1. 3D Printers

Fusion Core

Fusion Core is essentially a 3D printer with a corexy configuration, heated chamber, and made out of 3D printed parts. The concept of this 3D printer is to have three different sections- one section will contain all the hardware of the 3D printer, the middle section will be where the print happens, and the third section will hold rolls of filament. The hotend of the printer will also be removable so that it can be replaced for a laser or an endmill to allow it to become a laser cutter or a CNC machine. To learn more about this project, please refer to the report.

Concept Sketch 1:

Report: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D_awFqMjEqFjtyhtCK8vLgR77EmWXyw5nHhh9h4DBqg/edit#

Bill of Materials: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VsR3ytTToPmzhNRW4TROenoGhBAKH-CK9ebWV-WUE-k/edit#gid=0

Motion Study 1: https://youtu.be/J6c5NmzAVVs

Motion Study 2: https://youtu.be/0p-eFQhjxJw

Motion Study 3: https://youtu.be/Dcpy-ari7TE

WiiBoox 3D Printer

The WiiBoox 3D printer was found in the CCNY basement after it was disposed of. After inspecting the printer, most parts of the printer seems to be intact. However, it was missing a hotend, extruder, and a stepper motor. There were also some parts that need to be changed such as the controller board which does not use the Marlin Firmware, belts that are too stretched out, and cables that appear to be damaged or burnt. The printer is lsited at around $900 on Amazon and seems like a waste to simply discard. Currently, I am waiting for some components to arrive from delivery so I will update this section after that.

Delta Printer

A 3D printer that is best for the price to performance ratio. Because of the low amount of resources needed to build this printer, its total cost was about $200. This printer’s hotend is controlled by three motors that all move vertically, but by moving each motor independently, the hotend is able to move in whichever direction needed.

Repository: https://github.com/andyzhou443/deltaprinter/blob/master/README.md

Bill of Materials: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12rTAS0KnTXt7PYut6V_2lyORzpPKuXI65yKZC_Cw5fY/edit?usp=drive_web&ouid=106537943346433915301

Files: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ejSXkwzHiDT1WbtdlpTQZ2kWRju58Eet

 

2. Group Projects

APEC MicroMouse Competition

The Micromouse project is based on the competition held at Princeton University on April 18, 2020. Currently, I am leading a team of 8 students to build a Micromouse robot, an autonomous robot that can navigate its way to the center of a maze. I have concept sketches, Solidworks models, and implemented the flood-fill algorithm for the Micromouse robot. I am also entrusted with and obtained Robotics Club room keys to plan and prepare Micromouse team meetings.

Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, the competitions postponed to October of 2020. My team and I are still working on this project and we have plans to implement another new design and perhaps make a custom PCB to conserve space.

Prototype 2:

Concept Sketch

This is a concept sketch with measurements for our second prototype for Micromouse. We are using new gearbox motors, encoders, Arduino Nano, and motor shield which will allow us to reduce the overall size of the Micromouse. We also make the front circular to minimize interference with edges of the maze. There will be two gearbox motors, each will control two wheels on one side with a gear system. The motor will control a gear that is connected to two gear that will each control a wheel. With the encoders attached to the gearbox motors, we will be able to precisely control the rotation of each motor. We believe this design will be a huge improvement compared to the previous one.

 

Prototype 1:

Final Product

Here is the final product for Micromouse prototype 1. While we are proud of this accomplishment, there are definitely aspects that we can improve for the next prototype. Specifically, the mouse is overall too big, we wanted to find ways of decreasing the size. If we can decrease the size enough, the mouse will be easily able to move diagonally through the maze which can potentially save time. The team and I know how the circuit works so we need to implement it to our new design. We also plan on purchasing parts that will be used specifically for this project which will be used for the second prototype.

Micromouse Prototype 1 Rotation Test

Here we conducted a rotation test for the first Micromouse prototype.

 

Micromouse Prototype 1 Movement Test

Here is a video showing the first Micromouse prototype in action. At this time, we coded the Micromosue to drive straight, turn, and turn when the ultrasonic sensors detect something within distance. One of the biggest issues we have noticed is the Micromouse not being able to go straight. When the mouse attempts to go straight, because of the difference in motor rotation, the mouse always turns towards the right. In order to tackle this problem, we decided we will use encoders to precisely control the rotation of the motors. This will make sure both motors controlling the wheel will rotate the same amount when the mouse does straight. We also plan on purchasing new components because the parts we have used for the first prototype were all used components and were not suited for this project. However, because this was our first prototype, we were very excited and began to think of a new design.

CAD Model

This is the CAD model created in Onshape. Some components such as the gearbox motor were created in Solidworks and then imported to Onshape. We created this in order to test some measurements and 3D print parts to test out. This image, in particular, shows the first design we implemented which is different from the final product. We made changes because we wanted the design to be more simple. It was at this stage that we noticed some flaws in the design such as how big it is or how the sharp corners may interfere with turns.

 

Concept Sketch

When my team and I designed the first Micromouse prototype, we wanted to create something that was functional and easy to adjust. The image shows the sketch and the measurements of the first Micromouse prototype. After this was created, our next step was to implement the design in Onshap and Solidworks and test the 3D printed components.

 

Other Projects

DIY Motor

A DIY Motor that is made with common items. It used two commutator plates to make the motor spin.

DIY Radio

A simple DIY Radio that is only powered by radio waves. It picks up nearby radio waves and transmits it into the speaker.