NUTRONS

1
NUTRONS

• FIRST
• Seminar
• Kyle Henry
• 11/12/2007

2
Agenda

• Kickoff/Engineering Process
• Build Season
• Mechanical Design
• Electrical Layout

3
Kickoff

• The Engineering Process
• Basic steps to breakdown and solve any problem
• Pre-Kickoff
• Things you need to do before the kickoff
• During the Webcast
• What you need to do while watching the webcast of
  the kickoff event.
• Post Kickoff
• Engineering Process
• Tasks for after the webcast and game review

4
The Engineering Process
Needs Assessment
Problem Formulation
Implementation
Analysis
Abstraction and Synthesis -Brainstorming
5
Pre-Kickoff

• Download the manuals
• The manuals are available but password protected
• Organize your build schedule
• Set goals and deadlines and stick to them
• Decide team goals for the build
• Base them off of your skills and desires

6
Kickoff Webcast

• Take Notes
• Ask Questions
• Open question forum online for your advisor, you
  can post questions online.
• Review the playing field and elements
• Review all the game rules
• Understand Scoring Structure

7
Post Kickoff

• From Team Goals decide Strategy
• Goals for the Robot
• Style of Drive train
• Robot Accessories (ARM)
• Brainstorming and Conceptual Designs
• Ideas only!
• Read Chief Delphi Forums
• www.chiefdelphi.com
• This is a fantastic FIRST Forum
• Amazing team resource!

8
Build Season

• Conceptual Design
• Basic Concepts and Prototype Defined
• Finished Design
• Concepts to Drawings for Manufacturing
• Manufacturing
• Creating the Parts
• Test
• Making sure your Robot Works

9
Conceptual Design

• Draw and Sketch your Ideas
• Napkin to CAD Cartoons
• Define Methods
• How are you going to do something
• Rotation vs. Elevator
• Prototype
• Mock up of Components

10
Finished Design

• Designs ready for Manufacture
• Pictures or plans with dimensions and layout.
• CAD or Finalized Graphical Representation
• Full CAD is unnecessary
• Paint, Word and PowerPoint
• K.I.S.S.
• Keep It Simple Stupid
• Simplicity is the key to success

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Manufacturing

• K.I.S.S.
• Simple Design Faster and Easier Manufacturing
• Cheaper Robot
• Less likely to mess up a part
• This is where all designs get hung up
• Critical to stay on time and on budget

12
Test

• Drive Train
• Test Early and Often
• Main area for problems to exist and grow
• Plan time for Programmers to Debug and code
• More Testing results in better Finished Robot
• Find your errors before you hit the field.

13
Mechanical Design

• Materials
• Your design is only as good as what you build it
  with
• Material Alloys
• Motors
• Know the Specs
• Drivetrain
• IMPORTANT Critical to all Working Robots!
• Accessories
• What else will your robot do?

14
Materials

• Material Selection
• Critical to your design
• Strength and Density
• 2 most critical properties FOR FIRST!
• Know what you want your material to do so you can
  choose the type appropriately.

15
Material Alloys

• Aluminum
• 6061-T6
• Most Common Structural Alloy
• 7075
• Aircraft Aluminum
• Stronger and More Expensive than 6061
• Steel
• 1018 and other Mild Steels
• Common Alloys for added strength in components
• 4140 Chromalli
• Stronger than Mild Steels
• Good for Critical Locations

16
Motors

• Availability
• Specs
• Torque Curves
• What do you need the motors to do?
• Speed (RPM)
• Torque
• Installation
• Weight
• Choose the right one for the right application

17
Drive Trains - Type

• Tank Drive
• Left and Right Independent motion
• Drive it like a tank
• 2, 4 6 Wheel as well as tank tread (usually
  timing belt)
• Swerve Drive
• Rotate the wheels to the direction of travel
• Crab Drive
• 2 sets of DTs set 90º from each other.
• Holonomic
• Special Omni-wheels that while varying

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Drive Train - Criteria

• Choosing the right Drive Train for you
• Speed
• How fast do you need to go?
• Agility
• Are there obstacles on the field or do you want
  to be able to out maneuver around other teams?
• Power
• Do you have to pull or push something?
• Do you want to be able to push people around?
• Traction
• What will you be driving on?

19
Fastening Devices

• Nuts and Bolts
• ¼-20, 10-32 - common
• Lock Nuts or Loctyte
• Removable
• Welding
• Permanent, strong
• Need skill and experience
• Rivets
• Semi-Permanent
• Can replace if falls out
• Can drill out and later replace

20
Bearings and Bushings

• Bearings
• Needle
• Thinner Radially
• Ball
• Most Common
• Thrust
• Used for Support in Axial Direction
• Bushings
• Bronze
• Typical material
• No moving parts, rely on low friction between the
  material.
• Radial and Thrust avialable
• Do your research on what the device can
  withstand.
• Anything that moves needs some kind of bearing or
  bushing

21
Wheels

• There are multiple things to consider when
  choosing your wheels
• Traction
• Too much may actually be bad decreases turning
  and agility
• Need enough though to be able to move and push.
• Omni-Wheels
• Allow transverse motion.

22
Accessory Devices

• Accessories are game dependant.
• Examples include
• Arms
• Elevator
• Ball Intake devices
• Hoppers
• Ball Shooters
• Grippers
• Wings
• Ramps

23
Arms, Elevator and Wings

• Arms
• General goal is to lift and object
• Generally use rotating joints to move.
• Elevator
• Uses linear motion to raise or lower an object
• Wings
• Increase your size generally used to push or
  herd objects.

24
Electrical Layout
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Electrical Components

• Victor 884
• 40 AMP capacity
• Pulse-Width Modulators (PWM)
• Vary current going through based on 1-256 input
  from a joystick.
• 128 is neutral number.
• Component that controls motors
• Spike Relay
• On/off Switch
• Typically for pneumatics.

26
Robot Controller

• Brain of the Robot
• All components are controlled with PWM cables
  that run back to the RC.
• Has a processor