User:Connor.delaney6/ENES-100/project 1

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Week0 Preferences
Over the first weekend of working on the Music project, my task is to find out about the washers, plexiglass, and wiring, specifically measurements and structure. Looking at a model of someone else's finished | Beat Bearing project, I know what the final design should look like, so a lot of my research will be based off of the model of the video. Finding measurements of hole sizes to be drilled in washers, screw and nut sizes, what the best way to drill and cut the washers is, and how to cut the plexiglass in the shape I need are also big parts of the research to be done during this weekend.

Week1 Narrative
To start Week 1 I torched through the Internet looking up and researching information about the structure of the beat bearing board. It was my job to build a prototype of what the board will look like, and find out what supplies and tools are needed for this project. I modeled most of my work based on images on this website, where a Beat Bearing project was done by an individual named Peter Bennett. These images and captions helped me construct my own prototype board. My main goal was to generate a sample of the board that can be tested with the wiring applied later once more electrical work is done on this project. Getting the washer to sit flat on top of a plexiglass board, screwed in place, with a channel on the underside for which the wires can go through. The steps for making the sample were as follows:
 * Cut 1/8" plexiglass sheet to size
 * Cut 1/4" plexiglass runners
 * Glue to bottom of 1/8" plexiglass board with clear PVC glue
 * Drill holes through washers large enough for screw to pass through smoothly but orderly (first I tried using a drilling press, then found a hand held power drill worked best)
 * Cut washers in half perpendicular to drilled holes
 * Drill holes in plexiglass spaced correctly for ball bearing to rest on top of screwed washer
 * Screw in washers to glued board, and apply nut to the bottom
 * Insert wiring crimps on bottom of screw

 File:Drilling press.JPG|First attempt to cut washer in drilling press. File:Washer in Vice.JPG|Vice holding down washer before hole was drilled with hand held drill. File:Differentdrillbits.JPG|Different size drill bits tested. The 9/64" was the one used because it accommodated the #6 screws best. File:Washerandscrew.JPG|Side view of washer with screw and nut through drilled hole. File:Pvcglue.JPG|PVC clear glue used to glue 1/4" inch plexiglass runners with 1/8" plexiglass baseboard. File:Plexiglassspacers.JPG|After the runners were glued down to the board, cut wooden spacers set in between to assure the runners were spaced evenly throughout. The glue was let to dry overnight. File:Washerplexiglass.JPG|Plexiglass glass board sample with un-cut washer positioned where it should lay. File:Holes.JPG|First holes drilled in plexiglass board for washer to be attached. I did not cut the washer first, so these first set of holes were too close together. File:Washeratopboard.JPG|The first washer (un-cut) attached to board with screws and nuts. File:Ballbearing.JPG|Ball bearing sitting on un-cut washer. It sat steady, however, it favored one side. File:Vicewasher.JPG|Cut washer in large crank vice. I apologize for the blurry photo. File:Dremeltable.JPG|Dremel used to cut washer in half. File:Washerwiringcrimps.JPG|Cut washer with wiring crimps screwed into board next to originally drilled holes that were too close together. File:Channelunderplexiglassboard.JPG|Underview showing off channel 1/4" plexiglass runners create for wiring to run through. File:Ballbearingwasher.JPG|Ball bearing sitting on cut washer. It lays much more balanced and centered. 

Good progress was made during week 1, and a sample was built to be tested once Arduino and wiring have been completed. Necessary tools and supplies were found which push the project forward. Before ordering bulk amounts of supplies however, a test must be done to ensure design is competent.

Week2 Narrative
My week 2 task was to explore the new idea thought of by classmates and my group for the wire connection to the washer. This idea came in two fashions labeled as the "sandwich" and "coil" ideas. Both ideas limit the amount of work and material needed. Drilling holes into the washer is no longer required, and neither is using the screws, nuts or wiring crimps (or soldering tabs). Also, one of my tasks was to strip the ends of the wire we planned to use so these ideas could be tested.

The ideas call for a small hole to be drilled into the plexiglass board, just big enough for the wire to fit through the underside. The washers will then be attached to the board by glue. The first step to was to find the right glue, and after experimenting I found Zap-a-Gap glue to work the best based on this decision making chart:

The sandwich idea has the wire being in between the washer glued to the plexiglass for each cut in half-washer.

The coil idea has the wire coiled around the half-washer and then glued down as before.

 File:116inchhole.JPG|1/16" hole drilled through plexiglass for wire to come up through. File:Wirestrands.JPG|Wire ends to be stripped with wire cutters and removed from harness to eventually be tested for washer connection. File:Wirecutter.JPG|The 20-22 wire cutting hole was used to strip the wire ends. File:Strippedwireend.JPG|Wire end after it has been stripped with wire cutters. File:Wirethroughplexiglass.JPG|Wire coming through bottom of plexiglass board. File:Sandwichidea.JPG|Side view of the sandwich idea without glue. Wire is sandwiched in between the washer and plexiglass. File:Coiledidea.JPG|Side view of the coil idea where the wire comes up through the hole and is coiled around washer. Picture also without being glued down. File:Siliconeglue.JPG|Silicone glue tested for gluing washer to plexiglass. File:Siliconegluesqueezerightside.JPG|Silicone glue being squeezed onto plexiglass before washer is place on. File:Halfofwasheronsiliconeglue.JPG| Half of washer glued down with silicone glue and other half being glued down alongside it. File:Siliconewasherglueddown.JPG|Both halves of washer glued down with silicone glue. File:Zapagapglue.JPG|Next glue used was Zap-a-Gap. File:Zapagapgluedown.JPG|The Zap-a-Gap glue being put on the board. Notice it is much thinner and clearer than silicone glue. File:Zapagapglueonesidedown.JPG|One half of the washer down with Zap-a-Gap glue. File:Bothhalvesofwasherswithzapagapglue.JPG|Both halves of washers glued down with Zap-a-Gap glue. File:Siliconeandzapagapgluewashers.JPG|Both washers glued down. Silicone used on the left washer and Zap-a-Gap used on the right. File:Siliconegluedwashereasilyremovable.JPG|After letting sit overnight, the washer halves glued down with the silicone can removed easily. File:Ballbearingtouchingplexiglass.JPG|When the ball bearing was placed atop the glued down washer, it came into contact with the plexiglass. File:Number6nut.JPG|Number 6 nuts glued on top of cut washers to provide elevation for ball bearing. File:Ballbearingnuts.JPG|Ball bearing sitting on #6 nuts does not come into contact with plexiglass. File:Ballbearingnutsfavorsside.JPG|However, the ball bearing is not centered and favors one side significantly. File:Number6washers.JPG|Number 6 washers glued on top of cut-washers to provide elevation for ball bearing. File:Ballbearingwashers.JPG|Ball bearing sitting on #6 washers also does not come into contact with plexiglass. File:Ballbearingwshersoneside.JPG|Also like the nuts, the ball bearing favors one side when on the washers. 

Now the problem is finding the right way to elevate the ball bearing so it does not come into contact with the plexiglass, which would cancel out the circuit all together because the ball bearing is acting as a bridge between the two wired washer halves. I experimented with placing #6 washers and nuts on top of each cut-washer, but the ball bearings were lopsided, so a better solution is still out there.

Week3 Narrative
Week 3 consisted of building and testing the ideas came up with in class last week when I presented the problem of the washer coming into contact with the plexiglass to the class and that started a plethora of ideas which are shown below in drawings and descriptions. Testing the washer system ideas consisted of placing a ball bearing atop the washer system and using a muultimeter to test the conductivity from the wires. The pictures and descriptions below explain the progress of the ideas tested.

These are the drawings of the ideas that were thought of. Only the idea of the hole in the middle of the washer combined with running the wires through that same hole was tried because I thought it had the best chance for success, and then after trying it, found a better solution.

 File:Ball bearing touch pleaxiglass idea 1.JPG|The first idea to elevate ball bearing so the bottom did not come into contact with the Plexiglass board. File:Second idea to elevate ball bearing.JPG|The second idea to elevate the ball bearing, which was developed by the class, to cut the washer 70% and 30%, then place a small object on smaller washer piece to provide elevation. File:Third idea where ball bearing goes through plexiglass.JPG|Third idea that (which was tested). File:Idea bouncing off hole in center idea for wires.JPG|Advancement to third idea (included in test). 

This is the process of the design of the idea that was tested.

 File:Dads Dremel 1.JPG|A shot of the Dremel I use at home with the Multi Purpose blade in. This blade was unsuccessful and when used to try and cut the washer it turned the washer black and never got a full grip of the metal. File:Burnt washer.JPG|This was what the washer looked like after I tried to cut it with the Multi Purpose blade on the Dremel. File:Dads Dremel.JPG|This is the metal cutting blade I then found that was used (successfully) to cut multiple washers for the purpose of testing ideas. File:Vice holding washer.JPG|I ran into trouble positioning the washer at home because I did not have the big blue vice that was used in the Engineering Lab at school. This is a picture of my first attempt to hold the washer down using a squeeze vice. File:Made vice for washer cutting.JPG|This was the next vice I used. I created it by using a clamp to hold the washer in between two small pieces of wood. Then I placed two 2x4's on either side and used the squeeze vice to hold them in place. This offered a steady base and kept the system vertical, allowing me to come down on the washer with the Dremel (using the metal cutting blade). This is how I cut all testing washer halves. File:CLose up of washer vice system.JPG|Close up view of washer after being cut with the Dremel in the vice system I created at home. Similar to blue vice in HCC lab, specifically because the washer is vertical. File:Third idea where ball bearing goes through plexiglass.JPG|The third idea consists of cutting a hole into the plexiglass for the ball bearing to poke through, allowing for contact with the washers but not the plexiglass board. The wires still come through their own holes underneath washer halves. File:5'16" inch hole drilled in plesiglass.JPG|This was the hole drilled into the plexiglass to test the idea where the ball bearing sits on the washer halves and the bottom goes through the hole without contacting plexiglass. The hole drilled was 5/16 inches in diameter. File:Idea bouncing off hole in center idea for wires.JPG|The idea is using the hole in the center of the washer idea further, and threading the wires through the same hole with grooves cut out of the sides of the drilled hole for them to sit in. This would eliminate the holes drilled specifically for the wires, and make it so only one hole per pairs of washer halves needed to be drilled. File:Single hole in plexiglass idea.JPG|Here is the prototype for the idea of the hole in the center combined with carving grooves in the hole for the wires to come through with a utility knife. I decided to implement the ideas together to save drilling holes into plexiglass. As seen the wires were then wrapped around the washer and glued along with the washer to the plexiglass. File:Zoomed out view hole in center of washer.JPG|Zoomed out view of the hole in the center of washer with wires coming through the same hole to complete the system. The ends of the wires is where multimeter will be attached to test conductivity. File:Ball bearing atop system.JPG|Above view of ball bearing atop the washer in the hole in the middle with wires coming through system. File:Underview ball bearing.JPG|Underneath view of ball bearing sitting on system ready to be tested for conductivity. File:Multimeter used to test conductivity.JPG|This is the multimeter that was used to test the conductivity of the system. The meter was set to Ohms and when hooked to an active wire or conductive material, it was set to produce a sound. This is how I would know if the system worked. File:Ball bearing for idea tested with multimeter.JPG|When tested the multimeter did not read a connection and was silent. The diagnosed problem was that the washer was not making good contact with both washer halves (as seen in picture above) even though original problem of avoiding contact with the plexiglass board was achieved. This diagnosis was confirmed because when force was applied to the ball bearing and it was pushed down, the connection was active and the multimeter read it, and the notification noise was produced. 

Taking a side step away from building and testing ideas, this week I was preparing for a presentation that I gave at the Engineering Seminar. When creating a system to be used in Seminar presentation power point, I successfully found a system which uses different aspects of different ideas that have been accumulated over the weeks. When tested this model passed easily setting off the noise of the multimeter instantly when rods came into contact with wires. This current working model that is the best choice as of now for the project.

 File:Glued down washer with wires coiled.JPG|Washer halves glued down with wires coiled around each half coming through independent holes under washer. File:Ball Bearing on Glued washer with wires coiled.JPG|Ball bearing sitting atop glued down washer with wires coiled around the washers coming through independent holes. File:Underneath view of working design.JPG|This is an underneath view of the design that when ball bearing was placed on top, it was highly conductive without any outside force applied. 

This design was found by pure chance, but I am not complaining. I guess that is the engineering method at its best. Answers when you least expect them. The next step for the upcoming week is top take accurate measurements and drawings of working design, and then attempt to repeat it to confirm that this is the manufacturing process and design that should be used. Huge progress this week in the project and with this new prototype the project is pushed forward significantly.

Week4 Narrative
Week 4 was dedicated to recording all of the measurements of the working washer system ("working washer system" means when ball bearing is placed on top, the system is conductive through the wires coming out underneath the plexiglass board), and then duplicating it to prove it to be reliable. First the system was put on paper as labeled drawings, which can be seen in the pictures below.

 File:Overview of washer system with measurements.JPG|This is my drawing of the working washer system with the measurements of the spaces and inner/outer diameters. File:Underview of the board.JPG|This drawing is of the underside of the board and what it looks like/what the measurements are for the working washer system. File:Drawing of working washer coil system.JPG|Drawing of the wiring system of the working washer system model. The coil comes through the bottom of the plexiglass through a 1/16" hole and is coiled around the washer once, then glued down in sandwiched between the washer and plexiglass board. File:Side view of working washer system.JPG|This drawing shows the side view of the washer halves glued on top of the plexiglass board with the measurements of the different plexiglass board parts, and how the wires come through from the bottom of the board. File:Glued down washer with wires coiled.JPG|Image of working washer system glued down to plexiglass board. 

Now that I had recorded the data for building the working washer system, it was time to duplicate it. Here is the process I went through. My first task was dedicated to creating what I will call "spacers," which will fit in between the top and bottom spaces between the already existing model. Then when I glue down the new model, by using these spacers I will have the same distance as the current working model. Here is what I used and the process of creating the spacers:

 File:Plate fitting biscuits.JPG|I found this plate fitting biscuits in my Dad's shop, and decided to try and manipulate them into the spacers. They appeared to be the right size, and could be cut to the length and width for the spacers I needed to make. File:Plate fitting biscuits spilling out of jar.JPG|Here are the plate fitting biscuits. They are made of wood, and look like little footballs, a little less than 1 inch across at the largest point. File:Original size next to cut size.JPG|After breaking and cutting a plate fitting biscuit, I managed to get a piece that fit into the bottom space in between the washer halves snuggly. This picture shows the original shape of the plate fitting biscuit and the bottom spacer created from one. File:Sacer fitting into original working washer system model.JPG|Overhead view of spacer fitting into the bottom space of the original working washer system. The spacer fit snug in the 6/32" gap, and was placed using the width of the plate fitting biscuit. File:Side view of spacer in bottom gap.JPG|Side view of the spacer resting in between the bottom gap of the washer halves. File:Overhead of top spacer.JPG|Overhead view of the top spacer in between top gap between washer halves. Because the top gap was a little larger (7/32") than the bottom gap, a similar size wedge of the plate fitting biscuit was cut, and then I wrapped it in electrical tape to give it more width. This proved to work because the spacer sat snuggly in between the top gap as seen above. File:Side view of top gap spacer.JPG|Side view of the top gap spacer in place. The black electrical tape was used to give it more width to make up for the top gap being 1/32" larger than the bottom gap. File:Both spacers over head view.JPG|Both spacers sitting in top and bottom gaps of working washer system model. File:Side view of both spacers in original washer system.JPG|Side view of both spacers sitting in top and bottom gap of the original working washer system. 

Next I had to use the spacers to guide me as I glued down the duplicate working washer system. The same coiled wire design will be implemented, and there are no specific measurements that need to be taken when coiling. However, it is important that the washer halves be glued down directly over the drilled hole in the plexiglass which the wires come through, because this allows for the wire to be secure. The first cut-washer half could be glued down initially without the use of the spacers, because then the other half will be glued down using the spacers and already glued down half as a guide. Here is the process:

 File:Me holding spacer in place.JPG|After the first half of the washer system was glued down, I held the bottom spacer in place. Then I put down glue and placed the second washer half up against the bottom spacer. Once the position was established, I put in the top spacer and pushed the second washer half up against each spacer. File:Side view of both spacers in duplicate washer system.JPG|As the second washer half set in the glue, I kept the spacers in place to assure the spacing would be the same as the original working washer model. File:Overhead view of duplicate washer system.JPG|Overhead view of the duplicate washer system with the spacers still in place as it sets in glue. File:Duplicate washer system without spacers.JPG|Duplicate washer system without spacers in place. The glue set and when measured the gaps are within 1/32" of another, or smaller. File:Elictrical tape left over.JPG|Problem: The top gap has a black line in between which was left behind when the top gap spacer was removed because some electrical tape got stuck to the plexiglass once the spacer was removed. This affects the look of the system, and a way to fix this topic will be investigated next week. 

Now it was time to test the duplicate washer system using a multimeter. When the ball bearing is placed on top of the washer halves, and the multimeter readers are connected to each of the wires, a beeping sound will occur of the system is conductive (a working system). Sure enough, I was relieved to hear the sound go off when I tested the conductivity with the multimeter. More good news as when I tested the original washer system, the beeping sound went off. Being able to duplicate the washer system model confirms that this will be the design used to build the beat bearing board.

<Gallery> File:Multimeter testing duplicate washer system.JPG|Me testing the duplicate washer system with the multimeter. When connected, the beeping sound went off, showing the system was conductive. File:Testing original washer system with multimeter.JPG|Me testing the original washer system again with the multimeter. It proved to be faithful and the multimeter started beeping when wires were touched with readers. Both systems, original and duplicate, are conductive and "working." </Gallery>

This week concludes my work on Project 1, which was the Music project, specifically working on the manufacturing of the Beat Bearing board. I am happy to be continuing my work on the Music project for Project 2, where I expect to be building the board. New ideas suggested by classmates like constructing a template for the rows of washer systems with the MakerBot, are the next step and will push this project forward. The template will take away the need for spacers, and give the board a cleaner look, which potentially solves the problem of the electrical tape sticking to the plexiglass mentioned before.


 * If viewing this page, and you have any questions, please feel free to email me at connor.delaney@howardcc.edu and I will be happy to help.