the alternative methods and compare the results.
Manufacturing
Today, the manufacturing team was working very hard on pieces for the drivetrain. The CNC was running all day cutting the sprockets for the drivetrain. After the drivetrain sprockets were done, they moved on to the front and back rails of the chassis. The manual machining team continued milling parts for the bumper supports.
Design
Today, the Design team worked primarily on the arm design. The team worked to design and begin detailing a symmetrical gearbox that will use two motors to independently drive both sets of rollers. We are very happy with the progress made on this gearbox. We also worked to finish detailing the drivebase and all of the remaining parts were sent to the manufacturing team.
