In the third lab, the team had quite a different task. The team was to use their creativity to design the look and specifics of the AEV. The team brought their minds together to consider weight, aerodynamics, certain requirements, and the AEV track specifications. The team started out by throwing out ideas on what they think would work. Eventually, as each idea was given the approving nod by all team members or proved to be impossible by a teammate, the team each set off and drew their own orthographic drawings of their vision of the future AEV. Each AEV was unique, but they shared some aspects. The shared aspects were: adjusted wings, a curved cover on the front, and different propeller than the provided one. Below are the drawings of certain team members
The team did however not come to a complete consensus on which of the drawings to use as the final plan. However, after talking with the supervisor the team was told that was informed that a final decision did not have to be made quite yet, just as long as the team had a good idea as to what it wanted to construct to go along with the AEV itself.
Update (2/8/17) : The team talked more about the design and came to the conclusion that it would like to pursue an idea of limited weight, which would minimize power usage since there would be less that the propellers would have to propel. The team has yet to figure out exactly what this minimalist design will entail and look like, but there is now an idea to go off of. In next lab the design will most likely be figured out.
The team finished the creative design aspect of the lab with time to spare. The team then went on to test the AEV with the code from lab 02, but with higher battery power applied to the motors. The AEV ran! The felt a huge sigh of relief and felt as if with more code, the AEV could now traverse the track.
Takeaways:
- The AEV can run, and will soon be able to do the assigned task.
- The design is not as complicated as initially thought.
- The team is full of good ideas, it is just sorting the good from the bad.
Anton Kronforder’s drawing
Shawn Harkins’ Drawing
The main feature of Shawn’s design is how minimal the usage of materials is. His idea was that the most efficient AEV would be the lightest. Another feature of his design is that we will be producing our own propellers with either 3D printing or laser cutting. He believes that the wings are not truly needed considering the AEV does not need to produce any sort of gliding or lift effect. In Shawn’s design the materials needed are mainly 3d printed if the printed part would weigh less than the parts we already have. This includes the propellers and the base rectangle and the brackets. When 3-D printing Shawn’s design will utilize a lattice form instead of making the objects solid to lighten the AEV as a whole. His design overall is based around the idea of creating the most efficient AEV that requires the least amount of energy to complete the course.
Malcolm Cartwright’s Drawing
The main feature of Malcolm’s design was aerodynamics. He was able to come up with these ideas by researching the design of airplanes, submarines, and helicopters. He chose those vehicles to research because they all travel through a fluid and are very aerodynamic. He tried to consider where the vehicle was being affected most by the air. Malcolm was not concerned about the weight of the vehicle in his sketch, but after talking with his team realized some aspects of his design are no longer a good idea due to the added weight. Nevertheless, the aspects of his drawing were: extended wings so that the wings were flush with the rectangular base, a “bubble” at the front of the vehicle acting as a windshield, and lastly a 3-D printed/laser cut propeller. The propeller will be constructed on Solidworks using our knowledge of propellers from previous labs that dealt with a similar concept. It will be printed in lattice form to be much lighter plastic. Research can also be done to perfect the propeller. Also, the magnet was moved from the from the front of the vehicle to the back of the vehicle which would allow for the vehicle to go forward when the additional vehicle is attached, which was thought to be more efficient. This could be good for the accomplishing of the mission presented because the magnet is still present, but now it is in the back where it may be able to have the vehicle be the most efficient.
Malcolm Cartwright’s Bill of Materials
