User:ALGurung/project3

Project Preference
''Your class negotiated 5 or 6 projects to do the rest of the semester. Please rank, in order of preference, your highest through lowest project names.''

Problem Statement
The project is to make a wind turbine that generated electricity which can be seen in an LCD screen via arduino. The CDIO report we will be working on is Design.

Project Plan
Briefly describe your group's plan for the next 4 weeks, including the specific activities that will take place each week.

Week 1 Narrative
For this week, my task was to design and make a ring that holds the shroud and fan together. A stand to hold the ring straight was also to be designed and made. Previous groups had already made both the ring and stand out of wood. Although they were put in together, they were taped which isn't very efficient. We also had to be able to change the shroud with ease which wasn't possible with the already built design. Because of those reasons, we had to make another model, more efficient and easy to disassemble. Once our design was approved we started working on building it.

Instead of using wood, we decided to build the model with plexiglass, easier to carve than wood and lighter as well. The diameter of the fan is 12cm, so the hole in the ring that holds the shroud had to be 12cm too, to let the air flow through without any obstruction. The diameter of the ring as a whole is 18cm to have space enough to have holes for screws that keeps the model together. The ring will be covered with steel and magnets will be placed on the shroud, so that it's easy to change the shroud when needed. The fan will be screwed with the ring.

The next step is to refine our design, build it, the base as well, and put them together. Electronically generated 2D and 3D models will also be made for all the parts we will be building. CDIO report we will be working on.

Week 2 Narrative
Continuing on with what I was working on in week one, my task was still to design and build the structure, ring, stand and base, for the wind turbine using plexiglass. In week one, we were able to make the ring to hold the shroud and fan. But, only one ring wasn't enough to hold them together, so we came up with an idea of creating another ring. Two rings together, we will be able to provide enough support for the fan and, considering one of requirements which is to be create a structure in which the shrouds can be changed and placed easily, the shrouds can also be placed in much easily whether it be on the front or the back ring.

The second ring was made with the same dimensions as the one we made in week one, inner circle with diameter of 12cm and outer circle with diameter 18cm. But, due to some complications during the cutting phase, the inner circle is slightly larger than 12cm. The stand made in week one wasn't smooth, so we also decided to make another stand. This time we made sure to cut the edges smoother with help of some bigger tools, two different kinds of rotating blades. This week, we also made the base for the structure using plexiglass. It was easy to make the base as it was just a rectangular piece with the dimensions of 14cm x 24cm x.5cm.

Our goal in the coming week is to make holes for screws in the rings, that align with the screw holes already on the fan to keep them together. We will also glue steel rings, same dimensions as those rings on both rings which will allow us to use magnets to put up the shrouds. With the help of acrylic glue, everything will be joined together and our structure will be completed. The problem right now is to find enough steel for the rings and find screws long enough to go through the fan and the two rings.

Week 3 Narrative
This week I worked on drilling holes on the two rings made to keep the fan in between them. The rings were cut out considering the dimensions of the fan, so drilling holes didn't pose any damage to the structure at all. The holes were made in the rings just as the holes are in the frame of the fan, which were already there. The diameter of the holes in the fan are 2mm, so the holes drilled in the ring were also of 2mm diameter. Bolts with a length of 3-3.5inches and a diameter of 2mm, the size of the holes themselves, will be used to put the two rings and the fan intact in place, with the help of nuts as well.

I wasn't able to work on the project during the holidays, so that's all I have.

Week 4 Narrative
This week, I focused on wrapping up the building of the structure of the wind turbine. The holes drilled on the ring last week didn't align with the each other and had to be fixed. This week we had the bolts to put the rings and fan together. We tested putting them together, but the holes in the fan were smaller than the bolts' diameter. The holes in the fans were made big enough to fit the bolts by drilling into them. The bolts now fit perfectly. Two more holes were drilled to one of the rings along with two holes on the stand. These holes are used to keep the stand and the ring together using bolts. Two circular steel plates were cut out with dimensions same as the rings, inner circle is 12 cm and outer circle is 18cm. Holes that align with the rings were made in these steel plates.

After putting everything together with help of bolts and nuts, the ring and stand were screwed together. The stand was then glued onto the base using acrylic glue. A black box, also known as project box, was bought from radioshack and used as housing for arduino, power source, circuit, and the LCD screen. Two square holes, each about 1cm in length and 2 cm apart, were made on the side of the box to have place to stick in wires into arduino if it ever needed to be hooked up to the computer. An opening was also cut out on the lid of the box to have an opening for the LCD screen. The box was then glued onto the base using acrylic glue as well.

Other than that, I worked on completing the CDIO page, too.