2/1-2/7

February 1st was our first class of the semester. During the class, we had a guest speaker that gave me some better perspective on the project as a whole. We met as group and made a number of decisions that we had been discussing over break. After announcements, I grabbed a white board and created a to-do list in order for our 1/12th scale track to be completed. I gave Franklin the contact info and invoice for purchasing our stock aluminum. We decided to go with 6061 T65 aluminum over 5052 because I was unable to find any conclusive studies on one material retaining shape over the other. I was able to find. I was able to find that 5052 is a softer material, however, based on prices posted on McMaster-Carr, 6061 was found to be significantly cheaper. 6061 was also a lot easier to source and we ended up purchasing it from Coastal Aluminum.

I spoke with Kevin and we expect that once we have the materials, bending them to our needed shapes will be rather quick. We expect the materials to arrive on February 8th. In the meantime, Jez and I have signed up for TIG welding classes at the TechShop. Originally we planned to take the class this weekend, but it filled up while we were in process of obtaining membership, so will be attending the class next weekend.

11/16-11/29

In the past couple of weeks I have been gotten the quote from Vanderbend and been taking inventory of some parts I did not know we had. I compared the parts to our designs and some of them look like they could be used and we may not need them to be manufactured. This could save us a good chunk of change. The issue right now is if the manufactured parts have warped at all while in storage. I am also unsure if it is made of 6061 aluminum or 5052 aluminum. Even if the components measurements are within our specified measurements, if they are made of the 6061 aluminum, the parts may not last as long. When bending 6061 aluminum, the material will usually try to return to its original shape over time. 5052 aluminum is less likely to do this. The quote we got from Vanderbend would be using the 5052 aluminum.

11/9-11/15

Last week I got in contact with Scott at Vanderbend. We are still waiting to hear back with a quote, but we do know that the track would be made from 5052 aluminum as it is better for forming, according to Scott.

I got a better idea about what the other groups are doing during our 1/12th scale team meeting. It appears that all of us have slightly different ideas, however, because we are communicating we are starting to see future problems and we have ideas on how to solve them. For example, the controls team and positioning team are still testing which sensors they want to be using. This could affect how much clearance the bogie will have from the track. As the track team, we know if they use a sensor that leaves minimum clearance, we would have to put a bit more work into the track. (essentially we would have to counter bore certain bolts) If the teams allow for more clearance, the track has a bit more space for mounting brackets.

I also spoke with the full scale team about a manufacturing meeting. I let them know that I was having trouble coordinating the different groups, and informed them they are free to take over. Since then, I know Winter has made significant progress on getting something coordinated.

I also spoke with Eric and relayed the information to the 1/12th scale team about financing our project. We all have a good idea on how to go about funding this project. This is an important time because all the groups are looking at what it would cost to actually build their respective projects.

11/2-11/8

At this time I have contacted Vanderbend and have created a bit of a dialogue with Scott Bryant. I sent them drawings of the parts we would need manufactured and waiting for a quote. I sent him an overall design to give an idea of the larger project and then each part that needs to be manufactured. Then each part would have to be replicated either 4 or 8 times.

I am also trying to get several groups together to meet with Vanderbend to see if we can get some advise and feed back on our designs. I have a lot of different groups giving me different information and different times. The nature of the task and situation got me a little bit frustrated, and I only made small steps in coordinating these groups, my group, and Vanderbend. My focus has been on my other classes and work. I plan to approach each group today and inform them of my progress or lack of progress. From there I plan to see the best method for us to move forward and accomplish our goals before our deadlines. At this time I think my group is still a bit ahead of schedule, but less ahead of schedule than we have been. I am assuming that is the case for other groups, but I cannot speak on their behalf.

10/26-11/1

Last week during class, the 1/12th scale subteams did presentations again. This time was more informative for us as I could see where other teams are in relation to us. At this time we are trying to get manufacturing started. I know we have an in-house fabrication team, and I talked with them and they seem far enough along that they could be manufacturing parts for us in a timely manner. We as a 1/12th scale track improvement team will still be pursuing professional manufacturing options just in case the fabrication team encounters set backs.

I am trying to coordinate with several groups to meet with Vanderbend. At this time it has been challenging to get several people together from several teams. I have contacted Vanderbend to get a running dialogue going, but at this time we do not yet have a meeting scheduled.

10/19-10/25

This week I have drawn up a couple sketches that would connect the modular pieces together. It was something we overlooked, but it does not hold us back or put us behind schedule. Our group also had a meeting with Eric Hagstrom, Professor Furman, Ron and Ned. It was helpful to talk with them and touch base on the direction of our project in relation to Spartan Superway as a whole. In the meeting, a tour of Vanderbend Manufacturing came up.

I attended the tour to get an idea of how manufacturing is performed. It was particularly eye opening as it made me realize the major difference between designing something and building it. All the major manufacturing methods were very interesting, however, I did not see any specific tools for manufacturing the track to our specifications. I talked to a sales associate and they assured me they they could manufacture the track for us. I got the contact info of several representatives of Vanderbend and plan to meet with them soon. I need to coordinate with my group when all of us would be able to go to their manufacturing center and speak with some of their skilled workers in designing the track. I think it would be particularly helpful to have the manufacturers give some input on the design.

Throughout the week, the brackets I drafted on Wednesday has had a lot of discussion within our group. This was because the upper guide track has a very limited amount of material to work with. As a result we discussed several iterations to try and secure the guide way to the bracket. At the moment every iteration has some pros and some cons but we think our final iteration will work, but is not ideal. We may try to revise it further next semester.

This bracket connects parts of the loops and will need to be bolted together for assembly and disasembly. This was a very quick draft I drew. Jez has drawn in it in Solidworks this past week.

10/12-10/18

Our general meeting time on Wednesday was a lecture with Professor Agarwal about technical writing and the final report. With the lecture, I do not think I learned anything particularly new, however it was helpful to review specific details in writing. A simple example would be the guidelines on writing a number or using the numeric value. Generally it is not an issue, but it can help the writing flow better when done properly.

Over the course of the week, we have been working on the CAD design and FEA. So far, it appears that bracketing the upper and lower tracks on the corners could be redundant. We have decided for now that it is unnecessary but I will be looking into again when we build our rapid prototype. I do agree with my team's analysis and choice to move on. I just believe we had some reason for it in the first place. I expect that when we build our rapid prototype we will quickly find that computer analytics was correct, however I would like to double check as long as time  allows it.

I talked with the fabrication team. The more complicated bends that we are asking for should be feasible according to them. The fabrication team is planning to construct a press and dye type of machine to shape the aluminum. From what I got from them in our conversation, that is their goal, however simpler methods may need to employed.

I also talked with the mechanical bogie team and positioning to see how we want to implement sensors onto the bogie and onto the track. The space between the track and bogie is very limited and the positioning team wants to insert corrugated steel into the track. At first we looked at how we could fit all the sensors on a certain part of the bogie and work within very limited tolerances. Then realized we have some additional places the sensor could be placed on the bogie allowing for more tolerances. I briefly presented the idea of making the track wider, but everyone involved, including myself, did not like that idea because the amount of work it would require from everyone would be overwhelming.