User:John McNamara/Projects/Project3

Project Preference

 * 1) I would like to just continue the beat bearing project
 * 2) Shaker table
 * 3) Wireless

Problem Statement
For this project cycle i will be working on the beat bearing board. I will be continuing the implementation stage.

Project Plan
In the four weeks that my group will be working on this project we plan to complete building the board and hooking it to the arduino and key board.

Week 1 Narrative
My tasks for this week was to wire the positive side of the board and to test for continuity. I was able to finish both my tasks this week. When wiring the board we ran it to a few problems. One problem was because the wires in the wire are so small and weak often when we would strip the rubber away half the wires would go with it. TO fix this we did the same thing we did when this happened to the negative side. We just twisted more wire to the short piece of wire. This became extremely aggravating because some of the time the wires would not stay together. To fix this we looped one wire and passed the other through it and then twisted the two. We did however find out also why the wires were breaking. They were breaking because we were trying to strip too long of wire. When we striped wire that was around 2 inches long or less all the wires stayed but if we tried to do any longer wire they would start to break. At first when we were debating on how many ribbon cables we would use to wire the board. We were debating on using four, two, or one. We made the decision to just use two. If we used four there would be a lot of waist but if we used only one the cable would be too short to reach to all of them. Two ribbon cables seemed to be the best because it would be long enough for two rows and it wasn't as wasteful as four. We hooked the washers to the wires the same way as we did for the positive side, by gluing the wire to the washer. My next task for this week was to test for continuity for the positive side. This task was a little more tricky than testing the negative side because the wires ran it to a harness we had to hook a white piece to plastic piece so there was exposed metal. We had to figure out which wire when to which pin on the white piece. We used a multimeter to check for continuity and when we did there was continuity. The next steps would be to wire the negative side into the ribbon cable and to glue the halves down.

This is a video of the positive side being tested for continuity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhsPi8bygSE

Week 2 Narrative
My tasks for week two was to glue the washers down and to combine the negatives. I was able to complete these tasks but in the process found a huge problem. The first task was to glue down the washer halves. We experimented around with a few types of glue to find the best glue to glue the washers down. The first type of glue we tried was called Zap a Gap. The problem with the zap a gap glue was that it had a water like consistency to it and it took a long time to dry. This was a problem because the glue would end up running all over the board creating a white film on the Plexiglas. The next glue we used to try and glue down the washer halves was the lock tight superglue. This glue was a little better because it had more of a gel like consistency but it still took a while for it to dry. The final type of glue we used to glue the halves down was hot glue. Hot glue worked the best out of all of them mostly because it dried the fastest. The fact that it dried quickly was a negative of using this glue especially if we made an error and had to adjust the washer. Another negative about the hot glue was strands of it got all over the board while glue but we were able to clean that off in the end. The next step after gluing the washers down was to wire the negatives together. This task was a short easy task all we had to do was twist all the negatives together. After we did this we wanted to make sure that there was continuity through out the whole board. This is where we ran into a major problem. We placed the ball bearing on a set of washers to complete the circuit then placed one end of the multimeter on the positive wire and one on the negative. When we did this we expected a reaction but nothing occurred. Next we tried using a wire to connect the circuit which did work but the continuity went in and out. We concluded that the design did not work because the ball bearing was only making a point contact with the two washers. It was making a point contact because were the wire was wrapped around the washer it created a bump preventing the ball to make contact with the rest of the washer. When we found out that the design was flawed we had to come up with a new one. You suggested that we solder the wire and washer together to that the ball came in contact with the washer without any interference and it would make the board look cleaner. The first thing that we did to test soldering was to soldier the wire to the washer. We found that the washer was too smooth so when the soldier cooled and hardened it did not stick to the washer. To fix this problem we used the grinder wheel to make the washer rougher. When we did this it provided a strong bond between the washer and the soldier. When we soldered the washer to a board to test it it worked them broke because the washer was not sitting flat on the board. Before it broke we checked the continuity with a ball bearing and it worked. The next steps would be to perfect the soldiering design and to make a row of washers using the soldering design.

 File:Washer template.JPG|We used the template to set up the outside washers. File:First row of washers.JPG|This is the first row of washers completed. File:The white marks from the glue.JPG|Zap-A-Gap glue leaves behind a white residue on the board. File:Completed board.JPG|All washers are glued down. File:Testing the washers.JPG|Testing the washers. Where we started to find our real problem. File:Soldering iron on table.JPG|This is the soldering iron John and I used and the washer not sitting flat on the Plexiglas. File:Washer soldered onto the board.JPG|Washer is soldered and wired onto the board. File:The washer.JPG|The washer after being used on the grinder. File:Up close view of solder.JPG|The washer can break off of the solder when the washers surface is slick. 

Below is a video of Jake applying the washers to the board.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYL9llShv70

Below is a video of grinding the washer down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej3arbujMm0

Below is a video to show the difference between the Zap-A-Gap Glue and the hot glue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDgOl6WGbSw

Week 3 Narrative
My tasks for this week was to assemble a new Plexiglas board but only make one row and to wire the negatives of that row. I was able to complete both my tasks. The first thing this week I did was cut a piece of Plexiglas for the new board. Luckily there were two extra runners so I didn't have to cut them. To cut the Plexiglas the first thing i did was mark the length and width of the piece. After that I used a utility knife to score the Plexiglas and once it was mostly through the glass I was able to snap the glass. After I had all the pieces to assemble the board instead of using the acrylic glue we used hot glue. To glue the pieces together we applied glue to the runner then put the runner on the top piece and applied pressure till the glue was dry. This method of gluing worked very well. After that we had to drill holes for where the wire was to be soldered to the washer half. In this process we drilled too fast and pushed too hard resulting in the board cracking. The board also cracked because the drill was set on 2 instead of 1 which made the drill spin faster. It also cracked because the board was facing up creating a space between the top of the board and the top of the table. We were able to save the runners but we had to cut a new top. Once we had built another board we started drilling holes again but took out time. We used the template to mark the holes for where to drill. While Jake was marking the holes and drilling the holed on the new board I cut the washers and ran them across the grinder. After we had all the holes drilled we laid out the negative side washers. We taped the washers down so we knew they were laying flat on the board and to make sure they didn't move around while we soldered. While we were soldering we check continuity with each one we soldered. One we got the hand of soldering it was not hard it just took a while to get the wires to sit rite to be soldered. After we soldered we were taking up the washer and they started coming up and not sticking to the solider. We found this odd because in our test trials they were nearly impossible to separate from the soldier. We discovered that in the test trials the solder was touching more of the washer. To fix this issue we decided to drill two more holes and fill them with super glue to secure them to the board.

 File:Marking the board.JPG|Marked the board with a marker using the runner and template to approximate where we would need to cut the board. File:Cutting the plexiglass.JPG|Cut the plexiglass board using a utility knife. File:The two runners.JPG|The two runners glued down using hot glue. File:Drilling the holes.JPG|Drilling the holes after being marked with the template. File:The tape and washer.JPG|The tape was used to hold the washers in place. File:The washer being taped.JPG|The washer taped down so it will not go anywhere. File:Soldering the washers.JPG|Soldering the washers File:The solder without the washer.JPG|The solder without the washer File:The row of washers.JPG|The row of washers File:Wiring the washers.JPG|Wiring the washers File:Gluing the holes.JPG|Gluing the holes 

Week 4 Narrative
My tasks for this week was to complete wiring the positive side and to work on the CDIO report. The first thing I did this week was finish the positive side of the board. To wire the positive side we did pretty much did the same thing as before but used solder to secure the wire and the washer. When we glued this side for some of the washers we tried your suggestion on how to glue the washers down. To glue them down we first glued them down to the board. Once the glue was dry we drilled the hole for the soldering joint through the plexiglass and partially into the washer. This method cuts down on time tremendously and eliminated the need to grind the washers because the drill roughens the surface of the washer up. The first step in wiring the positive side is to cut one end of the ribbon cord off. After we did that we taped the positive half of the washer down to the board. The next step is to take each wire and cut it to match up with each positive washer. After we did that we stripped each wire. After all the wires were stripped we started soldering. Soldering the positive side is a little harder because the ribbon wire often moves while were soldering and the wire gets in the way of the soldering iron. The next steps that will need to be taken with this project is to get the board we made working with the arduino then make a full size board. The other task I was given this week was to work on the CDIO report. On the report I will have to add the revised board design. This is a video of soldering the wire and washer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te6q0imlcIw  File:Preparing the positive side.jpeg| Preparing the ribbon wire to be soldered File:Overall Layout of the wiring.jpeg| The ribbon wire is cut be two inches longer than the board File:Tape washers so they don't move while soldering.jpeg| We taped the washes down so they wouldn't move while soldering File:Soldering the positive side.jpeg| An example of how the ribbon wire is connected to the washer by solder File:Close up of the solder joint.jpeg| Close up of the solder joint 