Class #10

Time is getting short! We addressed the fact in our company meeting at the beginning of today's class that after this class there is only one more class in which to build the bot since the last class is dedicated to presentation of the robots. With that being said we moved right into production by nailing down a layout for the components on the main deck of the bot so that the fabrication team (myself and Bryan) could really get to work finishing the body construction so that we can get our components mounted and begin the calibration. We began by constructing our upper deck (basically a housing) for the bot which we designed in an 'L' shape with the recessed portion as the location of the robotic arm on the lower deck. To attach this upper deck we used a series of stand-offs to create posts which we situated in the most load bearing points of the structure. We also drilled some holes in the lower deck which will be used to run wires from beneath the bot up to their corresponding phidget controllers. The last element of the construction that we worked on during this class was were the front and rear bumpers which was brought to a halt when the blade on the portable band saw snapped off. After speaking with Frank, I felt that since I was the one using the saw, I took it on myself to get the blade repaired or get a replacement before next class, hopefully everything works out ok!