Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Look, a Gibbon!

Team Gibbon has a functional prototype! On monkey bars!


Well, for some definition of functional. Some parts of it are pretty fragile, and it's rather difficult to control, but all the components work, and it is capable of swinging! Its legs also move up and down so that it can pick up items with its feet (which have magnets). The leg movement is the best-working part of the gibbon.

Here is the frame of our second prototype (on bottom) beside the frame of the first prototype (on top):



Yes, there's a significant size difference. Our second prototype was truer to gibbon proportions and weighed much less. In our third prototype, the body and legs are longer because we rearranging the placement of one of the servos (motors) and the battery pack, and the legs need to be able to reach almost to the ground.

The monkey bars are painted green and brown, and the gibbon will be covered in fleece.





Some rearrangement happened between the first prototype and the second. We changed project managers (PMs) and CAD sub-team leaders. I was in charge for CAD of the first prototype as a result of saying that I wanted to get better at CAD, but that was a pretty bad idea. I wanted to get better at CAD because I didn't know very much and didn't have much experience, which means I was not the right person to be setting standards for group CAD or checking everyone's work. On the second iteration, I just did CAD without leading it, and I learned a lot (reference geometry, mirroring, fully defining things...), so I'm pleased.

My other goal at the beginning of this project was to help with assembly, especially since my hopper required no machining. I have learned how to heat stake, though I'm still not very good at it. I spent hours on Wednesday night and Thursday filing pieces that were a bit off down to the right size and filing the head so that it fit between the arms and could sit on top of the servo. I was covered in plastic and styrofoam dust. At the beginning of Wednesday night our table was covered in nuts, bolts, and screws. By the end, it was somewhat less covered, and the leftovers went to the mechE stockroom.

The final demonstration is on Wednesday afternoon. Lots of sewing today, and who knows what all else. Should be fun and very busy!

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