ARMtech

  Design Details This week primarily focused on refining the details of each individual module to better prepare for the initial wave of ordering finalized parts and the construction of the prototype. Motor Selection More research has been dedicated to the selection of specific motors, with factors such as required torque, power, and control scheme being the main components considered. Some time was put into possibly downsizing the force requirements and/or the playing field size, and the motors available to such specs, but after discussing with Dr. Kim (client), there may be alternative ways to obtain the full power motors. The company from which we are considering purchasing from is Teknic's ClearPath line, featuring different motor styles based on control sceheme. These lines each have pros and cons, with the two most probable lines being SD and SC. For the SD line, a dedicated microcontroller is required that can be programmed with C++ code, and Teknic provides a compatible dev...

Shakedown Testing This week primarily focused on preliminary shakedown testing and early redesigning to better prepare us for the upcoming manufacturing phase. Kinematics Calculator Gavin has put in a considerable amount of work in creating a MATLAB based calculator for possible linkage lengths for our robot.  This program is able to iterate through different combinations of linkage lengths and denote which are theoretically viable in achieving our 15" x 18" "playing field" area. The product of the program can be seen below, in which the populated cells are the viable linkage length combinations. Initial Testing Before any testing, parts were manufactured via acrylic laser cutting to allow differing linkage lengths and combinations. The beginning of testing consisted of setting up our manufactured parts into the linkage configuration to ensure such motion was possible, then setting up a coordinate plane with graph paper. After our initial setup, it was apparent that...

Rough Budgets For this week we looked into the different possible parts that could fulfill the project needs at different levels. Motor Selection The main component to the budgets was which type of motor to buy, as these are the most expensive component. To aid in the decision, Gavin built a MATLAB program to translate between the end forces at the handle and the required torque the motor must produce when paired with various linkage lengths. Computing Selection Another vital component discussed was the computing center for the robot, in which the most probable product for the job can be a Raspberry Pi, as it can dedicated to the robot and runs both Python for our data acquisition and motor controlling capabilities.  Design Notebook We also compiled our past deliverables into a single document, making necessary revisions. Deliverable 3 Revisions The bulk of revisions to Deliverable 3 were for the requirements specifications, such as reworking some of the force requirements, and ad...

Move to Linkages Last week we discussed with the client about the mechanical system that the handle movement will be based on. This week we were able to compare the 2 systems (gantry and linkages) and understand how to calculate the forces from each system. Based on our meeting with our client and our analysis of the linkage system we decided to switch to a linkage system in order to deliver/receive the forces. Deliverable 4 Rework on Mechanical movement System Concept due to the switch from Gantry movement system to linkage movement system. Conception of linkage modules. Formatting of Deliverable 4 for each concept and pros and cons. Formatting of Each Module and pros and cons. A Checklist was created in order to assure each requirement for deliverable 4 was met. Budget Rough outline of our budget and breakdown of our major expensive. Shakedown Test Plan Shakedown plan created which designates which critical to function parts/mechanisms we would like tested. Shakedown Test Plan - Goog...

  Module Brainstorming For this week we did a lot of brainstorming and coming up with the different modules the device will consist of and the possible solutions for each area. Raw Module Generation Below is the final set of modules defined by the team: The textual list of the modules is as follows: Gantry Movement Kinematic Data Acquisition User Interface / User Experience Motor Controller / Motor Selection Handle Ergonomics Power Electronics / Distribution Computing (Added post-photo) Note: The module "Physical Display" was scrapped due to establishing a monitor will suffice and does not need to be an entire module. Note: The module "Table" was put on hold for future evaluation, as the module primarily involved placement of the device in respect to the table rather than different objects or tools Module Organization After coming up with the modules, at least 10 different solutions for each model were brainstormed.  Below is the set of photos for each module area (...

Strategy Brainstorming For this week we did a lot of brainstorming and coming up with strategies that could allow us to achieve our goal and followed our problem definition. Raw Strategy Generation Below are the raw pictures of these strategies Strategy Organization After coming up with the strategies (20 total), they were organized in a MindMap (seen below) Final 3 Strategies For an in-depth listing of the merits for each strategy, visit the following doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14g-M1KH7IzcLxc8TfiJ-wXIPO8q18UfPxt_HxRvvUKs/edit?usp=sharing Tabletop device that provides resistance in game-like format Fluid Resistance Chamber Track Patient Activity/Performance (Hands Off) + Therapist Alert  Concept Brainstorming After coming up with strategies we moved onto making 40 different concepts for the best 3 strategies, totaling 120 in the end. Raw Concept Generation Below are the photos from the brainstorming session with the following color scheme: Black: Tabletop Strate...