User:MikeBertrand6/ENES-100/Project 1

Week1 Narrative
This is the first weekend of Projects. I have been assigned to the Rube Goldberg group. So this weekend I am going to start looking at different themes, sizes, and tools for a Rube Goldberg machine. Hopefully I can narrow down the list(s) I make. --MikeBertrand6 (discuss • contribs) 03:42, 17 February 2013 (UTC). I started the conceive process by making a chart that contained different aspects of the Rube Goldberg machine. These aspects where: the scale, the theme, and different tools/mechanisms that could possibly be used in the machine. The chart can be seen here in the /Conceive Page/. After creating the initial chart I examined it a little more closely and chose what ideas I thought would work best. First of all, I found that the scale of the machine should be the size of the Engineering room. Using DH or the top of the parking garage seems unrealistic for something in just 4 weeks. The shoebox size also would not work just because it is too small to display any theme. Next, I liked the idea of superheroes. Everyone knows a couple superheroes, so if they saw this machine they would be able to know right away that it has a superhero theme. Lastly, a couple of the tools and mechanisms that I thought would work nicely with a superhero themed machine were marbles, pendulums, and springs. There are plenty of superhero themed marbles that could be used. And using a pendulum would work out nicely if Spiderman were used in the machine. It could look like he is swinging and causing the next step in the machine. Springs could also be used in a similar fashion. They could be used to make it look like one (or more) of the heroes is flying, such as Iron Man or Superman. So over the first weekend I brainstormed some ideas for designing the machine. Now I will be able to meet with my team and share what I have thought up. --MikeBertrand6 (discuss • contribs) 23:25, 17 February 2013 (UTC)

My Second Task
The group decided on starting a medium sized Rube Goldberg machine. More specifically, starting a Rube Goldberg machine about the size of the engineering room. The theme of the Rube Goldberg machine will be superheroes. So for the weekend I need to think of different superheroes to use in the machine, as well as what their functions will be while the machine is "running." I also need to find different action figures and tools that can be used in the machine. --MikeBertrand6 (discuss • contribs) 22:42, 21 February 2013 (UTC)

Week2 Narrative
This weekend I started by making a list of different superheroes that could be used in the Rube Goldberg machine. The list can be seen /here/. After making the list, I started to think of different ways some of the superheroes could contribute to the machine. I had a couple good ideas for heroes such as Spiderman, Superman, and Iron Man. For Spiderman, I think that he could swing from a pendulum (making it look like he is swinging from web) and hit a villain. After hitting this villain, a spring will be released next to Superman. Once the spring is released, it will launch Superman to strike another villain. This villain will have a string tied around him/her, and after being struck by Superman, the villain will fall. The string that is attached to the villain will be a part of a pulley system. As the villain falls, the pulley will turn. The pulley will also be attached to a wheel, and as the pulley turns, so will the wheel. Iron man will be attached to a rod protruding from the wheel. As the wheel turns, Iron Man will seem to rotate around the wheel (as if he were flying). There will be a switch that connects to a circuit in Iron Man's path. During Iron Man's revolution of the wheel, he will flip the switch and complete the circuit which will start the next process in the machine. Iron Man's contribution to the machine was inspired by a scene in The Avengers where he flies around in a circle to sort of jump start an engine.

/Conceive CDIO/ /Design CDIO/ --MikeBertrand6 (discuss • contribs) 22:51, 26 February 2013 (UTC)

My Third task
After class on Tuesday, I am starting to see that we need to be done with the conceive process. The design process is necessary in this class because there is only so much that can be written about conceiving the project. By next Tuesday, I am hoping to have a design for each step of the machine so that the team can start building prototypes for each step. I need to look into Electromagnets for the Batman sequence in the Machine. I already have a good idea for the Iron Man sequence, so I will start building the prototype for that. Over the weekend, I hope to complete the design for Batman's part, and complete the Iron Man prototype.

Week3 Narrative
Over the third weekend I started out by looking at what actually makes an electromagnet. I found out alot of things about electromagnets. For starters, I found out that an electromagnet is very similar to a permanent magnet, except for the fact that they only work when electric current is flowing. Also, although currents running through wires produce magnetic fields, more common electromagnets are wires that are coiled around other magnetic objects. Alot of examples I saw used nails. I also found out how to calculate the magnetic field produced by a coiled wire. The magnetic field (B) = (u0)(I)(n) where u0 is a constant (4 pi x 10^-7), I is the current in amps, and n is the number of coils per unit length. So to increase the magnitude of the magnetic field, current can be increased, or the wire can be coiled more tightly. So I found how to calculate the magnitude of the magnetic field, but I also found out how to find the direction of the magnetic field as well. Using something called the right hand rule, the right thumb is pointed in the direction of the current (for a long wire and a coil) and the way the rest of the fingers curl around the wire is the direction of the magnetic field. So as for electromagnets, I found out a good deal on how they are produced and how they can be "manipulated" (in magnitude and direction). The next thing I did over the weekend was buy the materials I need to start building the pulley system for the Iron Man sequence. I made it out to home depot and just picked up a few things. I got 2 dowel rods (one 1/2 inch and one 1/4 inch), and two boards that are both 3/4 inch thick, 6 inches wide, and 6 feet long (just to have some extra). With all these materials I will be able to cut circles out of the board(s) and use the dowels to connect the rods so they spin uniformly. The 1/2 inch dowel will be used as the axle by which the whole system rotates around.

My Fourth task
Last week I made a small electromagnet that could be used for the first sequence of the machine. This weekend I'm going to start finally building the pulley system for the Iron Man sequence!

Week4 Narrative
I started off the weekend by talking to my dad and asking him how I can cut a perfect hole into a piece of wood. He told me about a drill attachment thats just called a hole saw. So I obtained a hole saw and cut 4 holes out of the wood, and used the holes for the circles in the pulley system. I ran into a problem after cutting the first circle because the wood cracked at the end. In order to prevent this I drilled half way through the wood with hole saw, and then flipped the board over and drilled in from the other side. Then, after cutting the holes, I used a 1/2" drill bit, and a 1/4" drill bit to drill a 1/2" hole through the middle of each circle, and then three 1/4" holes in each circle. The 1/4" holes will be used to connect the two circles together. After all the holes were drilled, I cut three 4" segments of the 1/4" dowel rod.  I then fed them through the 1/4" holes in the circles. It was a very tight fit, but that is good because I am using these dowels to connect the circles. So it is better for them to be tight. After those three dowels were in place, I put the 1/2" dowel through and tried to spin the system. The 1/2" dowel was also a tight fit too so I opened up the middle hole in the circles by moving the 1/2" drill bit around a little bit inside of the 1/2" hole. After this, the system spun with ease about the dowel rod. I glued the 1/4" dowel rods into place on the circles, and then tested the spinning again. I still need to attach string and action figures to the circles, but I got the bulk of the system built.  See the pictures of the pulley system and the electromagnet I build last week /right here/. Check out the associated /CDIO/ page by clicking on the link.