This is a group week where the whole lab builds one machine together. It has two parts.
As a team we designed and built a machine that moves on its own. It has a mechanism that turns motor movement into useful motion, motors that drive it, a controller that automates the motion, and a clear job that it does. We first built the mechanical frame and moved it by hand to check that everything ran smoothly, then we added the motors and the code so it works automatically. My own part of the project is described below, and the full group build is on our group page.
We started with a meeting to agree on the machine and split the work. We made a task list and each person took a part: the frame, the moving carriage, the electronics and motors, and the code. We met often to fit the parts together and kept one shared folder for the design files so nobody worked on an old version.
My main part of the group machine was manufacturing the parts, and I also helped with the assembly and the testing. I took the team's CAD designs and made the mechanical parts on the lab machines, cutting the flat frame pieces on the laser cutter and 3D printing the smaller parts and mounts. I made sure each part matched the design before it went onto the machine.
After the parts were made I helped assemble them, fitting the pieces together and mounting the moving parts on the frame. Once it was built I helped test it, checking that the parts fitted well, refitting the ones that were too tight, and moving the machine first by hand and then with the motors to make sure everything ran smoothly without jamming.
The parts I cut and 3D printed for the machine before assembly
Before any motors we moved the machine by hand to check that the parts slide freely and nothing jams. This is where we caught most of the mechanical problems while it was still easy to take apart.
Once the mechanics were smooth we added the motors and a controller, then wrote the code that moves the machine on its own so it does its job without a person turning it.
The finished group machine standing on the bench
The part I designed and made for the machine
The one minute video of the machine working, 1920x1080
Solution: I checked them against the design, sanded the tight edges, and re-printed the parts that were out of size until they fitted cleanly.
Solution: I corrected the measurement in the file and cut it again so it matched the rest of the frame.
Next time: add a small tolerance gap in the design from the start so the cut and printed parts fit first time, and label every part before assembly to make the build faster.