Week 5

Tomorrow we must have our complete machine finished and functional, except for a few minor tweaks. In our case it is likely that we will make a lot of adjustments because we have many problems.

Last week we started building the car module and the flipper module. Everything went surprisingly well with the car module. We stuck pretty close to our design. We used laser jet and acrylic for the base. We used the mill and bandsaw to make L-blocks to secure the axles. For the axles themselves we used 1/4'' Aluminum rod, which we sawed and lathed. For the V-shaped front of the car we used a combination of wood and left over 1/4'' aluminum plate. The only modification to our design that we really made was we that decided to orient the car "upside down" while driving so that we could get a better height while pushing balls on top of the table.

The flipper module has been more difficult. This module is supposed to drop an arm using rack and pinion to jam within the slot. We used 1/16'' Aluminum for the base, various aluminum parts for the arm, and the planetary gearbox with an 80:1 gear ratio. Two of the holes for attaching the motor to the base didn't align correctly when we water jetted the base so we had to drill new one's with the drill press. Also we can't seem to get our flexible tube tight around the quarter inch rod. We will probably have to try to drill a small hole through the tube and rod and then insert a spring pin. Our last problem is that the dropping arm doesn't always drop straight. But that will be a modification we make after Monday, because tomorrow's assignment is just functionality.

Flipper Arm

Flipper base

Car Base

Front Axles of Car

Rear Axle of Car

Car Module
Flipper Module