NUTRONS

1. NUTRONS FIRST Seminar Kyle Henry 11/12/2007

2. Agenda • Kickoff/Engineering Process • Build Season • Mechanical Design • Electrical Layout

3. Kickoff • The Engineering Process • Basic steps to breakdown and solve any problem • Pre-Kickoff • Things you need to do before the kickoff • During the Webcast • What you need to do while watching the webcast of the kickoff event. • Post Kickoff • Engineering Process • Tasks for after the webcast and game review

4. The Engineering Process Needs Assessment Implementation Problem Formulation Analysis Abstraction and Synthesis -Brainstorming

5. Pre-Kickoff • Download the manuals • The manuals are available but password protected • Organize your build schedule • Set goals and deadlines and stick to them • Decide team goals for the build • Base them off of your skills and desires

6. Kickoff Webcast • Take Notes • Ask Questions • Open question forum online for your advisor, you can post questions online. • Review the playing field and elements • Review all the game rules • Understand Scoring Structure

7. Post Kickoff • From Team Goals decide Strategy • Goals for the Robot • Style of Drive train • Robot Accessories (ARM) • Brainstorming and Conceptual Designs • Ideas only! • Read Chief Delphi Forums • www.chiefdelphi.com • This is a fantastic FIRST Forum • Amazing team resource!

8. Build Season • Conceptual Design • Basic Concepts and Prototype Defined • Finished Design • Concepts to Drawings for Manufacturing • Manufacturing • Creating the Parts • Test • Making sure your Robot Works

9. Conceptual Design • Draw and Sketch your Ideas • Napkin to CAD Cartoons • Define Methods • How are you going to do something • Rotation vs. Elevator • Prototype • Mock up of Components

10. Finished Design • Designs ready for Manufacture • Pictures or plans with dimensions and layout. • CAD or Finalized Graphical Representation • Full CAD is unnecessary • Paint, Word and PowerPoint • K.I.S.S. • Keep It Simple Stupid • Simplicity is the key to success

11. Manufacturing • K.I.S.S. • Simple Design = Faster and Easier Manufacturing • Cheaper Robot • Less likely to mess up a part • This is where all designs get hung up • Critical to stay on time and on budget

12. Test • Drive Train • Test Early and Often • Main area for problems to exist and grow • Plan time for Programmers to Debug and code • More Testing results in better Finished Robot • Find your errors before you hit the field.

13. Mechanical Design • Materials • Your design is only as good as what you build it with • Material Alloys • Motors • Know the Specs • Drivetrain • IMPORTANT: Critical to all Working Robots! • Accessories • What else will your robot do?

14. Materials • Material Selection • Critical to your design • Strength and Density • 2 most critical properties FOR FIRST! • Know what you want your material to do so you can choose the type appropriately.

15. Material Alloys • Aluminum • 6061-T6 • Most Common Structural Alloy • 7075 • Aircraft Aluminum • Stronger and More Expensive than 6061 • Steel • 1018 and other Mild Steels • Common Alloys for added strength in components • 4140 – Chromalli • Stronger than Mild Steels • Good for Critical Locations

16. Motors • Availability • Specs • Torque Curves • What do you need the motors to do? • Speed (RPM) • Torque • Installation • Weight • Choose the right one for the right application

17. Drive Trains - Type • Tank Drive • Left and Right Independent motion • Drive it like a tank • 2, 4 & 6 Wheel as well as tank tread (usually timing belt) • Swerve Drive • Rotate the wheels to the direction of travel • Crab Drive • 2 sets of DTs set 90º from each other. • Holonomic • Special Omni-wheels that while varying

18. Drive Train - Criteria • Choosing the right Drive Train for you: • Speed • How fast do you need to go? • Agility • Are there obstacles on the field or do you want to be able to out maneuver around other teams? • Power • Do you have to pull or push something? • Do you want to be able to push people around? • Traction • What will you be driving on?

19. Fastening Devices • Nuts and Bolts • ¼-20, 10-32 - common • Lock Nuts or Loctyte • Removable • Welding • Permanent, strong • Need skill and experience • Rivets • Semi-Permanent • Can replace if falls out • Can drill out and later replace

20. Bearings and Bushings • Bearings: • Needle • Thinner Radially • Ball • Most Common • Thrust • Used for Support in Axial Direction • Bushings • Bronze • Typical material • No moving parts, rely on low friction between the material. • Radial and Thrust avialable • Do your research on what the device can withstand. • Anything that moves needs some kind of bearing or bushing

21. Wheels • There are multiple things to consider when choosing your wheels • Traction • Too much may actually be bad – decreases turning and agility • Need enough though to be able to move and push. • Omni-Wheels • Allow transverse motion.

22. Accessory Devices • Accessories are game dependant. • Examples include: • Arms • Elevator • Ball Intake devices • Hoppers • Ball Shooters • Grippers • Wings • Ramps

23. Arms, Elevator and Wings • Arms • General goal is to lift and object • Generally use rotating joints to move. • Elevator • Uses linear motion to raise or lower an object • Wings • Increase your size generally used to push or “herd” objects.

24. Electrical Layout

25. Electrical Components • Victor 884 • 40 AMP capacity • Pulse-Width Modulators (PWM) • Vary current going through based on 1-256 input from a joystick. • 128 is neutral number. • Component that controls motors • Spike Relay • On/off Switch • Typically for pneumatics.

26. Robot Controller • “Brain” of the Robot • All components are controlled with PWM cables that run back to the RC. • Has a processor