User:Jimahmud/Project 1

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Project Preference

 * MakerBot PLA Material Characterization (Implement).
 * Object Tracking for Robot Vision.
 * Arduino Based Air Hockey.

Problem Statement
''In one or two sentences, describe the project that your group will be working on. Identify what CDIO phase (Conceive, Design, Implement, or Operate) your group will complete in this project cycle.''

Project Plan
Briefly describe your group's plan for the next 4 weeks, including major tasks that will be completed each week.

Week 1 Narrative
My week 1 task is to determine the required materials for our project. I visited the the Engineering room (CL 159) and made a scan through all the materials and tools we had and those we did't have. I discovered a 7 by 4 inch spring which will be used to aid movement of the claw at the bottom end of the FESTO manipulator. Other materials for use that I discovered, were gears for inward and out-ward motion of the arm, 3 flexible rods for the arm itself, An Arduino to serve as a brain unit for all operations of the FESTO Manipulator, A motor shield to give more power and torque to the motor that will move the gears, wires, LED's for some light aesthetics, appropriate nuts, bolts and screws. Materials we need but don't have presently are, plastic or wooden claw for picking things up (will probably be obtained by 3D printing), a metal or wooden box to cover the arm, piping to house excessive wiring, A mechanical actuator that uses gears to move the arm forward and backward as a unit, a metallic rail and a clamp that converts linear movement to arm-like movement of the robotic arm, metallic rods to hold the arm in place, a cable to transfer electricity from the Arduino to the gears at the bottom end of the arm, plastic clamps to to give the flexible rods steady movement. I am also in the process of drawing up an effective design for the FESTO manipulator and how its components parts are going to be placed.

Week 2 Narrative
My task for the past week was to figure out how to incorporate several ideas we came up with into a finished design or an interim design which would later be refined into the final one. Our biggest dilemma was figuring out the best way to make the claw which picks up objects, to move. we have an idea of using two gears of the exact dimensions, which would serve as an open and close mechanism for the claw and would be powered by two motors for each gear as opposed to one, to give better torque and ultimately a wider weight and size range of objects that can be picked up. The claw in this case is going to be plastic printed using a maker bot, and the inner part will be coated with rubber to give better grip on objects. The motors in this case would be powered by an Arduino which would be located at the far end of the robotic arm, away from the claw. A 2mm diameter cable would transfer power from the arduino to the motors. The cable would be arranged in such a way as not to have wires hanging all over the place. This is key because our main priority is to come up with the best possible design with the available materials. The second idea is to use a 3D printed plastic claw as well, but this time, the claw will have tiny holes with which high tension rubber bands would be passed through and connected to a motor. Also, this time, the motor would be placed at the far end of the robotic arm, away from the claw. The motor's clockwise or anticlockwise motion would act as a pulley that opens and closes the claw. The third idea is to have a series of 3 gears, which would be powered by motors (one for each gear), and 3 springs which would act as restraints to how far open the claws open and close. After using a decision matrix, with the criteria of ease of use, lightness, less ambiguity, and efficient. The first idea came out to be the best. I have presently began to design the complete unit using the first idea. The rest of the arm is going to be designed as follows; A series of three (3) rods with plastic cross-sections for better strength and stability, each connected to a metal clamp, each clamp will have a rail with which it can slide forward and backward (Linear motion). The linear motion of these clamps will in turn, move the flexible rods, simulating the movement of an arm (not hand). The rails would have a sheet metal or wooden base screwed to two (2) rods acting like a football post to give stability. The base will also serve as the permanent location for the Arduino, switches, motors(if needed), wires, and other electrical implements needed. A cable will come from the Arduino and be woven through the rods intelligently so as to conceal it as best as possible. This cable will power the motor at the part of the arm where the claw is connected (like the wrist of a human arm), which would in turn move the gears and finally direct the claws to open and close. The claws would be plastic, coated with rubber for better grip of objects. (The decision to use Rubber-coated plastic was made with the help of a decision matrix). I have commenced the design and I anticipate sometime around mid-week to have it completed. I intend to make the drawings in four (4) different elevations; Front, End, Isometric and Plan view.

Week 3 Narrative
My week 3 Task was to draw up designs, make necessary improvements to the designs and incorporate everything into one complete unit. I have completed the final design into a complete unit and would subsequently explain how the FESTO manipulator is going to operate using the drawings.From the drawing, it shows that the whole unit is going to have two (2) metal supports which carry the weight of two(2)bases(one placed above the other). The lower base is going to support a diamond shaped box with three rails (one on both sides, and one at the top). these rails are going to serve as a source of linear movement of the three flexible rods (Robotic Arm).The rods are attached to metal clamps respectively. It is these clamps that will convert linear motion to the vertical and horizontal movements of the arm(four (4) Axis).These clamps are connected to actuators which will be powered up by Arduinos. If clamp A moves forward (towards the viewer of the drawing), it pushes rod A, which in turn moves the whole arm to the right. If clamp B moves forward, it pushes rod B, which moves the arm to the left. If Clamp A is moved forward to its limit of movement and Clamp C backward to its limit of movement, the arm will achieve its maximum horizontal range to the right. If Clamp A is then moved backward to its limit of movement and Clamp C forward to its limit of movement, the arm will then achieve its maximum horizontal range to the left. The total range of movement, both left and right would effectively be 2 feet. Rail B will have a much longer rail, hence a longer range of motion because, when clamp B is moved backwards to its full range of motion, the arm then lifts up. Because more effort (e) is required to lift the arm when a load (L) has been suspended from it(the load being the object to be lifted and moved), the actuator on clamp B is going to require more power than actuators A and C. Coming to the claw, from the drawing, we can see that a string has been labelled. This string will be attached and woven around rod B and connected to two (2) gears located on the upper base along with the Arduinos and other power sources and cables. The string has two ends woven around the gears like a pulley. When the motors move the gears in the opposite directions such that, the gear on the left moves in an anti-clockwise direction, and the gear on the right moves in a clockwise direction, the resulting movement functions like a pulley system which pulls the string upward. The string, which is attached to both claws, is pulled up and ultimately, this movement opens the claw up. When the gears then move in opposite directions again such that the gear on the left moves in a clockwise direction and the gear on the right moves in an anti-clockwise direction, the resulting motion pushes the string down, subsequently closing the claw back up.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiversity/en/thumb/1/10/Enes_3.jpg/450px-Enes_3.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiversity/en/thumb/5/58/Enes_2.jpg/450px-Enes_2.jpg

Week 4 Narrative
My week 4 Task was to finalize the design and file a detailed report about the final design and the integration of its component parts into one system. The images show some of the component parts of the Bionic tripod. The newest design i did was a more detailed drawing of 'The Diamond Box'. This box contains three(3) Mechanical Linear Actuators or more commonly called Linear Slide Actuators. This type of actuator operates by converting rotary motion to linear motion. The rotary motion of a motor is converted into linear motion using a series of jack screws and or gears. In our design we would be using the actuator that converts the rotary motion of a 5-10V Motor into a sliding (linear) movement of the actuator. Three (3) metal clamps into which an aluminium rod will be attached to each clamp as shown in the image. An arduino and a motor shield will control each motor that drives the Linear actuator mechanism. This will be housed in the diamond box. This diamond box will have three(3) actuators each with a rail along which they move. Notice Rail B is slightly longer than Rails A and C, this is to allow for a wider range of vertical movement of Rod B which would be the primary controller of the vertical movement of the arm. This diamond box has to be well welded to the steel box because this is the part with the most weight and contains the most delicate parts. The diamond box is required to be welded on all 12 edges (6 edges for the front and rear portion of the box). We have completed our design process and are in the process of completing our comprehensive CDIO report. The Report would be ready on Monday, 3/17/2014.