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Team:Cornell/testing/notebook/drylab/6
From 2012.igem.org
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</dd> | </dd> | ||
<dd> | <dd> | ||
| - | <a href="#pillTab2"> | + | <a href="#pillTab2">Details</a> |
</dd> | </dd> | ||
<dd> | <dd> | ||
| Line 87: | Line 87: | ||
<div class="nine columns"> | <div class="nine columns"> | ||
<h3>Sunday</h3> | <h3>Sunday</h3> | ||
| - | It has been said that <span class="has-tip" data-width="250" title="Description of what astronomy is.">astronomy</span> is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known. <a href="#" class="technical-desc" for="#technical-desc1" style="display:block;margin-top:20px;"> | + | It has been said that <span class="has-tip" data-width="250" title="Description of what astronomy is.">astronomy</span> is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known. <a href="#" class="technical-desc" for="#technical-desc1" style="display:block;margin-top:20px;">Details</a> |
<div class="hide-me panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;" id="technical-desc1"> | <div class="hide-me panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;" id="technical-desc1"> | ||
| - | <h6> | + | <h6>Entry:</h6> |
| - | + | ALLTHEDETAILS | |
</div> | </div> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
| Line 100: | Line 100: | ||
<div class="nine columns"> | <div class="nine columns"> | ||
<h3>Monday</h3> | <h3>Monday</h3> | ||
| - | + | BRIEFINGS | |
| - | <a href="#" class="technical-desc" for="#technical-desc7" style="display:block;margin-top:20px;"> | + | <a href="#" class="technical-desc" for="#technical-desc7" style="display:block;margin-top:20px;">Details</a> |
<div class="hide-me panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;" id="technical-desc7"> | <div class="hide-me panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;" id="technical-desc7"> | ||
| - | <h6> | + | <h6>Entry:</h6> |
| - | + | ALLTHEDETAILS | |
</div> | </div> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
| Line 114: | Line 114: | ||
<div class="nine columns"> | <div class="nine columns"> | ||
<h3>Tuesday</h3> | <h3>Tuesday</h3> | ||
| - | + | BRIEFINGS | |
| - | <a href="#" class="technical-desc" for="#technical-desc2" style="display:block;margin-top:20px;"> | + | <a href="#" class="technical-desc" for="#technical-desc2" style="display:block;margin-top:20px;">Details</a> |
<div class="hide-me panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;" id="technical-desc2"> | <div class="hide-me panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;" id="technical-desc2"> | ||
| - | <h6> | + | <h6>Entry:</h6> |
| - | + | ALLTHEDETAILS | |
</div> | </div> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
| Line 127: | Line 127: | ||
<div class="row"> | <div class="row"> | ||
<div class="nine columns"> | <div class="nine columns"> | ||
| - | <h3>Wednesday</h3> | + | <h3>Wednesday, July 11, 2012</h3> |
| - | + | Focus: Electronics, Assignments<p></p> | |
| - | <a href="#" class="technical-desc" for="#technical-desc3" style="display:block;margin-top:20px;"> | + | |
| + | Let’s rev up the engine. Puny pumps arrive with a buff battery. | ||
| + | <a href="#" class="technical-desc" for="#technical-desc3" style="display:block;margin-top:20px;">Details</a> | ||
<div class="hide-me panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;" id="technical-desc3"> | <div class="hide-me panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;" id="technical-desc3"> | ||
| - | <h6> | + | <h6>Entry:</h6> |
| - | + | At last, all electronic parts have come in. We have several piezoelectric micropumps made from Germany, an 80 pound car battery as the main power source of the device, and a 24” by 18” solar panel to replenish the battery power. The battery itself is impressive due to its size and weight. Implementing it will be comparable to putting a tank inside our device. On the other hand, the micropumps live up to their namesake; they are barely larger than the size of our thumbs. <p></p> | |
| + | After the items were passed around the table, Dan divvied out tasks to dry lab members. Lydia will work on interfacing the microcontroller to the micropumps, while Kelvin and Maneesh are responsible for coding an Android application in which data from the microcontroller can be easily read on a cellphone screen and saved to a server for remote access. And Manny will look into rapid prototyping, a method of fabricating the case for our device.<p></p> | ||
| + | While we start these tasks, we are also waiting for keycard access into the electrical (ECE) lab.<p></p> | ||
| + | |||
| + | #chassis #battery #micropump | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
| Line 142: | Line 148: | ||
<div class="nine columns"> | <div class="nine columns"> | ||
<h3>Thursday</h3> | <h3>Thursday</h3> | ||
| - | + | BRIEFINGS | |
| - | <a href="#" class="technical-desc" for="#technical-desc4" style="display:block;margin-top:20px;"> | + | <a href="#" class="technical-desc" for="#technical-desc4" style="display:block;margin-top:20px;">Details</a> |
<div class="hide-me panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;" id="technical-desc4"> | <div class="hide-me panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;" id="technical-desc4"> | ||
| - | <h6> | + | <h6>Entry:</h6> |
| - | + | ALLTHEDETAILS | |
</div> | </div> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
| Line 155: | Line 161: | ||
<div class="row"> | <div class="row"> | ||
<div class="nine columns"> | <div class="nine columns"> | ||
| - | <h3>Friday</h3> | + | <h3>Friday, July 13, 2012</h3> |
| - | + | Focus: Electronics Training, Micropump Testing<p></p> | |
| - | <a href="#" class="technical-desc" for="#technical-desc5" style="display:block;margin-top:20px;"> | + | |
| + | There’s no better way to get pumped up than with micropumps! | ||
| + | <a href="#" class="technical-desc" for="#technical-desc5" style="display:block;margin-top:20px;">Details</a> | ||
<div class="hide-me panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;" id="technical-desc5"> | <div class="hide-me panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;" id="technical-desc5"> | ||
| - | <h6> | + | <h6>Entry:</h6> |
| - | + | Today, we picked up the battery (which was very heavy) and the solar panel before meeting Professor Bruce Land in the ECE lab, which we should have card access to starting this late afternoon. To those who made it on time, Bruce went over general guidelines and safety procedures wearing eye protection when soldering. Unfortunately, Tina arrived too late and missed the training. Only Maneesh, Lydia and Kelvin soldered before, so Bruce demonstrated and reviewed instructions and tips for soldering wires to each other and onto boards. For example, a smooth meniscus between the pin and the board indicates a good connection. Bruce proved very helpful and provided us with prototyping boards, 14-pin sockets and online resources. He later looked over our 80 lb battery, solar panel and micropumps, and suggested that we opt for a smaller, lighter battery for better portability since the solar panel can help compensate for a shorter battery life. <p></p> | |
| + | After the professor left for the weekend, we tested our micropumps. When Dan connected the micropump into the microcontroller, which is powered by a computer via USB, the two tiny piezo actuators buzzed to life and everyone let out a sigh of relief. The pumps worked! <p></p> | ||
| + | In the near future, Maneesh plans to actually test the flow rates in Weill Hall and Lydia will configure the Arduino board (or microcontroller) so that we can get it hooked up to the micropump. On a last note, Bruce Land mentioned that designing our own circuit boards wouldn’t be hard and would look impressive in our final product. He also seems more than willing to share his knowledge and expertise, which we will surely need it as we dive deeper into our system’s electronics.<p></p> | ||
| + | |||
| + | #electronics #micropump | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
| Line 169: | Line 181: | ||
<div class="row last-ele"> | <div class="row last-ele"> | ||
<div class="nine columns"> | <div class="nine columns"> | ||
| - | <h3>Saturday</h3> | + | <h3>Saturday, July 14, 2012</h3> |
| - | + | Focus: Re-design of Chassis<p></p> | |
| - | <a href="#" class="technical-desc" for="#technical-desc6" style="display:block;margin-top:20px;"> | + | |
| + | The Acorn is conceived! Meanwhile, Septimus Prime gets a facelift. | ||
| + | <a href="#" class="technical-desc" for="#technical-desc6" style="display:block;margin-top:20px;">Details</a> | ||
<div class="hide-me panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;" id="technical-desc6"> | <div class="hide-me panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;" id="technical-desc6"> | ||
| - | <h6> | + | <h6>Entry:</h6> |
| - | + | After a full team meeting at the spacious Weill Hall, we sat down at the cafe to discuss updates on the chassis so far. For the past few days, Manny had been contacting rapid prototyping companies to get quotes; the ones that got back to him hadn't given a definitive answer because of the lack of a blueprint. The device design that we would send to one such company would be rotationally symmetrical about the vertical axis, with a top hatch that screws into a nearly spherical body. I dubbed it, The Acorn. In the event that we couldn’t afford this option, we needed a secondary design for a device we could produce ourselves. | |
| + | Hence, we returned to the drawing board to design a device better than Septimus Prime, with adequate waterproofing in mind. We debated on designs that involved triple cylindrical vessels, giant buoys and sawed-open propane tanks. It was a mind numbing, paper scratching, and at times, nearly frustrating process. But refocusing on an apparatus with one body and a top opening, in the end, we went with the next best thing: Septimus Prime with a top latch opening, much like a submarine.<p></p> | ||
| + | |||
| + | #chassis #acorn | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
| Line 202: | Line 219: | ||
<div class="nine columns"> | <div class="nine columns"> | ||
<h3>Sunday</h3> | <h3>Sunday</h3> | ||
| - | + | ALLTHEDETAILS | |
</div> | </div> | ||
<div class="three columns"> | <div class="three columns"> | ||
| Line 211: | Line 228: | ||
<div class="nine columns"> | <div class="nine columns"> | ||
<h3>Monday</h3> | <h3>Monday</h3> | ||
| - | + | ALLTHEDETAILS | |
</div> | </div> | ||
<div class="three columns"> | <div class="three columns"> | ||
| Line 220: | Line 237: | ||
<div class="nine columns"> | <div class="nine columns"> | ||
<h3>Tuesday</h3> | <h3>Tuesday</h3> | ||
| - | + | ALLTHEDETAILS | |
</div> | </div> | ||
<div class="three columns"> | <div class="three columns"> | ||
| Line 228: | Line 245: | ||
<div class="row"> | <div class="row"> | ||
<div class="nine columns"> | <div class="nine columns"> | ||
| - | <h3>Wednesday</h3> | + | <h3>Wednesday, July 11, 2012</h3> |
| - | + | At last, all electronic parts have come in. We have several piezoelectric micropumps made from Germany, an 80 pound car battery as the main power source of the device, and a 24” by 18” solar panel to replenish the battery power. The battery itself is impressive due to its size and weight. Implementing it will be comparable to putting a tank inside our device. On the other hand, the micropumps live up to their namesake; they are barely larger than the size of our thumbs. <p></p> | |
| + | After the items were passed around the table, Dan divvied out tasks to dry lab members. Lydia will work on interfacing the microcontroller to the micropumps, while Kelvin and Maneesh are responsible for coding an Android application in which data from the microcontroller can be easily read on a cellphone screen and saved to a server for remote access. And Manny will look into rapid prototyping, a method of fabricating the case for our device.<p></p> | ||
| + | While we start these tasks, we are also waiting for keycard access into the electrical (ECE) lab.<p></p> | ||
| + | |||
| + | #chassis #battery #micropump | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
<div class="three columns"> | <div class="three columns"> | ||
| Line 238: | Line 259: | ||
<div class="nine columns"> | <div class="nine columns"> | ||
<h3>Thursday</h3> | <h3>Thursday</h3> | ||
| - | + | ALLTHEDETAILS | |
</div> | </div> | ||
<div class="three columns"> | <div class="three columns"> | ||
| Line 246: | Line 267: | ||
<div class="row"> | <div class="row"> | ||
<div class="nine columns"> | <div class="nine columns"> | ||
| - | <h3>Friday</h3> | + | <h3>Friday, July 13, 2012</h3> |
| - | + | Today, we picked up the battery (which was very heavy) and the solar panel before meeting Professor Bruce Land in the ECE lab, which we should have card access to starting this late afternoon. To those who made it on time, Bruce went over general guidelines and safety procedures wearing eye protection when soldering. Unfortunately, Tina arrived too late and missed the training. Only Maneesh, Lydia and Kelvin soldered before, so Bruce demonstrated and reviewed instructions and tips for soldering wires to each other and onto boards. For example, a smooth meniscus between the pin and the board indicates a good connection. Bruce proved very helpful and provided us with prototyping boards, 14-pin sockets and online resources. He later looked over our 80 lb battery, solar panel and micropumps, and suggested that we opt for a smaller, lighter battery for better portability since the solar panel can help compensate for a shorter battery life. <p></p> | |
| + | After the professor left for the weekend, we tested our micropumps. When Dan connected the micropump into the microcontroller, which is powered by a computer via USB, the two tiny piezo actuators buzzed to life and everyone let out a sigh of relief. The pumps worked! <p></p> | ||
| + | In the near future, Maneesh plans to actually test the flow rates in Weill Hall and Lydia will configure the Arduino board (or microcontroller) so that we can get it hooked up to the micropump. On a last note, Bruce Land mentioned that designing our own circuit boards wouldn’t be hard and would look impressive in our final product. He also seems more than willing to share his knowledge and expertise, which we will surely need it as we dive deeper into our system’s electronics.<p></p> | ||
| + | |||
| + | #electronics #micropump | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
<div class="three columns"> | <div class="three columns"> | ||
| Line 255: | Line 280: | ||
<div class="row last-ele"> | <div class="row last-ele"> | ||
<div class="nine columns"> | <div class="nine columns"> | ||
| - | <h3>Saturday</h3> | + | <h3>Saturday, July 14, 2012</h3> |
| - | + | After a full team meeting at the spacious Weill Hall, we sat down at the cafe to discuss updates on the chassis so far. For the past few days, Manny had been contacting rapid prototyping companies to get quotes; the ones that got back to him hadn't given a definitive answer because of the lack of a blueprint. The device design that we would send to one such company would be rotationally symmetrical about the vertical axis, with a top hatch that screws into a nearly spherical body. I dubbed it, The Acorn. In the event that we couldn’t afford this option, we needed a secondary design for a device we could produce ourselves. | |
| + | Hence, we returned to the drawing board to design a device better than Septimus Prime, with adequate waterproofing in mind. We debated on designs that involved triple cylindrical vessels, giant buoys and sawed-open propane tanks. It was a mind numbing, paper scratching, and at times, nearly frustrating process. But refocusing on an apparatus with one body and a top opening, in the end, we went with the next best thing: Septimus Prime with a top latch opening, much like a submarine.<p></p> | ||
| + | |||
| + | #chassis #acorn | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
<div class="three columns"> | <div class="three columns"> | ||
| Line 283: | Line 311: | ||
<div class="nine columns"> | <div class="nine columns"> | ||
<h3>Sunday</h3> | <h3>Sunday</h3> | ||
| - | + | BRIEFINGS | |
<div class="panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;"> | <div class="panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;"> | ||
| - | <h6> | + | <h6>Entry:</h6> |
| - | + | ALLTHEDETAILS | |
</div> | </div> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
| Line 296: | Line 324: | ||
<div class="nine columns"> | <div class="nine columns"> | ||
<h3>Monday</h3> | <h3>Monday</h3> | ||
| - | + | BRIEFINGS | |
<div class="panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;"> | <div class="panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;"> | ||
| - | <h6> | + | <h6>Entry:</h6> |
| - | + | ALLTHEDETAILS | |
</div> | </div> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
| Line 309: | Line 337: | ||
<div class="nine columns"> | <div class="nine columns"> | ||
<h3>Tuesday</h3> | <h3>Tuesday</h3> | ||
| - | + | BRIEFINGS | |
<div class="panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;"> | <div class="panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;"> | ||
| - | <h6> | + | <h6>Entry:</h6> |
| - | + | ALLTHEDETAILS | |
</div> | </div> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
| Line 321: | Line 349: | ||
<div class="row"> | <div class="row"> | ||
<div class="nine columns"> | <div class="nine columns"> | ||
| - | <h3>Wednesday</h3> | + | <h3>Wednesday, July 11, 2012</h3> |
| - | + | Focus: Electronics, Assignments<p></p> | |
| + | |||
| + | Let’s rev up the engine. Puny pumps arrive with a buff battery. | ||
<div class="panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;"> | <div class="panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;"> | ||
| - | <h6> | + | <h6>Entry:</h6> |
| - | + | At last, all electronic parts have come in. We have several piezoelectric micropumps made from Germany, an 80 pound car battery as the main power source of the device, and a 24” by 18” solar panel to replenish the battery power. The battery itself is impressive due to its size and weight. Implementing it will be comparable to putting a tank inside our device. On the other hand, the micropumps live up to their namesake; they are barely larger than the size of our thumbs. <p></p> | |
| + | After the items were passed around the table, Dan divvied out tasks to dry lab members. Lydia will work on interfacing the microcontroller to the micropumps, while Kelvin and Maneesh are responsible for coding an Android application in which data from the microcontroller can be easily read on a cellphone screen and saved to a server for remote access. And Manny will look into rapid prototyping, a method of fabricating the case for our device.<p></p> | ||
| + | While we start these tasks, we are also waiting for keycard access into the electrical (ECE) lab.<p></p> | ||
| + | |||
| + | #chassis #battery #micropump | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
| Line 335: | Line 369: | ||
<div class="nine columns"> | <div class="nine columns"> | ||
<h3>Thursday</h3> | <h3>Thursday</h3> | ||
| - | + | BRIEFINGS | |
<div class="panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;"> | <div class="panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;"> | ||
| - | <h6> | + | <h6>Entry:</h6> |
| - | + | ALLTHEDETAILS | |
</div> | </div> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
| Line 347: | Line 381: | ||
<div class="row"> | <div class="row"> | ||
<div class="nine columns"> | <div class="nine columns"> | ||
| - | <h3>Friday</h3> | + | <h3>Friday, July 13, 2012</h3> |
| - | + | Focus: Electronics Training, Micropump Testing<p></p> | |
| + | |||
| + | There’s no better way to get pumped up than with micropumps! | ||
<div class="panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;"> | <div class="panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;"> | ||
| - | <h6> | + | <h6>Entry:</h6> |
| - | + | Today, we picked up the battery (which was very heavy) and the solar panel before meeting Professor Bruce Land in the ECE lab, which we should have card access to starting this late afternoon. To those who made it on time, Bruce went over general guidelines and safety procedures wearing eye protection when soldering. Unfortunately, Tina arrived too late and missed the training. Only Maneesh, Lydia and Kelvin soldered before, so Bruce demonstrated and reviewed instructions and tips for soldering wires to each other and onto boards. For example, a smooth meniscus between the pin and the board indicates a good connection. Bruce proved very helpful and provided us with prototyping boards, 14-pin sockets and online resources. He later looked over our 80 lb battery, solar panel and micropumps, and suggested that we opt for a smaller, lighter battery for better portability since the solar panel can help compensate for a shorter battery life. <p></p> | |
| + | After the professor left for the weekend, we tested our micropumps. When Dan connected the micropump into the microcontroller, which is powered by a computer via USB, the two tiny piezo actuators buzzed to life and everyone let out a sigh of relief. The pumps worked! <p></p> | ||
| + | In the near future, Maneesh plans to actually test the flow rates in Weill Hall and Lydia will configure the Arduino board (or microcontroller) so that we can get it hooked up to the micropump. On a last note, Bruce Land mentioned that designing our own circuit boards wouldn’t be hard and would look impressive in our final product. He also seems more than willing to share his knowledge and expertise, which we will surely need it as we dive deeper into our system’s electronics.<p></p> | ||
| + | |||
| + | #electronics #micropump | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
| Line 360: | Line 400: | ||
<div class="row last-ele"> | <div class="row last-ele"> | ||
<div class="nine columns"> | <div class="nine columns"> | ||
| - | <h3>Saturday</h3> | + | <h3>Saturday, July 14, 2012</h3> |
| - | + | Focus: Re-design of Chassis<p></p> | |
| + | |||
| + | The Acorn is conceived! Meanwhile, Septimus Prime gets a facelift. | ||
<div class="panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;"> | <div class="panel" style="background:white;margin-top: 20px;"> | ||
| - | <h6> | + | <h6>Entry:</h6> |
| - | + | After a full team meeting at the spacious Weill Hall, we sat down at the cafe to discuss updates on the chassis so far. For the past few days, Manny had been contacting rapid prototyping companies to get quotes; the ones that got back to him hadn't given a definitive answer because of the lack of a blueprint. The device design that we would send to one such company would be rotationally symmetrical about the vertical axis, with a top hatch that screws into a nearly spherical body. I dubbed it, The Acorn. In the event that we couldn’t afford this option, we needed a secondary design for a device we could produce ourselves. | |
| + | Hence, we returned to the drawing board to design a device better than Septimus Prime, with adequate waterproofing in mind. We debated on designs that involved triple cylindrical vessels, giant buoys and sawed-open propane tanks. It was a mind numbing, paper scratching, and at times, nearly frustrating process. But refocusing on an apparatus with one body and a top opening, in the end, we went with the next best thing: Septimus Prime with a top latch opening, much like a submarine.<p></p> | ||
| + | |||
| + | #chassis #acorn | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
Revision as of 08:02, 3 October 2012
Week 6
-
Sunday
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known. DetailsMonday
BRIEFINGS DetailsTuesday
BRIEFINGS DetailsWednesday, July 11, 2012
Focus: Electronics, Assignments Let’s rev up the engine. Puny pumps arrive with a buff battery. DetailsThursday
BRIEFINGS DetailsFriday, July 13, 2012
Focus: Electronics Training, Micropump Testing There’s no better way to get pumped up than with micropumps! DetailsSaturday, July 14, 2012
Focus: Re-design of Chassis The Acorn is conceived! Meanwhile, Septimus Prime gets a facelift. Details -
Sunday
ALLTHEDETAILSMonday
ALLTHEDETAILSTuesday
ALLTHEDETAILSWednesday, July 11, 2012
At last, all electronic parts have come in. We have several piezoelectric micropumps made from Germany, an 80 pound car battery as the main power source of the device, and a 24” by 18” solar panel to replenish the battery power. The battery itself is impressive due to its size and weight. Implementing it will be comparable to putting a tank inside our device. On the other hand, the micropumps live up to their namesake; they are barely larger than the size of our thumbs. After the items were passed around the table, Dan divvied out tasks to dry lab members. Lydia will work on interfacing the microcontroller to the micropumps, while Kelvin and Maneesh are responsible for coding an Android application in which data from the microcontroller can be easily read on a cellphone screen and saved to a server for remote access. And Manny will look into rapid prototyping, a method of fabricating the case for our device. While we start these tasks, we are also waiting for keycard access into the electrical (ECE) lab. #chassis #battery #micropumpThursday
ALLTHEDETAILSFriday, July 13, 2012
Today, we picked up the battery (which was very heavy) and the solar panel before meeting Professor Bruce Land in the ECE lab, which we should have card access to starting this late afternoon. To those who made it on time, Bruce went over general guidelines and safety procedures wearing eye protection when soldering. Unfortunately, Tina arrived too late and missed the training. Only Maneesh, Lydia and Kelvin soldered before, so Bruce demonstrated and reviewed instructions and tips for soldering wires to each other and onto boards. For example, a smooth meniscus between the pin and the board indicates a good connection. Bruce proved very helpful and provided us with prototyping boards, 14-pin sockets and online resources. He later looked over our 80 lb battery, solar panel and micropumps, and suggested that we opt for a smaller, lighter battery for better portability since the solar panel can help compensate for a shorter battery life. After the professor left for the weekend, we tested our micropumps. When Dan connected the micropump into the microcontroller, which is powered by a computer via USB, the two tiny piezo actuators buzzed to life and everyone let out a sigh of relief. The pumps worked! In the near future, Maneesh plans to actually test the flow rates in Weill Hall and Lydia will configure the Arduino board (or microcontroller) so that we can get it hooked up to the micropump. On a last note, Bruce Land mentioned that designing our own circuit boards wouldn’t be hard and would look impressive in our final product. He also seems more than willing to share his knowledge and expertise, which we will surely need it as we dive deeper into our system’s electronics. #electronics #micropumpSaturday, July 14, 2012
After a full team meeting at the spacious Weill Hall, we sat down at the cafe to discuss updates on the chassis so far. For the past few days, Manny had been contacting rapid prototyping companies to get quotes; the ones that got back to him hadn't given a definitive answer because of the lack of a blueprint. The device design that we would send to one such company would be rotationally symmetrical about the vertical axis, with a top hatch that screws into a nearly spherical body. I dubbed it, The Acorn. In the event that we couldn’t afford this option, we needed a secondary design for a device we could produce ourselves. Hence, we returned to the drawing board to design a device better than Septimus Prime, with adequate waterproofing in mind. We debated on designs that involved triple cylindrical vessels, giant buoys and sawed-open propane tanks. It was a mind numbing, paper scratching, and at times, nearly frustrating process. But refocusing on an apparatus with one body and a top opening, in the end, we went with the next best thing: Septimus Prime with a top latch opening, much like a submarine. #chassis #acorn -
Sunday
BRIEFINGSEntry:
ALLTHEDETAILSMonday
BRIEFINGSEntry:
ALLTHEDETAILSTuesday
BRIEFINGSEntry:
ALLTHEDETAILSWednesday, July 11, 2012
Focus: Electronics, Assignments Let’s rev up the engine. Puny pumps arrive with a buff battery.Entry:
At last, all electronic parts have come in. We have several piezoelectric micropumps made from Germany, an 80 pound car battery as the main power source of the device, and a 24” by 18” solar panel to replenish the battery power. The battery itself is impressive due to its size and weight. Implementing it will be comparable to putting a tank inside our device. On the other hand, the micropumps live up to their namesake; they are barely larger than the size of our thumbs. After the items were passed around the table, Dan divvied out tasks to dry lab members. Lydia will work on interfacing the microcontroller to the micropumps, while Kelvin and Maneesh are responsible for coding an Android application in which data from the microcontroller can be easily read on a cellphone screen and saved to a server for remote access. And Manny will look into rapid prototyping, a method of fabricating the case for our device. While we start these tasks, we are also waiting for keycard access into the electrical (ECE) lab. #chassis #battery #micropumpThursday
BRIEFINGSEntry:
ALLTHEDETAILSFriday, July 13, 2012
Focus: Electronics Training, Micropump Testing There’s no better way to get pumped up than with micropumps!Entry:
Today, we picked up the battery (which was very heavy) and the solar panel before meeting Professor Bruce Land in the ECE lab, which we should have card access to starting this late afternoon. To those who made it on time, Bruce went over general guidelines and safety procedures wearing eye protection when soldering. Unfortunately, Tina arrived too late and missed the training. Only Maneesh, Lydia and Kelvin soldered before, so Bruce demonstrated and reviewed instructions and tips for soldering wires to each other and onto boards. For example, a smooth meniscus between the pin and the board indicates a good connection. Bruce proved very helpful and provided us with prototyping boards, 14-pin sockets and online resources. He later looked over our 80 lb battery, solar panel and micropumps, and suggested that we opt for a smaller, lighter battery for better portability since the solar panel can help compensate for a shorter battery life. After the professor left for the weekend, we tested our micropumps. When Dan connected the micropump into the microcontroller, which is powered by a computer via USB, the two tiny piezo actuators buzzed to life and everyone let out a sigh of relief. The pumps worked! In the near future, Maneesh plans to actually test the flow rates in Weill Hall and Lydia will configure the Arduino board (or microcontroller) so that we can get it hooked up to the micropump. On a last note, Bruce Land mentioned that designing our own circuit boards wouldn’t be hard and would look impressive in our final product. He also seems more than willing to share his knowledge and expertise, which we will surely need it as we dive deeper into our system’s electronics. #electronics #micropumpSaturday, July 14, 2012
Focus: Re-design of Chassis The Acorn is conceived! Meanwhile, Septimus Prime gets a facelift.Entry:
After a full team meeting at the spacious Weill Hall, we sat down at the cafe to discuss updates on the chassis so far. For the past few days, Manny had been contacting rapid prototyping companies to get quotes; the ones that got back to him hadn't given a definitive answer because of the lack of a blueprint. The device design that we would send to one such company would be rotationally symmetrical about the vertical axis, with a top hatch that screws into a nearly spherical body. I dubbed it, The Acorn. In the event that we couldn’t afford this option, we needed a secondary design for a device we could produce ourselves. Hence, we returned to the drawing board to design a device better than Septimus Prime, with adequate waterproofing in mind. We debated on designs that involved triple cylindrical vessels, giant buoys and sawed-open propane tanks. It was a mind numbing, paper scratching, and at times, nearly frustrating process. But refocusing on an apparatus with one body and a top opening, in the end, we went with the next best thing: Septimus Prime with a top latch opening, much like a submarine. #chassis #acorn
