This week I completed the first draft iteration of our stylus parts housing, and started on the conversion module for our physical distance to pixel distance software module.
For the stylus housing, I imported a 3D CAD for the MCU we are using and formed a 3D block dimension for the MCU’s board. Since we are still leaning towards using the optical motion sensor rather than relying only on the IMU, I included a block for the PWM optical sensor that accounts for the ~1mm clearance needed for the sensor to work. I also included a block for our rechargeable Li-ion battery. I then formed the first iteration of our stylus housing around the dimensions of these parts.
For the conversion module, I started on the basic math needed to take x-y data from an external controller and convert it to distance on a computer screen with bounding boxes. The actual steps needed to implement this conversion are quite simple, so the real challenge will come from tuning these equations when we test with whichever motion sensor we order.
Progress this week is a bit behind because I needed to get used to using Fusion360 again after about a year. I will ensure I’m caught up by cutting the 3D CAD iteration time in half by potentially using multiple 3D printers at a time if resources allow for it.
In this next week I plan to test the fit of our initial housing iteration with some similarly sized MCU and sensor parts, and I further improve and iterate the design by adding sections for buttons and slots to more firmly hold our parts together. I will also test the current conversion module with an Arduino Nano microcontroller to make sure that the baseline equations work well before we move on to the optical sensor.