Day 3-Updating CAD Model and Wheel Attachment
A quick post today to update you on my progress…
I spent a little bit of time today updating the Solidworks model but after my laptop crashed 3 times I got extremely frustrated so, instead of throwing it at the wall which would have been unproductive, I turned my attention to the additional wheel needed to allow Jerry to balance without the self-balancing functionality in the code. I plan on clearing out my laptop tonight and coming back to the Solidworks tomorrow to finalise it. If there’s one this this year has taught me, it’s that your plans will never go smoothly and you just have to learn to be okay with that
After some hunting around my house I found a box of old Lego sets that had variously sized wheels and attachments and set to work building some possible attachment options. The part needs to be about 5cm high to support Jerry at the right level as the Ultrasonic sensor will still need to be at the correct level to allow him to navigate the maze. This is just an estimate however and will be finalised when I test the wheel in combination with some basic code tomorrow.
I had been planning on sketching a design for the additional wheel on Solidworks and then attempting to find materials to create it but given how the program has been performing for me I decided the Lego was going to be the most feasible option.
With the parts available to me I came up with two possible options for the wheel attachment:
Version 1: Two Wheels
This was the first option I came up with consisting of two wheels and a singular axis of rotation. It is very sturdy but didn’t allow for any lateral movement. The back wheels are quite powerful, however, and it will be running on a smooth floor so this may not end up being an issue. I was also unsure of how I was going to attach it to the front tray but the addition of a flat plate allowed it to be attached with gorilla clips for testing.
Version 2: One Wheel
I then found a part that was essentially a swivel, allowing me to build a sort of castor wheel that would allow rotation for steering. This build is slightly less sturdy and I’m unsure whether it will have too much rotation and compromise Jerry’s movement.
My plan is to test out both wheel options and decide which allows for more optimal movement. Below show pictures of both wheels attached to Jerry, my plan is to test out both wheel options and decide which allows for more optimal movement by uploading some new code that replicates the movement he’ll need to be able to perform in the final test.
