ME - Mechanical
RobotX > ME - Mechanical
Overview
We prioritized tasking by what was the minimum requirements for the competition and sorted the mission tasks by how achievable they are based on our team’s skill set. We came up with a list of requirements which different subteams would work on to complete the required tasks. For mechanical, the main priority was a dependable propulsion system, stable sensor mounts, and payloads to complete the missions. We worked closely with parts vendors and mentors with experience in autonomous boats to develop our boat.
Propulsion System
Through research of previous competitions, the team established it was an essential requirement to implement front vectored thrusters to assist with position hold, in addition to the WAM-V provided Torqeedo Cruise 2.0 motors acting as primary thrusters in the back. A trade study of previous competitors’ vector thrusters took weight, thrust, power required, and cost into account, but the most favorable motors in the trade study were discontinued. As a result, the new Blue Robotics T-500 motors were used at the front. In one iteration, the mounts created protected the T-500 after suffering from great impact.
Drone Landing Platform
The team chose the final design of the drone platform based on a trade study of various designs factoring in weight, simplicity, & reliability. As opposed to heavier designs which would passively catch the drone, the team pursued development of a 4ft by 4ft drone landing platform with fiducial tags to assist with autonomous drone landing. The catcher mechanism consists of 4 60:1 neverest motors, selected for their availability, strung together to actuate 8 carts closing in 4 pvc pipes around the drone.
Racquet Ball Launcher
The initial prototype of the racquetball launcher used 5205 Series Yellow Jacket Planetary Gear Motors, wheels, drive belts along with acrylic parts to build a turret launcher that can rotate 180 degrees from left to right, and linear rails to allow for easy angle adjustments. The launcher also holds a LiDAR and Oak D Lite camera to aid with depth and color perception for aiming at targets, with its main controller being an Arduino Mega to control the motors using BTS7960 motor drivers for motor power. Limit switches are placed on two sides of the launcher to limit its movement within 180 degrees on each side.
