This week we continued work on the bogie. Brandon and Greg continued working on the switch mechanism, and discovered a solution to the recurring issue of the stepper motor only turning in one direction. As Hector from the previous year's team had provided us with the pinout for the Arduino, Edward began work on the modifications to the control box, with the intent of compacting the control system into a format that the bogie could easily carry suspended below it. I (Keanu) modified the code so that the bogie now can activate the switch mechanism while in forward motion.
We have conducted trial runs of the bogie system to analyze its functionality and have found several problems with the gearing, switching mechanism and the track layout. In order to correct these issues, we have decided to redesign the switching mechanism and add additional gears to the drive system as it tends to separate from the teeth of the drive motor. The switching mechanism is only partially functional and must also be redesigned due to structural weaknesses in the pin that holds the rocker, which lowers the factor of safety substantially. As the the Half-scale team, we have chosen to redesign the switching mechanism by removing the 'rocker style' arm that is currently being used and replacing it with a 'T-shaped' bar with a wheel attached. By these redesigns along with modifications to the track, we will be able to navigate the track with full functionality.
Comments
Post a Comment