Priorities for the AEV Design are making the device lightweight. Being lightweight will reduce the cost of the AEV and increase efficiency of the AEV on the track. The cost reduction will be reflected in the lower prices of tickets to use the AEV. The weight for the AEV has been reduced by designing a one piece AEV that the individual parts connect to. The one piece design reduces weight eliminating the need for connector brackets. The design is kept lightweight creating holes where no parts need to connect. Parts are densely packed on the one piece design. Future iterations of the design will improve by further reducing the weight of the AEV and adding a spot to accommodate an additional motor.
The final 3D printed design was able to run on the track and was used for performance test two. The new design improved upon the shortcomings of the first design. The final design adds a second position for a motor. The second motor position was added after completing advanced research and development about motor configuration. The research concluded that one motor pushing and one motor pulling was an optimal motor configuration for the AEV. The push and pull motor configuration was applied in the final design. The final design reduced the size of the battery holder to accommodate the battery while still tightly securing the battery. The final design decreased the thickness of the AEV near the back wheel for the reflectance sensors to read the tape on the wheel. The final design added the docking fin on the left side of the AEV to attach to the caboose. The third advanced research and development was completed to investigate adding a servo motor brake to the AEV. The brake was intended to be added to the rectangular extrusion at the top right of the design. Research was done using different materials to brake and different pieces on the arm. Additional locations for the brake were also reviewed. Given the timeline of the study the addition of the servo motor brake was removed from the final design.
First 3D Printed Design
Final 3D Printed Design
