156B Week 7

Overview of Status of Analysis, Design, Fabrication, Tests, etc.

• • Hardware / mechanical components fully finished and assembled onto aluminum extrusion frame

  • Electronic circuitry completely built 

    • All wires organized and routed

  • Electronics / software tests underway

    • Error in code proving to be a major obstacle

    • UPDATE: Fixed as of 5/12/15

Accomplishments from Previous Week

• • Fully completed mechanical hardware assembly:

  • Finished fabrication of liquid containers and bases:

  • Abandoned usage of mason jars as liquid container

    • Mason jar does not allow for air to flow in from an alternate route when displacing the water lost 

    • Results in heavily decreased flow

      • Currently using 2 Nalgene bottles for their thick plastic and capacity to be drilled into

  • Purchased off-the-shelf spring-valve adapter with accompanying mating protrusion

    • Satisfactorily provides sealing in all aspects

    • O-ring used to provide sealing from adapter to liquid container body

    • Liquid container bases fully fabricated and operational

  • Finished fabrication of solid dispensers and mounts

    • Jamming issue from solid particles fixed by implementing half-moon shaped guards to prevent particles from getting stuck

    • Mounts created from sheet metal and mounted to extrusion frame 

    • Motor mounts for dispensers fabricated and fixed to sheet metal mounts

  • Stirrer and lid mechanism completed

    • Stirrer motor positioned using aluminum extrusions and slotted acrylic piece

  • Guide for pot created using aluminum extrusions with rubber insulation to prevent aluminum extrusions acting as heat fins

Goals for Next Week (list names after each item). Use specific and measurable objectives.

• • Goals for next week not too clear at the moment

    • All focus concentrated on making revised deadline: Thursday StartR presentation

  • Things to do for short term:

    • Fix solid dispenser body so that the base does not rotate

    • Make holster for temperature sensor

    • Increase size of hole lid

    • Adjust endstop switch placement

    • Figure out how to increase pressure of water coming out

    • Add flushing portion of code (for milk system)

    • Clean up wiring

Sponsor Comments from Last Meeting and Actions Taken to Address these Comments (indicate date of comments and if via email or in person)

• • Adjust pathway of tubing into pot \

    • Make it fixed so that the user does not have to insert the tube with each time that Chai is being made

  • Find some way to fix the code

    • Reach out to other people for help with troubleshooting

      • E.g. Daniel Yang, Dr. Delson, Dr. Babcock, Dr. Bitmead, Dr. Bewley

    • UPDATE: Fixed

Instructor Comments from Last Meeting and Actions Taken to Address these Comments  (indicate date of comments and if via email or in person)

• • Comment provided by Dr. Jim Babcock in e-mail correspondence:

    • Vendor for off-the-shelf spring-valve adapters available

  • Actions taken to address this advice:

    • Off-the-shelf component purchased for spring-valve adapter

Comments from Other Students in the Class (indicate date of comments and if via email or in person)

• • N/A (none made since Proof of Concept Presentations)

Risks and Areas of Concern

• • Water leakage from funnel-to-pot tubing upon removal of tubing from the pot

    • Non-ideal angle of tubing from the funnel into the pot due to space and fastening constraints

  • Completing things to do (as listed above) by tonight 

  • Testing with overall mechanism

Resources or Information Required but not Available

• • Expertise on microprocessor (Arduino) and C++ coding 

    • Inexplicable point in code where essential parts are skipped

      • Possibility of over-allocation of memory (a bit unlikely though)

  • More hardware should be purchased for aluminum extrusion frame

    • More L-brackets would be useful for attaching components and supports to the frame

    • Allows greater modularity

Schedule

• • Since May 10th deadline was not reached, the project is in a state of extreme urgency

    • Requested extension from StartR

    • Deadline supposedly now Thursday 

    • Sponsors want project finished by 5/12/15

  • Following presentation to StartR, customer feedback will be obtained during which redesign and optimization of preexisting setup will commence

  • Gantt chart to be updated as soon as software and electronics are fully resolved

Budget (list amount spent and amount remaining)

• • Spent: $723.03

  • Remaining: $276.97

Progress on Report and Webpage

• • Report first draft and webpage draft comments to be received during instructor meeting

    • Improvements and corrections to be made following meeting

  • Webpage internal management updated to Week 7