Author: mmckinzi

This week I finalized the poker chip design as well as finalizing the shuffler and dealer module designs. I also worked with Chris to laser cut the player areas covers.

This coming week I will work on the final report as well as presenting our project at the final demo.

This week I constructed the last set of poker chips with the embedded resistors and copper tape contacts. Additionally I worked with Chris to construct the dealer module to show during the demo. The shuffler module currently works with quarter decks on each side, however we ordered high torque motors so we can shuffle with a half deck on each side.

This coming week I will work on building enclosures for each of the player areas as well as one for the community area. In addition I will construct the shuffler module completely and attach it to the dealer, as well as perfecting the design for the custom designed chips.

This week I made some minor fixes to the chips and chip contacts, adding extra copper tape to the center contact to bring it level with the outer ring contact so the stacked chips will register the correct resistance value.

The bulk of my work was spent on assembling the shuffler and dealer module. We printed the last of the parts and have begun to test the optimal setup for the motors in the shuffler trays and the dealer tray. We needed to file away some of the plastic on the shuffler trays to allow cards to more easily slide into the dealer tray.

Currently the shuffler  works with a quarter deck in each tray, so it needs to be run twice for each round, however we purchased high torque motors which will increase the stack of cards up to a half deck on each shuffler tray. The dealer can pull cards from the bottom of a full deck easily, we simply need to optimize the angle which allows a single card to be dealt, rather than for the whole deck to slip out at once.

This week we will finalize the shuffler and dealer construction and begin constructing the play area which will hold the chip contacts, RFID readers, and E-ink displays. Once the demo is over, we will start work on the final presentation.

There have been no design changes and schedule changes this week. Our biggest risk is still the shuffler and dealer, as the chip totaling and card reading subsystems have been completed. However since all parts of the structure have been printed and the motor drivers function we are confident that this risk has been minimized.

For this week’s demo we will show our functioning chip totaling, card detection, and the shuffling and dealing, as well as an audience display.

This week I worked on fabricating more poker chips using the copper tape rather than aluminum foil. When stacked the chips add up to their parallel resistance value accurately, which allows accurate monetary value totaling. In addition I worked with Chris on testing the dealing and shuffling capabilities of the DC and servo motors. The dealer works very well, but some adjustment is necessary for the shuffler because of the low torque of the high speed motors. Possible improvements could be adjusting the angle of the shuffler trays, widening the card gap which prevents the motor from throwing cards outside of the dealer tray, or adding another motor to help start the card movement.

This coming week I will fabricate contacts for the chips which will allow their resistance to be communicated to the central computer and embedded devices. I will also work on putting together the shuffler and dealer and making any design tweaks that are necessary.

This week I fabricated poker chips for each dollar value: $5, $10, $15 using copper tape rather than aluminum foil as a conductive medium. This method of construction was much simpler and much easier as the copper tape adheres to the poker chips and the leads of the resistors, minimizing the need for excessive solder to hold the resistor in place. In addition the dealer tray which will rotate was fabricated in the Makerspace using a 3D printer and holds a full deck and is slick enough that dealing one card at a time from the bottom of the deck is a simple and fast process.

The next step is to test stacks of the copper taped chips and see if the dollar values remain accurate. For the shuffler and dealer we need to print the shuffler trays and then begin assembling the motor and gear system inside the 3D printed system. The schedule is still on track to be completed on time.

This week I fabricated a $20 value poker chip as well as building the base contact for the chips. In addition I tested stacking multiple chips and measuring their resistance directly with a multimeter. The chips when stacked sometimes do not fully contact, but with design adjustments, that problem can be eliminated.

The shuffler and dealer complete module cannot all be 3D printed due to cost. The outer card holding base will be constructed from wood, since precision is not a major concern with that part. The dealer and shuffler modules will still be 3D printed, in order for the necessary precision to be achieved, as the motors and gears need to be able to fit in the right places and rotate as necessary.

The schedule is on track and we should have two functioning subsystems by the end of this coming week with adjustments to the chip subsystem that are necessary. We will also construct the exterior for the shuffler and dealer and begin the assembly of the motors, gears, and electronics if time remains.

One difficulty the team ran into this week is the prohibitively expensive cost of 3D printing all of the parts for the shuffler and dealer. We will pivot by 3D printing only the dealer and shuffler and constructing our final card holding base out of wood or acrylic, as the precision of that part is less important. This will not change the schedule simply because the 3D prints would have taken close to a day anyway.

For the demo we will have a functioning card detection subsystem and a functioning chip totaling subsystem for individual chips.

 

This week I fabricated 2 embedded resistor poker chips. The five and ten dollar valued chips both individually have the correct resistance value. The new purely plastic chips purchased to replace the chips with a metal center plane allowed the embedded resistor model to function properly. Pictures of the cut chips and fully functional chips are below.

This coming week I will fabricate the $20 chip as well as beginning to test stack values with identical chip values, as well as wiring it to the current shunt and raspberry pi and testing it in that manner. In addition I will fabricate the enclosure for the shuffler and dealer, both using 3D printing for the cylindrical portions and likely acrylic for the rectangular portions if 3D printing is expensive.

The schedule remains on track, as the MVP for chips is fabricated and needs only testing.

Early this week I worked on completing and editing the design review document. In addition I completed my ethics case study assignment.

Due to the setback on the poker chip construction we needed to order new chips and they did not arrive this week so I was unable to complete any work on that aspect of the project.

Chris and I completed the full Solidworks assembly of the shuffler and dealer combined module. The picture of that will appear in his report.

This week was not hugely productive but that owes to the fact that I had a midterm in 18-491 that spent much of my time studying for.

Next week I plan to fabricate 3 poker chips, one for each value: $5, $10, $50. I also plan to flesh out the specifics of which parts of the shuffler will be 3D printed and which will be manually fabricated. If time remains I will build a play area contact for the chips.