DESIGN & MANUFACTURING I

Robotic Machine Player (RMP)

Sep 2018 - Dec 2018, for Mechanical Engineering course MECHENG 250: Design & Manufacturing I. Design and manufacturing of RMP (Robotic Machine Player).

BACKGROUND

This course and project centered around the design and manufacturing of a robotic machine player (RMP) to participate in a class-wide competition to score points on a pre-made playing field. Students were split into about 12 lab groups which were split into 4 separate teams in each lab group. Each lab group competed as a cohort, with each RMP needing to be designed in accordance to the obstacles near their starting position on the playing field. Students were given a kit of materials for RMP design and were able to manufacture pieces with a manual lathe, manual mill, waterjet, laser cutter, and more. Students created manufacturing plans as well as drawings (with proper GD&T) for each piece to be manufactured and needed to be improved.

I was heavily involved in the design of the rotating arm for this RMP as well as the drawings and manufacturing of the majority of the milled pieces.

GOALS

We were tasked with developing at least 3 functional requirements for this RMP which are listed below

• RMP must not drop cubes while traveling over pyramid (playing field obstacle)

• RMP must be able to cross drawbridge without stalling or stopping

• RMP must be able to lift 3 cubes 11.5" off the ground (above height of basket in video below to score points)

REFLECTION

Our overall RMP was successful and met all of the functional requirements we had set for this course. The videos above show the completed RMP attempting to meet the functional requirements we set.

We were given a set kit that all teams began with for construction of the RMP. We had chosen a plastic gearbox for the drive train of the RMP. We often had to replace the gears in this gearbox due to shear and was the main source of troubleshooting. There was misalignment in the drive train shafts connecting to the wheels which was identified as the main cause.

If given more time, I believe the misalignment could have been identified earlier and could have been addressed to prevent headaches with the gearbox. Other design considerations, including the purchase of a new motor (included in team budget) could have also changed our drive train to reduce alignment issues.