Evolution of Design

The first step the team took to building the AEV was to create four different designs and decide on the best one.

Designs examined:

Riley’s Design

The inspiration behind this sketch was a cross between an airplane and the buses seen in the show Spongebob Squarepants. The front of the AEV is rounded and the wings are angled upwards so it is more aerodynamic. The inside is hollow so it is relatively lightweight.

 

Ryan’s Design

This model is sleeker and more aerodynamic, as well as more visually pleasing. The inspiration for this design is a raptor aircraft.

 

Eric’s Design

This model is very lightweight because it eliminates a lot of unnecessary materials. It is more aerodynamic because all various parts of the AEV that stick out are concealed by a curved cylinder that would go around the Arduino and base.

 

AJ’s Design: AEVdesighn-1u7p0ds

This model is sleeker, more aerodynamic, and more aesthetically pleasing. It adds very little weight to the AEV, so it will not drastically decrease efficiency.

 

 

Final Prototype Design

 

Sketch

 

Solidworks Video

 

Printed Prototype 1

 

Prototype 2 was printed because the attachment pieces located at the back of the bus broke off of Prototype 1.

Even after three different versions of the prototype were printed, the AEV would still not balance on the track. The team had to greatly increase the power in the coding to make the AEV even move on the track, leading the team to assume the bus attachment made the AEV very inefficient. After many weeks of making modifications to the AEV, the team made the decision to move forward and focus on a different aspect of the AEV.

Propeller Configuration