WYSE: Mechanical Enginnering Day 3
First thing today was doing woodworking and building parts for our 3D Printer in the workshop!
We got to try many different methods of lifting and lowering the platform the 3D Printed material would rest on, such as using string to lift, using meshed gears to lift, or (our favorite, the one we chose) using a vertical screw to lift and lower wood. It seemed both simple to put together and also the most sturdy and efficient (I have experience from Robotics that putting two gears together is much harder to get consistent than it looks.)
Lots of work went into building the structure. We used many tools to construct our platform and lifter.
Later that day, we began using the LEDs we put together yesterday and have them light up with specific patterns, based on the code input to Arduino.
It turns out that the modified C/C++ used in Arduinos functions very similarly to Java, so I was able to apply that knowledge and turned my penguin’s eyes into strobe lights.
However, while building the penguin, I directed my attention towards an LCD screen, and wanted to figure out how to wire that up to an Arduino. I used a separate Arduino and Breadboard, and after some tinkering with Arduino libraries, I got the LCD to display some static text. Then, I programmed inside the Arduino’s looping code to have it scroll the text (it’s actually just adding a gradually decreasing amount of invisible spaces).
Since the computer crashed, I couldn’t save the code that scrolled text, but here’s an earlier copy of the code from when the text was static, in one place.
Later that afternoon, we got the opportunity to finish the CAD designs we began yesterday. I finished the keychain and created Tetris blocks in CAD. Using SolidWorks is janky, and you have to find specific tools. Unlike the online CAD system I used at Northwestern, which was made for beginners and had fewer tools, SolidWorks has less accessibility but better
It took me 10 minutes to find a Copy/Move option, but once I found it I was able to develop a Rhombicuboctahedron shape (similar to a Truncated Cube, but the edges are truncated as well) and form the iconic 4 block shapes.
This, along with my Name Tag, should print by tomorrow, and I’ll post pictures of them here.
Later at night, I went bowling again at the Illini Union. I feel as though I’m getting more familiar with the UIUC Campus overall as I walk more around here, after having been at the central Illini Union for the 4-H Camp last year, the times I’ve gone to UIUC for the ICTM State competition, and now this WYSE Camp.
WYSE Posts:
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6
