So it's been quite a week in the world of ME 250--we've officially started production! After completing our motor lab assignments in addition to our Most Critical Module (MCM) preparation last week, we finally felt comfortable enough to begin manufacturing components for our MCM. Unfortunately for us, the part that we began with--the metal cart plate cut by the waterjet cutter--was misaligned while being machined, leading to center-of-mass and alignment issues that we felt just couldn't be overcome.
So what did we do in this time of crisis? Went back to the drawing board! After some discussion, we decided to scrap the metal plate (Get it? Scrap metal?) and construct a wooden cart base instead. This base could be bigger than the metal one (due to the fact that we were supplied with a larger piece of wood in our kit) and could also be manufactured easily using the laser cutter in the machine shop. After this change in design, we re-did the CAD drawings for the new larger cart base and plan to cut it early on Monday morning (see Figure 1 below).
In addition, the motor lab finally supplied us with enough information to finalize the pillow block designs (the motor heights were required before the bearing and bushing positions could be finalized), and we'll be completing the machining of these parts tomorrow morning as well. It's going to be a big day for Team 42!
Anyway, off to go and study for the big exam. Wish us luck!
-Team 42
Figure 1: Redesigned cart with wooden base.
Figure 2: Ilya and Adam working hard at the motor lab.
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