Week 7

As of the time of this writing, all eight parts of the head have been printed. In addition, the podium on which the box will rest has been completed and the scissor jack that will support the head has been purchased. These advancements will enable the group to focus more of its attention on the software and hardware responsible for animating Jack's head. The goal for next week's lab period is to bring together the sub-projects on which individual group members have worked into the cumulative project that will be presented during Week 10.

The static components (Jack's head, scissor jack) must be integrated with the moving components (Servo and Stepper motor), so that the head will behave as desired. To aid in this integration process, a coupler has been purchased that will allow the stepper motor to control the rotation of the screw responsible for the scissor jack's vertical movement. Without this coupler, the Stepper motor would have no way of properly attaching itself to the scissor jack's screw. While considering how these two parts would interact with each other, another problem was discovered: "How would the Stepper motor remain attached to the screw as the screw's height increased?" The conclusion at which the group arrived was that a mount must be constructed that would allow for a constant distance between the Stepper motor and the screw to be maintained.

Mechanics of scissor jack

Podium on which box will rest

Date of Update: May 19, 2018