Applications and Implications

Tasks for this week:

  • Propose a final project masterpiece that integrates the range of units covered.

Your project should incorporate 2D and 3D design, additive and subtractive fabrication processes, electronics design and production, microcontroller interfacing and programming, system integration and packaging. Where possible, you should make rather than buy the parts of your project. Projects can be separate or joint, but need to show individual mastery of the skills, and be independently operable.

Part 1- Overview

Components List:
  • 3X3 Speed Cube (Moyu Weilong GTS 2)
  • 6X Nema 17 2A stepper motor
  • 6X Pololu A4988 stepper motor drivers
  • Arduino Uno
  • Raspberry Pi 3B+
  • 24V/36V DC Power supply
  • Heat sink and fans
  • 3D printed frame
  • Wooden housing
  • Numpad and Numpad Keycaps
  • Rocker Switch
What will be bought/pre-existing:
  • Numpad
  • Speed Cube
  • Stepper Motors
  • Power Supply
  • Switch
  • Raspberry Pi 3B+
  • // Kociemba algorithm code

    • What I will do:
    • Frame and Center Cap connector (CAD & 3D printing)
    • Raspberry Pi Casing (3D Printing)
    • Tutorial Mode (Embedded Programming)
    • Programming Numpad (Input Devices) + New Keycaps (3D printing/Molding and Casting)
    • Creating my version of stepper motor drivers (Electronics Design and Production, Output Devices)
    • Creating my version of Arduino (Electronics Design and Production)
    • Electronics Housing (Computer-Controlled Machining/Cutting)
    • Display Solve Time on Phone (Networking and Communications)

    Part 2- Addressing Applications & Implications Questions

    What will it do?
    It will solve the Rubik’s cube puzzle. Hopefully, it will be able to solve it quickly. It will also teach the user how to solve the puzzle by providing step-by-step instructions.

    Who's done what beforehand?
    A machine that can solve a Rubik’s cube is certainly not new, and there are many existing examples that can solve the cube extremely fast. Here are some YouTube videos showing a few examples:
    Lego
    Claw
    Speed
    Cradle
    What will you design? What parts and systems will be made? What processes will be used? - Frame and Center Cap connector (CAD & 3D printing)
    - Raspberry Pi Casing (3D Printing)
    - Tutorial Mode (Embedded Programming)
    - Programming Numpad (Input Devices) + New Keycaps (3D printing/Molding and Casting)
    - Creating my version of stepper motor drivers (Electronics Design and Production, Output Devices)
    - Creating my version of Arduino (Electronics Design and Production)
    - Electronics Housing (Computer-Controlled Machining/Cutting)
    - Display Solve Time on Phone (Networking and Communications)

    What materials and components will be used?
    Components List:
    - 3X3 Speed Cube (Moyu Weilong GTS 2)
    - 6X Nema 17 2A stepper motor
    - 6X Pololu A4988 stepper motor drivers
    - Arduino Uno
    - Raspberry Pi 3B+
    - 24V/36V DC Power supply
    - Heat sink and fans
    - 3D printed frame
    - Wooden housing
    - Numpad
    - Rocker Switch

    - PLA filament
    - Plywood
    - FR1 Copper sheet
    - Solder

    Where will they come from?
    Most can be found in the Fablab already. Others can be bought from Taobao and Jingdong. I believe that there are no components that I can't access or work with in this project.

    How much will they cost?
    I have not yet drawn up a BOM yet, but I will add it soon.

    What questions need to be answered?
    A. Will the Kociemba algorithm always work, without cameras?
    B. How does the program recognize that the cube has been solved?
    C. Will it be able to solve it quickly (around 15-20 seconds)?
    D. How would the robot communicate the total time taken for a solve to the phone?

    How will it be evaluated?
    1. Can it solve the Rubik’s cube correctly every time?
    2. Can it solve the Rubik’s cube in under 30 seconds?
    3. Was the project produced under the budget?
    4. Does my project incorporate 2D and 3D design, additive and subtractive fabrication processes, electronics design and production, embedded microcontroller interfacing and programming, system integration and packaging?
    5. Can it be replicated by someone else in a Fablab?

    The main spiral development for this project gives priority to first and foremost crreating a machine that will be able to solve the cube. The second spiral would involve the machine achieving the task at a reasonably faster rate. The last level would be adding the feature of a tutorial mode as well.