the final AEV project. The brainstorming process was done initially on an individual level and later each member came together to create and agree upon a singular design. At the individual level, each member considered the MCR and the available resources and began to sketch out a design which they found would complete the given tasks. This process took about ten minutes. From there, the group converged and discussed their individual designs and features. Once every design was explained, the team began to pick apart each individual part they liked in order to make a single design, incorporating the desired parts of each, into a final AEV design.
The design and brainstorming process is crucial to the completion of the Mission Concept Review because it is during this time that the craft used to complete is theorized, before being brought to life in a model (or in our case, being built with the given materials). This is very important as a scale model based on sketches and drawings can help determine if a particular design is better than another, without the labor and materials of constructing a full scale version. While the materials at hand and resources are kept in mind during the designing, they may not always be adhered to as closely as they should. Design Engineers are free to be as creative as they like during the design.
The individual team designs vary in complexity. Some required only the use of the materials that are provided by the course while others had larger ideas that required the manufacturing of parts and cases to be used as the main fuselage. For ease of production the team decided to use just the parts that were provided in the AEV kit. By using one motor that is pushing and one motor that is pulling, Team J hopes to achieve a better energy efficiency that both motors pushing. While a dual-pushing motor configuration the AEV will be very efficient in one direction, but not in the other. By having one motor pull and the other push, group J hopes that the efficiency of pushing can be harnessed in both directions. For the sake of time, Group J plans to only use the materials that have been provided. Time permitting, the group would like to submit a part for 3D printing that would act much like an aerodynamic cowling, covering the main body and components of the AEV allowing air to pass more smoothly over the AEV.
A take away from this lab for Group J is that often times a good design isn’t necessarily the product of one single person but rather the effort of a team of people each with their own experiences and background coming together to create a design that will successfully complete the design and task requirements.
Forward Looking Summary
The following weeks lab will cover the second half of the system analysis as well as design analysis. For this lab, a code will be written that will carry the AEV to the gate at checkpoint A. This will provide the team with Data to be analyzed. Using matlab and excel we can convert the data that is provided from the Arduino into usable data such as time, voltage, and distance. This data can be used to better refine our design and our AEV as a whole in order to complete the task more efficiently.
For the week Team J would like to complete all the lab reports that have been assigned by Wednesday the 22nd. Due to the loss of our lab member Greg, we have been trying to play catch up with the class. By the end of day Wednesday we should be back on track with everything that is required to have been submitted. To do so, each member will complete their assigned reports and prepare for the coming lab as well.
