New Iteration of the Block Collector Mechanism
Wilson and Shanti worked on the new block collection mechanism. We have been through many iterations, so hopefully this design is the one we chose.
In this design, we use two flippers to lift blocks upward against a moving conveyor on the back of the lift. This design focuses on moving the blocks upward so that we can drop them into the scoring mechanism Peter is making. Shanti and Wilson thought that having a moving conveyor on the back of the block lift would help us move the blocks up without having them fall down the lift.
Tetrix Frame For New Block Collector.
Debris track under Robot
Matt and Isaac worked on making a mechanism that guides the debris under the robot. We were having problems with stuck debris, so this mechanism should allow us to move across the field without having too much trouble.
Their design had a track under the robot that guides all debris under without getting stuck in the treads. They started this design yesterday, but were able to finish it up today. They did a test where they drove over a large clump of blocks and found their robot glided over them easily.
Mounting Place For Debris Management.
Getting to the High Zone
After figuring out that we needed to be able to get around debris easier, Matt and Isaac made many modifications to the robot. They added 3D printed grippers to the treads. Finally, after switching out a few motors, they were able to do a test to see if we could get to the high zone of the mountain.
This test proved to be incredibly successful! Our robot was able to climb all the way up the mountain to the high zone. Our robot did this incredibly efficiently and in a very short amount of time.
Isaac With The Robot On The Field.
CADing the Robot
Samin CADed the robot. He got most of it done, but still has a little left that he can finish by practice Tuesday. This CAD model will be helpful when seeing where we want to add parts to our robot. Samin will then send the CAD to PacFab, and they will print it for us.
Samin Working With His Computer.
Continuing to build the STAR Program Soccer Chassis #2
Robert worked on the 2nd soccer robot. This robot will be used to play soccer during the STAR program’s outreach. After this chassis and robot is completed, we will have two robots that kids can use to play soccer against each other. Robert was able to make changes to the chassis and add two wheels to it. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to finish the wheels because we don’t have enough gears for the other two. Robert hopes to continue this project and get it done before 12/8/15, when he, Arielle, and Willy are going to The Bush School to outreach to elementary students.
STAR Program’s 2nd Soccer Chassis.
Laser Cutting the Notebook Binder
Wilson worked on making an awesome cover to our engineering notebook. We wanted our notebook to stand out, so Wilson decided that we would making a binder out of thin sheets of wood with a laser cut cover. In the cover, he laser cut 2856, Tesseract, and a Tesseract cube. He added hinges and turned it into a binder that we could use. The final print looks really cool. We are still deciding if it is the binder we are going to use for our final notebook.
Laser Cut Items on the Laser Cutter.
Tread Debris Blocks
Matt and Isaac cutout metal shields for our treads. These would help our robot not get stuck on the debris. These blockers were mounted on servos and could raise up when we wanted to climb the ramp.
These blockers really helped our robot move efficiently across the field.
Debris Blocker for Treads.
Mountain Hook
Peter worked on the hook that our robot uses to attach to the top rung of the mountain. This rack and pinion system that acts as a hook stops us from slipping backward when we raise the back wheel. Normally, the back wheel will stabilize us, but in order to get points for parking in the high zone, we need to raise the back wheel so we are fully in the high zone. The rules say that if we are putting weight in the mid zone, we would not get points for the high zone, only the mid. Our team decided that we wanted to go for high zone points, so Arielle and Robert started the rack and pinion system that keeps us from slipping yesterday and Peter is working on finishing it. He was not able to finish it, so hopefully we can make it a little more study and then put it on the robot soon.
Peter in the Workshop, Working Away.
Making the GitHub Sponsor video
AJ worked on making a sponsor video. A SAAS Alum who works at GitHub will send us cool GitHub stuff like shirts and stickers. In order to get them as a sponsor, we are going to send them a video about how our team uses GitHub.
Perfecting the Debris Conveyor System
Peter also worked on perfecting the debris collector. He finished the conveyor part, which is now made out of polyurethane. This new system scores blocks out either side very efficiently. It uses a servo at either end to fold down a dumper. This dumping mechanism allows the blocks to slide away from the robot into the scoring bins, instead of the blocks falling on the robot.
Peter Building The Treaded Conveyor System.