Engineering Final

Yuanxin Han, A block

The first project is LEGO Robot Project.

In this project, John and I worked in a group to build a LEGO robot which can execute different missions. At first, we just followed the instructions to build the robot, and used Mindstorm to program for the robot. Then we dismantled the robot, and started building a robot without instruction and program it so it can follow the missions that Mr.Joslin assigned.

Our design for this project is quite simple. It contains following parts: wires, wheels, intelligent brick, and connections that put them together. Two wheels in the front and one omniwheel in the back. The intelligent brick sits at the center of the robot.

Our design is relatively successful. It's the first and one of the few robots can walk through the route assigned by Mr.Joslin. The most interesting feature about our design is that it can drive on the wall, so it allowed our group more space for miscalculations. However, the flaw is obvious too. In general, the connections of the robot is not very stable. As a result, a slight change in our programs could cause the robot to go way off the assigned route. Also, our design is over simplified. According to Mr.Joslin's rubric, the robot needs to at least turn on the light, hit a ball, and make a sound when finished, but our design is unable to perform these tasks due to our ignorance of the programming tool - Mind storm.

From this project, I learned teamwork - how to cooperate and communicate with my partner to figure out problems. I learned the importance of experiment - we are the first group start testing our robot on those tasks. Our accuracy comes from adjustment after each miscalculation. I also learned the importance of observation - when we followed the instructions to build the robot and program, we observed, then started building. Observation is a process of learning and with that ability, we achieved our success.

Feeback: next year, students should have more time to do the project. More time allows deeper understanding of the robots, which leads to higher completion.

The second project is Potato Cannon Project.

In this project, we started off doing research online on how to build a potato cannon. We picked the best design, went to a store to check the price of different parts, analyzed the design in terms of price, assembly process, and safety features, used Google Sketchup to draw the 3D graph of the cannon, and finally, made presentations to our plan.

The design Jacob and I picked is quite different from the rest of the class( since the other groups all use the same design.) We do share some similarities like barrel, combustion chamber, ignitor, connection parts, and a cap in the back. The special thing about about design is that we have a handle between barrel and combustion chamber, and the ignitor is placed like gun at the joint of the handle and the main body. " The Bazuka" is its nick name.

The successful part in our design: we recognize the brittle nature of the PVC pipe and use ABS pipe instead, so the design is safer. Secondly, still the handle. It helps the cannon stay stable when shooting it. Thirdly, we used reasonably shorter chamber and barrel so it costs less. We can improve our design by putting soft materials around the part in touch with the body, so when firing it, the for generated won't be as big.

From this project, I learned how to get information from the Internet and compare them horizontally. I also learned cost is a big concern in real world engineering. The material we use should be as cheap as possible.

Feeback, the students should be able to fire the cannon. After all, they put the effort to build it.

Here are some pictures of our design: