Ashira’s Status Report for 2/8/25

What did you personally accomplish this week on the project? Give files or photos that demonstrate your progress. Prove to the reader that you put sufficient effort into the project over the course of the week (12+ hours). 

This week, I helped with finishing up the project proposal + slides, as well and finalizing some of the features of our project. I spent some time splitting up the project into feasible tasks for our Gantt chart and making sure that our slides included all the details required. 

I also began compiling a series of links to resources /tutorials/previous projects that I thought would be helpful in referencing when implementing some of our features + interfacing our peripherals with the RPi, since we all have pretty limited experience with using the RPi environment. I also helped out with organizing our bill of materials and coming up with an outline of the components + quantities we’ll need to look into purchasing. 

I also worked on getting Solidworks updated and installed on my computer so that I’m able to get started with the CADing up the enclosure next week. I came up with a brief diagram that outlines the general spacing + locations of all the components we’re planning to use for the vending machine, although there are some specifics related to dimensions that might change/get added depending on how everything lines up in CAD. 

Is your progress on schedule or behind? If you are behind, what actions will be taken to catch up to the project schedule? 

My progress is on task with the schedule on the Gantt chart we came up with. I’ve finished a rough diagram/plan of the parts that I’m hoping to start CADing up this week, although I’m still currently in the process of installing Solidworks on my computer, as of today. The installation process is taking a little longer than I expected, since I have an outdated version of Solidworks currently installed on my laptop that I have to backup and uninstall first. I hope to finish this process up later tonight, or by tomorrow (Sunday 2/9) latest. 

What deliverables do you hope to complete in the next week?

During this next week, I’m hoping to ideally finish CADing up all of the components needed for the vending machine structure in Solidworks. I’m hoping to get all the parts finished/assembled in CAD and use this as a first draft/pass, so that we can at least get an idea of the spacing constraints and amount of material we’ll want to use for the build. I’m also hoping to re-familiarize myself with using Solidworks beforehand, as well as the process needed to generate drawings and send them to the laser cutter, in an attempt to make the manufacturing and assembly process as smooth as possible.