Week 20. Project Development (May 31)¶
Week 20 Assignment
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Complete your final project, tracking your progress:
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what tasks have been completed, and what tasks remain?
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what’s working? what’s not?
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what questions need to be resolved?
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what will happen when?
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what have you learned?
What tasks have been completed? What tasks remain?¶
The tasks that have been completed are that the laser cut frame has been completely finished and the brushless DC motors have been mounted. Also, I have tested the commercial transmitter and receiver, and designed/milled both the Power Distribution Board and Flight Controller boards. What remains is that I need to design and 3D print a case for my PCB boards, which will then have an easier time mounting to the frame. Another thing I need to finish would be to actually get the flight controller working with the MultiWii software. Finally, once all of the different subsystems are finished, then comes combining everything together. I estimate that all of this could take up to a week.
What’s working? What’s not¶
So far, most of the systems I have been working on (laser cutting, radio networking) have been pretty straightforward, but that isn’t to say that I’ve had my fair share of struggles. The main thing that is not working at the moment is the flight controller, which keeps giving me an error when trying to burn the bootloader about having an invalid device signature. Another mental setback is that I was able to burn the bootloader on one version of the satshakit flight controller I made, but then ripped a critical trace on the board, meaning that I would have to start over and remake another one. As I identified previously, the flight controller is definitely the most difficult part of the entire project, so once that is finished, the other components will be fairly straightforward in comparison.
What questions need to be resolved?¶
A question that needs to be resolved is the burn bootloader issue with the flight controller, and whether I need to mill another flight controller and try it once again. I have already checked for wiring and soldering mistakes, of which I haven’t spotted any of so far, but I will keep looking.
What will happen when?¶
As of today (Jun 14), I predict that the project can likely be finished within a week maximum. Due to getting sick and not being able to work in the lab for a full 6 days, my progress has been delayed. As stated before, the main thing I need to get working is the flight controller, and the rest of the stuff is all fairly secondary. I predict that I may have a working flight controller version within the next 3 days.
What have you learned?¶
When I started this program, I barely knew anything about how to make something. I had a background in STEM prior, but Fab Academy really introduced me to the world of making and taught me the thinking process of going about making something. I don’t magically know how to make anything, but after Fab Academy, I’m confident that I have the skills to figure it out. I’ve also learned substantial knowledge on how to use the machines in our lab, from the Othermills to the Shopbot to even the embroidery machine. Thinking back on where I was at the start of the year, it’s crzy just how much I’ve learnt in just a semester.
Here you can find a link to the actual final project page.
Gantt Chart¶
Here is the gantt chart I created to document my project plan.