Last Workshop of the Semester

I have implemented the bogie design onto the track so that we can see the clearances throughout.  Looks like the bogie should have no problem running smoothly but this is assuming the track is perfect.  Once we start to add our modifications to the track, we can see what needs to be further modified. A picture is shown below showing how the bogie sits on the track.  Also done in the previous week was the final paper rough draft along with the last presentation of the semester.  

Final Stretch of the Semester

For the previous week, I have been working the power point for the next presentation. Will also start to work on the rough draft for the Final Paper.  I have been doing some research no 3D printed parts and seeing what print settings will give me the best outcome.  The chart below shows that I should set my print settings to 70% infill and have a 0.2 mm layer height to account for optimal strength, quality, cost, and speed.  Since quality will not be an issue, printing at an infill of 70% and a layer height of 0.3 mm will also suffice. Research was found from this article: "http://my3dmatter.com/influence-infill-layer-height-pattern/"

Vander-Bend Manufacturing

For this week, a couple groups got the opportunity to go to Vander-Bend.  They took us out on a tour on the manufacturing floor and we were able to see how some of their products were being made. We also got to ask Vander-Bend some questions that regarded how the track would be manufactured.  For this week, we are going to continue to work on getting things outsourced in time for us to be able to start the building process.

3D Printed Parts

We finally got a quote for our custom brackets from Kearny Foundry and found that it is pretty pricey for our needs.  So we went with the option of 3D printing our bracket.  The bracket takes quite a bit of time to print out but it is much cheaper.  I have printed the bracket with an infill of 60% and it feels pretty sturdy.  Some tests need to be done to see if we can use 3D printed parts as an alternative to metal.  I have also printed out parts for Mechanical Bogie Improvement team for their wheel holder plate.  Pictures are shown below of the prints. The wheel holder plate was printed at 100% infill and came out really nice.  The bracket on the other hand, due to how it was printed there will need to be some sanding to clean up the part.  

 

Finalizing Track Design

For the previous week, parts were getting finalized and drawings are being made to send out for quotes by Kearney Foundry and Vanderbend.  Once quotes come in, my team can make decisions on what we can do to make the proper improvements to the track.  Also have been keepin in contact with Kevin from track manufacturing team in order for his team to have the right dimensions needed for the track.

Getting Parts Molded

For the previous week, we were finalizing our design and in discussion with getting a quote from Kearny Foundry.  This week has been quite busy with midterms but more progress will come for the following week.  Also, not much have been done in workshop last Wednesday due to presentations.

Updated Track

For the previous week, I have updated the track to incorporate the changes with the bracket changes that have been done.  I made three different assemblies that will make putting the track together easier in terms of mating on Solidworks. There are three assemblies: station, corner, and loop connector.  These assemblies consist of both top and bottom rails.  Pictures are shown below of the progress.  Also some time has been put into updating the power point to get ready for presentations for today.

Full Track Assembly

This week I was able to fully assemble the track which will be shown in figure 1.  I still need to run finite element analysis in order to understand how deformations will happen and where support posts will be needed the most.  I also did FEA on the U-bracket we designed to see how it would perform which is shown in figure 2.  From what it looks, the way it is currently mounted would cause one side to have more stress.  We might have to consider another way to mount these brackets.  For both track and U-bracket, aluminum 6061 was used to run the test. One thing that has not been looked into is other material use. I've looked into it briefly but have not read enough to actually make comparisons.

Figure 1: Full track assembly

Figure 2: FEA on U-Bracket

Progress 10/12/16

This week was quite slow for us. Due to presentations and midterms, I was not able to work on the project as much. I will soon post the updated track layout in the 12th scale archive so others will have access to it. One thing that needs to be worked on is running FEA so we can determine if the track layout has sufficient stand support.  Once FEA is done, we should be getting into our rapid prototyping.

Progress 10/5/2016

For this week, I worked on designing a bracket that will help keep the width of the track uniform at the end of the bends.  We noticed that the width vary through out the track causing the bogie to work more at tighter widths.  These brackets are meant to be welded on instead of screwed in.  I also worked on getting a two loop track together but the connector between loops is not done yet. Pictures of CAD work is shown below.

Figure 1: ISO view of bracket

Figure 2: Dimensions of bracket

Figure 3: Two loop Track

Starting To Design 9/28/2016

For this week, I  started to put together CAD drawings.  I put together a single loop to give an understanding of what our track would look like.  Although there are drawings,  there are still a lot of drawings that still need to be done.  In the next weeks,  drawings of new brackets and guide ways should be done.

Progress 9/21/16

The last couple weeks have been a slow start on the project.  But I have taken a look at the previous designs and seeing how the track can be made more efficiently. The goals for the upcoming week is to get most of the CAD designing out of the way so we can have a solid idea of how easy or hard building this track may be.  Once CAD files are done for the track, other teams such as bogie and controls can work to implement their ideas.

Getting Started

For this week, I was able to take a look at the previous years CAD files to get a feel of how the track was designed.  One thing that needs to be addressed is tolerances.  Seems like tolerance was forgotten to be considered and caused quite a bit of problems while making the track.  Having access to previous CAD files allows us to stay away from making those mistakes.  As the weeks go on, I should be able to have CAD files of the changes to what the track improvement team thinks are better designs.

First Assignment

Hello,

Although I may not have much experience with building tracks, my experiences with design work will be able to help me pull through whether that be trial and error or by calculations.  Making improvements to a track system may sound like an easy task but from what I have learned at my internship is that simple tasks will always become difficult because of the things you forget to implement into your design.  From reading the blogs about the small scale track, the sounds like an easy task looks like it will take a lot of work.  From my little experiences, I believe I can work with my groupmates to come up with a well-designed small scale track or an improvement on what has already been done.

I intend on improving the track system by making sure the bogie has a smooth transition in-between stops.  I am not too sure how the bogie system works and how it goes about turning but one way to have smooth transitions is to maybe have a moveable rail like trains do in order to move the vehicle accordingly.  Need to improve on switching arms.  At the moment piano wire is being used.  But a more robust wire can be easily obtained.  The hard part is getting the wire to the shape that is needed if it is too strong of a material.  Need to work on designing the track so the vehicle has a constant connection between the top and bottom of the rails.  Also the tracks should have a big turn radius to have less strain on the bogie.  But radius of turn should not be too big to the point that the track takes up a lot of space.  The width of the track will also need to be considered otherwise we could have unnecessary bending which can cause damages to the projects which is why communication is important and we should work closely with all project groups.  Seems like a lot of the problems occurring are due to project groups not working together since most small of the small scale designs did not work as planned.