Sizhe’s Status Report for 4/27

This week, we have worked out the PCB and have found the design is flawed. Thus, I have redesigned the PCB and placed the order. Furthermore, I’ve dedicated time to clean up the interface code with Arduino to prep for the final build out next week in case we need to modify it further.

In term of schedule, we are on track as we will be finished with integration and build out by next week.

By next week, we will hopefully have a successful final product that can register go pieces correctly and the gantry system should also work accordingly.

 

 

Sizhe’s Status Report for 4/20

Over the past two weeks, my focus has primarily been on developing a hall effect sensor matrix. After finalizing its dimensions, I completed the PCB design and have spent the past two weeks assembling it. The soldering process has proved more time-consuming than anticipated, particularly due to the challenge of soldering the small hall effect sensor components onto the PCB. Shuailin and I aim to complete most of the assembly by the end of today. Additionally, I’ve dedicated time to coding the interface between the hall effect sensor matrix and multiplexer, rather than addressing individual sensors separately.

In terms of our schedule, we find ourselves slightly behind, having entered the slack weeks. Nonetheless, we’ve made significant progress, having completed all individual components of the project, with assembly scheduled for tomorrow. The primary concern at this stage is integration.

By tomorrow’s end, I anticipate having a functional prototype ready for demonstration at the final presentation next week. Subsequently, we’ll focus on refining the entire system to ensure seamless operation ahead of the final demo during the following week.

 

As you’ve designed, implemented and debugged your project, what new tools or new knowledge did you find it necessary to learn to be able to accomplish these tasks? What learning strategies did you use to acquire this new knowledge?

Throughout the process, I’ve discovered that PCB design proves crucial for customized projects. A well-executed PCB not only reduces complexity but also enhances overall aesthetics. Additionally,  documentation and adept project management plays an important role.

I mainly relied on online videos for source of new knowledge and I have found learning by doing is immensely helpful. Purely learning by listening or watching simply wont do the trick as one can quickly forget afterward. However, practical experience and making mistakes help us grow faster.

Shuailin Pan’s Status Report for 04/06

This week, I purchased and tested a new 12V electromagnet for the movement system due to the subpar performance of the 5V one. I also measured and modeled the chassis for the entire system to get rid of the old unstable mock prototype.

Design wise, the only update is the switch from the 5V electromagnet to a 12V one to act as the movement system.

Schedule wise, the team is mostly focusing on the software and PCB circuit design as planned. Feeding system has yet to be integrated to the software, but the software logic should be easy.

For next week, I will update the software for feeding system, print out the acrylic chassis for the entire system and assemble it with current built parts. I will also help with PCB design if needed since it’s the most risky aspect of our project currently.

Shuailin Pan’s Status Report for 3/30

This week, I mainly helped with building and tuning gantry, system assembly , and helped with testing piece detection threshold in python code.

Design wise, Sizhe and I decided to flip the locking and hall effect sensor placement under the board to help with better resolution when detecting pieces.

The current most significant risk lies in software communication of board state and the challenge in improving gantry speed.

Next week, I will try to help with software design to eliminate current communication issues of piece detection and motor movement between the hardware control code and webapp software. I will also begin designing and cutting the final version of the outer chassis since the gantry dimension is confirmed.

Sizhe Chen’s Status Report for 3/23

This week, I mainly contribute the projects by helping Shuailin with circuit testing/realization testing with existing board as well as assembling go pieces. I also further modified my PCB file after seeing similar projects online. Yet I still cannot finalize the PCB design due to the lack of progress on the gantry system. However, I came up with a back up plan using custom PCB board which is less optimal but should work if PCB has major design issues.

Schedule wise, we am still behind as we have not yet integrate with our gantry system yet but we have finished all other small aspects of the projects. We are confident that we can accomplish much by next week.