Portfolio Check 2

WE'VE GOT UPDATES BOYSSSSSSS

Water World Sprint

For the Water World Sprint, we had to make a boat to travel over to the other side of a pool lane. For my boat, I decided to use VEX parts. It would float using foam wheels (which are actually insane at making this float I can't lie), and it was powered by a tail in a dolphin-like manner, flapping up and down to displace water, moving it forward. The cortex sat on top of the metal frame, and the battery sat on the front right wheel to balance out the weight of the motor in the back left. It took 10+ minutes to reach the end, but it DID reach the end, so I call that a win.

Arduino Sprint

For the arduino sprint, we learned about how to use an arduino along with peripherals. For my mini-project, I made a game of LED whack-a-mole. There are 5 different colored LEDs (each assigned a key 1-5) and they light up one at a time. When an LED lights up, the user must press the key associated with the LED to turn it off, scoring a point. After the LED turns off, another turns on, and this repeats until 15 seconds pass. The score is printed after each time the user scores a point. I made this project by wiring 5 LEDs together in parallel on the breadboard, and connecting them to the Arduino. Then, I coded the project. I assigned the variable “current” with a random ASCII value that corresponded to the numbers 1-5 (the keys the user would have to enter on the keyboard). This represents the LED that is currently lit up and the key that needs to be pressed to turn it off. After it is pressed, the while loop reassigns “current” to a different value, turning on a different LED. All this is contained inside a while loop that runs the game for 15 seconds.

SCP 2 - Swerve Continuation

Design Proposal and Goal

Goal: The goal of this project was finish manufacturing the swerve drive I left unfinished in SCP 1. It must mechanically work, which means the wheels must be able to drive forward, and change direction. My constraints are that I am limited to mainly using VEX parts (and 3D prints) which makes this challenge a whole lot harder.

Research and Planning

After trying to optimize my previous design, I hit some roadblocks and decided that it would be more worthwhile to start from scratch with a new iteration. For this design, I decided to go with a structure more similar to the mk4i swerve module, the module that's used on our FRC robot. It's what I'm most familiar with, so I'd have an easier time with it.

Heres a link with more information on the module:

https://www.swervedrivespecialties.com/products/mk4i-swerve-module

*The wheels and bevel gears are now shown

Testing

No physical testing was done on this project: that will be done on the next SCP. However, I did test movement in Onshape Assembly, and it did physically move, so thats a W. In the next SCP, I will be 3D printing the parts necessary to assemble this bad boy together.

Creation and Iteration

I started by mimicking the overall layout of the mk4i. I made a case that houses the gears, the encoder, the driveshafts, and the portion connected to the turn motor (photo 5). This portion will be linked to the turn motor using a chain-sprocket system (not shown explicitly in picture), inside the module. Attached to this portion will be the wheel. The turning apparatus has 2 holes in it. The square hole is to allow the whole system to turn with the drive shaft powered by the turn motor. The circular hole is to power the movement of the wheel. the axle linked to the drive motor will be fed through that hole, and the 3:1 gear ratio housed inside the module will make the wheel go BRRRRR. With functional drive and turn capabilities, we have a theoretically functioning swerve module.

The design process was overall more smooth than the first SCP, but I still ran into some issues that required iteration.

Motor Placement (shown in photo 1): I had issues with where I was trying to place the motors. I wanted the swerve module to be relatively small, but I also wanted it to have enough space to place the motors, which is why after a while, I decided to mount them on the top plate of the module.
Encoder Placement (not shown): I also struggled to fit in the encoder because of how bulky it is, but my solution was to put it on the underside of the top place, below the motors. It took up little to no important space.
Axle collar drought (shown in photo 6): In the classroom, we have little-to-no axle collars, so I had to CAD my own endcaps for the VEX driveshafts.

Conclusion

At the beginning of SCP 1, my goal was to build a fully functioning swerve drive, but due to my lack of motivation, my laziness, and some unforeseen circumstances, I have downsized my goal to just getting 1 or more modules to mechanically work, as I think this is a feasible but challenging goal. Once assembled using only VEX parts and 3D prints, I want to see the mechanisms in the module smoothly run to allow for turn and drive at the same time. If I can get a mechanically working swerve module at the least, then this project is a success. I think this iteration will prove useful, as it should help assembly be a lot less painful.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse