Embedded Files
To kick of the alpha prototyping phase, the team decided to first look at various cup designs that were made and get them 3D printed. Below are further details on the 3D printing process and what the team learned from these initial prints.
Cup Design
Cup Design
It was determined that 3D printing would be the best way of rapid prototyping cup designs because of its low cost per part and relatively fast lead times. The team found that the model dimensions were too small to be FDM printed with any degree of accuracy, so SLA was chosen as a more reliable method at producing higher resolution models to be used in a high level alpha prototype of the overall system. While this method worked for demonstration purposes, manufacturing techniques that yield higher quality samples will need to be explored for functional testing in the beta prototype.
Data Collection
Data Collection
Dimensional testing was performed on the SLA samples to determine to what degree of accuracy the physical samples mimicked the virtual models. The percent error between the CAD models and the physical models for each measured dimension was determined to be very low. It is with this data that the assumption could be made that additive manufacturing techniques similar in process to SLA printing could be viable options when considering a manufacturing technique for the cup in the final design. However, the team also plans on looking into other techniques such as machining or injection molding to improve the testing performance of the cup.
After having a physical representation of what the cup designs would look like, the team decided to move toward focusing on the sensor subsystem. For this, various ported pressure sensors were considered and after doing research, the group decided to purchase the ported pressure sensor seen to the right from Adafruit. This sensor is small and compact and can easily be wired to an Arduino and a silicone tube can be easily connected on the port.
Testing was then completed on the effectiveness of the ported pressure sensor purchased to see whether or not it would be viable when building the alpha prototype. Simple Ardunio code was written up to continuously read pressure data from the sensor and display this information on to a LCD screen.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse