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Howard Ma’s Weekly Status Report for 4/12/25

Personal Accomplishments

  • Focused on modeling and preparing parts for 3D printing, including iterating through several failed prints and design adjustments to ensure proper fit and function with other components. These parts will be key to mounting and aligning system modules like the stirrer and cup positioning.

  • Took the lead in planning the architecture and physical layout of the final system, including the positioning of valves and how to conceal and organize circuit boards within the structure for both aesthetics and protection from liquid.

  • Assisted in flow rate testing and valve dispense calibration, helping verify the timing needed to achieve consistent and accurate drink volumes across different tube and valve configurations.

Next Week Deliverables

  • Finish printing and installing final mechanical components.

  • Full system integration using finalized layout.

  • Continue tuning valve timing, flowrate control and stirrer during testing.

Status: On Schedule

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Howard Ma’s Weekly Report For 3/29/25

Personal Accomplishments

  • Debugged circuits and control logic for integrating multiple components, focusing on the handshake between the robotic arm and garnish wheel.

  • Completed the stirring mechanism, including all circuitry, code, and core physical structure using 3D-printed parts. The system now reliably spins the stirrer.

  • Started early planning for mounting the stirring unit and aligning it with the cup position and other subsystems.

Next Week Deliverables

  • Complete the structural setup for the stirrer, including cup holder and motor mount.

  • Integrate and test the stirring mechanism within the full system.

  • Add more poses to the robotic arm for expanded garnish placement.

Status Report: On Schedule

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Team Status Report for 3/22/2025

This week, our team focused on completing functionality tests and adjustments for individual components and made significant progress towards full-system integration. Most of the main components — valve dispensing, rotating garnish wheel, robotic arm — are all operational individually (save for the stirrer which is still being manufactured and testing) and we began putting them together with the control of the webapp interface.

The garnish wheel was integrated with the solenoidal valve system, allowing both components to operate with signal commands from the webapp. A drink holding structure was also constructed using wood scraps from the shop, providing a stable base to support multiple bottles and tubing. Circuitry was further organized and cleaned up to support safe and scalable wiring

On the backend, the WebApp was updated to support garnish selection and ingredient amounts, and these inputs were mapped to specific valve and garnish wheel controls. This lays the groundwork for user interaction and future testing of custom drink combinations.

On the motion control side, the robotic arm was recalibrated for full-range motion, and the stirring mechanism’s circuit and 3D model were ready for printing and testing.

Next week, we plan to physically integrate the robotic arm to the rest of the system, and begin working on component timing and coordination to prepare for the mid-term demo.

Main challenges will include synchronizing the timing between dispensing, stirring, and garnishing, and ensuring physical stability across all components during operation, while keeping the workspace clean and safe since we are dealing with a lot of liquid.

We remain on schedule, but integration and testing in the coming weeks will be critical.

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Howard Ma’s Weekly Status Report for 3/22/2025

Personal Accomplishments

  • Completed the circuit and 3D model for the stirring mechanism, preparing it for physical printing and testing.

  • Recalibrated the robotic arm’s control software and hardware, expanding its operational range from a limited 1/4 of its surrounding space to nearly full-range motion. This involved modifying control parameters in the existing library and validating smooth, stable movement across all angles. Calibration Testing: Link

  • Assisted in debugging and integrating the wheel structure with the valve system, helping wire and test hardware connections to ensure consistent and coordinated motion between modules.

Next Week Deliverables

  • Physically integrate and test the stirring mechanism, confirming its performance and compatibility with the drink mixing process.

  • Integrate the robotic arm into the complete system, ensuring it functions with the valves, garnish wheel, and WebApp.

Status Report: On Schedule

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Howard Ma’s Weekly Status Report for 3/15/2025

Personal Accomplishments

  • Debugged and fixed circuitry for the solenoid valve and motor driver, ensuring consistent activation and response time.
  • Refined robotic arm control, enabling it to execute a sequence of pose-changing commands to grab and place garnishes.
    • Successfully tested the arm by picking up a chocolate ball as a placeholder garnish.
    • Designed the system to be adjustable for different garnish types, allowing flexibility for various drinks.
    • The working sample can be viewed here: Link
  • Worked on the 3D printable designs for the Stirrer:

Next Week Deliverables

  • Complete the stirring system design and circuitry, ensuring smooth integration with the drink mixing process.
  • Work on system-wide debugging and integration, ensuring all hardware and software components communicate effectively.
  • Coordinated with teammates on system-wide integration, preparing all working individual components for integration.

Status Report: On Schedule

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Howard Ma’s Weekly Status Report for 3/8/25

Personal Accomplishments

  • Completed construction of robotic arm and experimented with its functionality to be independently controlled
  • Helped go over the design report document submission
  • Helped with verifying circuit designs of the components
  • Begin writing Arduino control code for 12V valve control

Next Week Deliverables

  • Construct stirring mechanism
  • Finish and test control code for the valves and robotic arm to begin testing individual parts and prepare for system integration.

Status Report: On Schedule

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Howard Ma’s Weekly Status Report for 2/22/25

Personal Accomplishments

  • Completed tubing size analysis and ordered updated parts to ensure proper fit and functionality within the system for optimizing fluid flow and maintaining system efficiency.
  • Researched circuit connections and pinout configurations for integrating solenoid valves and robotic arms, preparing for embedded system control once the new components arrive.
  • Assembled the robotic arm to prepare for preliminary testing for full system integration later on.

Next Week Deliverables

  • Develop a working physical prototype to evaluate the feasibility of the system and identify and refine any potential adjustments.
  • Complete the design review report
  • Produce a circuit layout for embedded integration

Status Report: On Schedule

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Howard Ma’s Weekly Status Report for 2/15/25

Personal Accomplishments

  • Finalized the system design pivot, which includes:
    1. Valve-operated drink dispensing system
    2. Electro-magnet stirring mechanism for automated mixing
    3. Robotic arm-operated garnish station on wheel
  • Researched, finalized, and placed orders for all required components, ensuring that parts align with the updated system design and functional requirements.
  • Assisted in preparing the design presentation slides, ensuring clarity and solid foundation.
  • Developed pseudocode for the Arduino IDE, laying the groundwork for controlling the embedded system. The next step will involve pairing specific ports and finalizing connections once the hardware components arrive.
  • Studied robotic principles and control mechanisms to ensure smooth operation of the robotic arm within the garnish station, preparing for seamless integration with the overall system.

Next Week Deliverables

  • Begin physical assembly of individual system components as the ordered parts arrive, testing their standalone feasibility before implementing automation.
  • Debug and complete the Arduino control system for the valves.

Status Report: On Schedule

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Howard Ma’s Status Report for 2/8/25

Personal Accomplishments

  • Calibrated the slides for the proposal presentation.
  • Prepared and presented the proposal presentation. (Major task)
  • Explored various components and technologies relevant to our project, specifically focusing on motor control and embedded communication, taking inspiration from other similar projects.
  • Contributed to the team’s design pivot by discussing and evaluating different sections.
  • Participated in decision-making regarding the parts to be ordered.

Next Week Deliverables

  • Complete the design for section one of the project: the drink dispensing component.
  • Implement foundational embedded controller code.
  • Begin physical component implementation and testing (if time permits).

Status Report: On Schedule