PERSONAL Accomplishments
- Setting up and Testing Gantry Pulley System (12 hr): Once the second timing belt arrived, I placed both belts onto the gantry to complete the assembly.
As the image shows, the entire gantry is now assembled. I went through and continued to touch up the angles and tightness of the rails so that the middle bar rolled easily. This took some time to ensure that everything was ready for testing. Then, I worked with Tarek to help him set up his configuration to test his Arduino code with my gantry system. We saw great results in being able to control the gantry with great detail. The entire system moved smoothly and we were able to move it vertically, horizontally, and diagonally. An example video is found here: Gantry Movement Video - Created braces for our gantry (2hr): I also spent some time designing some braces to 3D print that would maintain right angles in our design. This would ensure that our rails do not shift and pinch the movement.
- Mandatory Lab Sessions (4hr): During our class sessions this week, we had an opportunity to continue to work together as a team. This helped to maintain our schedule and understand where our entire project stood. In particular, a meeting with Professor Kim helped to emphasize the importance of going above and beyond for our demo. We gained some motivation to not just do the bare minimum, but to aim for more functionality in our demo.
Progress
This week, I once again felt that I made some big progress by proving that the gantry design works and can facilitate movement. I feel that I am back on track and will now change my focus to prove the feasibility of chess piece movement on a full board.
Next Week Tasks & Goals
- Continue working on the design for our chessboard and pieces
- Test the movement of chess pieces on a few pieces
- Test movement with a full board