Week of November 15

This week was hectic what with machining our first three parts and in addition to that studying for a lengthy exam. However, with diligence and effort, the team was able to pull off an ace job of getting everything together. First of all, the team met up on Monday morning at 8 am to confirm our toolpath file and our CAD drawings. The team got a confirmation from Jean, and headed towards the waterjet. There, the team created a toolpath file with the OMAX program and was able to cut out a piece of 1/16" aluminum plate that is now acting as the frame of the MCM. By friday, the team had succeeded in making three different parts of our most critical module by using two different materials, aluminum and birch wood, and three different procedures, waterjet, laser cut, and drilling. We also bent the frame of body after the waterjetting.

Here are screenshots of the CAD models of the parts we made (we will have actual photos of these parts posted soon):

1. The frame of the MCM:









2. The woodblock ensuring accurate motor placement:









3. The rods that will be press fitted on our MCM to allow vertical motion:










Upon completion of MS7, with the smell of a joyous bonfire from our laser cut birch piece filling the air, we began discussing the work that we would need to begin in order to keep on schedule and have the MCM completed and in working order by next wednesday as well as all of the engineering for the entire machine completed and ready for us to machine the rest of the parts after thanksgiving break.

As we update this blog we're working on fixing the axles for our MCM as well as figuring out what drawings we will need completed by tomorrow afternoon so that in lab we can finish machining all the parts for the MCM so we will be able to begin assembling it together so we'll have the finished product ready. The biggest issue for us right now is figuring out the best way to constrain our gears to our axles and the precise placement of any grooves needing to be placed on the axles so that the drawings are ready for approval tomorrow.

This is an image of our most updated version of our machine: