text:
Engineering Projects/Illuminate Clothing/Howard Community College/Fall2011/550 T2C 2ND PROJECT

Problem Statement
In this project, we tried to make bar of RGB led, and control it with an arduinno.

Team Members
Put each team members name here with links to their personal page here. Real names do not have to be used.
 * TruongDat
 * Epcole
 * Tfalak
 * RyanPak

Summary
in this project, we tried to make circuit, illuminate object using rgb led.By using an an arduino diecimila, you can program the arduino. The language using in the program is C++ language, it is exactly the same as lilypad arduino, you can used the same program is arduino 0022 to program it.The Rgb led is basicly having three small led inside, and there is four pin in each led, one is the ground, the other is to control blue, red, green led. By combining these color you can get full color you want. By using the pwm gate from the arduino you can add fading effect to your rgb led, and there are 6 pwm output in an arduino. they are 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11. when you have the code loading in the arduino, you can control the rgb led in the way you want. But if you want to change it pattern, you need to connect it back to the arduino and change the program, and that isn't a really comfortable thing to do. So what you want is trying to program the led and beside that program a switch so you can turn it into pattern you want.

Poster
This is the code that we wrote for the RGB LED.
 * code2

Story
By doing this project, we has faced alot of problem, there is plenty of problems to deal with, and one of the big problem that we tried to solve is using the switch to control the rgb led, even though we got the main ideal of it, but it wasn't really complete. First of all is the program, we learned to deal with the program by download a bunch of coding online that have been wrote for led. We started from there by loading the code to the arduino alot of times. Each time we load the code to the arduino, we change the number, the line, the command, then observe the behavior of the rgb led. It wasn't a comfortable thing to deal as first, but by times, we was be able to understand the code. But the coding part isn't the only problem we faced. There is circuit we have to deal with also. We have to deal with a lot of wires, alot of led. And alot physical bending and twisting why build these circuit.

Decision List
We decided to used the Arduino Uno instead of the lilypad arduino, since there isn't any pwm gate way in the lilypad. We used the RGB led for more efect instead of the normal led. Also using the button switch was a good ideal because using the button switch. We can actually control multiple pattern.

Material List

 * Arduino Uno ( or dellicima arduino)
 * Wire( recomand copper wire they are more easy to bend and twist).
 * Button switch
 * RGB led ( if not you can used normal led)
 * RGB led strip
 * EL wire

Software List
The only magical software used to control is Arduino 0022
 * you can download it here http://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/software

Time
To get this project going, you have to spend alot of time try to pushing it. Little by little, The time we estimated for each member was 12 hours per week.

Tutorials
The link for tutorial:
 * http://www.ladyada.net/products/rgbledstrip/( for led strip tutorial)
 * http://www.ladyada.net/learn/arduino/( for arduino tutorial)
 * http://www.ladyada.net/learn/el-wire/(for el wire tutorial)

Next Steps
You can trying to figuring out the way to add more led, with different pattern, you can make the RGB led strip work, you can change the code that we wrote in order to make the button switch work more. Also try to program the el wire


text:
Engineering Projects/Rubberband gun/Howard Community College/fall2011/550 JHK

Problem Statement

 * How can a rubberband gun be made using Legos that allows efficient firing and quick reloading?
 * How does each different models of trigger systems work and how can they be built?
 * How to build a gun with the trigger system that can fire sequentially?

Team Members

 * OJ
 * FH
 * GK

Summary
A final product was successfully completed throughout the past four weeks. We set out to create a rubberband gun out of legos that can fire one or more rubberbands at once. The trigger system of our major product was made out of gears and works extremely well. It can even be winded, thus allowing our rubberbands to travel longer. And, unlike the other materials such as glasses or woods, our materials are light and yet durable even in intense stretch and pulls from the rubber-bands. The final product did not meet our ultimate goal but, helped the team to be able to push further on the project to get to the ultimate goal of creating sequential and gatling guns.

Weekly Reports
 * Below is the link to our weekly reports:

Poster

 * [| Video of Crossbow firing 5 rubberbands]

 * [| Video of the prototype gun firing a rubberband]

 * Sketch up of sling shot

 * Sketch up- Part of the trigger

Story
At the beginning, we found videos and samples of rubber band guns online to get an idea of how it works and what kinds there are. We found many different models and trigger systems and decided to start off with designing a crossbow and a pistol gun. The parts used were Lego pieces because it is easier to assemble and disassemble and they are readily available. The base for the guns were sketched on the computer and the bases of the guns were made from this. The difficult part was making a way to release the rubber bands efficiently and having a trigger to control it. After going through many possible solutions, we found a way to release multiple rubber bands using the pistol model and launch a projectile using the crossbow. The trigger is basically a lock that prevents the gun from firing when loading a rubber band and the lock is pulled to release the rubber bands. But, our professor gave some criticism that the main goal of this project is not to shoot numbers of rubberbands at the same time but to shoot them sequentially. Thus we started to push toward making sequential firing guns. The guns we had however, had a trigger system that had very limited amount of possible improvements that can be done to it and we came up with whole new design using multiple gears. The single gear can be used to load multiple rubberbands on each slot it has and also to rotate/release them and even stop each other when the rubberbands are loaded. We constantly pushed to improve upon this new design and at the final week, we were albe to come up with another trigger system that can build/test for the continuing team.

Decision List
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
 * The groups met for the first time and discussed what materials we are going to use and what are available. Also looked at the videos on the web to get motivated and also think of what kind guns we are going to make.
 * We focused on gathering resources and materials.
 * We started easy with building a pistol and a crossbow.
 * We were struggling with the trigger systems. This made us to start researching for the trigger system.
 * We were able to come up with our first trigger system. We applied it on the crossbow and the pistol thus the single shot was tested.
 * Studied more on the trigger system and looked to design more different and effective trigger system
 * Built upon the first trigger system we strengthened and improved further on whole structures of our guns
 * Our guns were improved to the point where we can start loading multiple rubberbands and fire them at the same time
 * Presented our project to the class and got the feed back that we need to start pushing towards firing rubber bands sequentially
 * New ideas of different trigger system came up and the group started to improve more and build another deisgn that can overpower the previous trigger and gun models
 * Tested the guns we built so far to understand each gun's strength and weakness so that all the members know what to improve on those guns
 * Came up with whole new design of a gun along with whole new trigger system. The new design was the prototype for the further improved guns that will fire sequentially.
 * Tested out the new gun and it proved outstanding among the guns we have.
 * The new gun is improved within its trigger system: It is improved where the rubber band can be adjusted to get further stretched for increasing the power of the gun.
 * Another presentation was made in class to not only show our current progress but also to show our new design which allows us to start pushing towards building gatling gun and/or sequential firing guns
 * With the time running out, there was no new designs built along with scarce resources for the further construction as well. This will make the continuing team to bring in more pieces.
 * The guns were further examined and some unnecessary parts were removed and added new better features with the spare parts we took out from unnecessary parts.
 * Started to design and plan on what kind of designs will the continuing team will make.
 * Another software for the 3D designing was found and it will be used to design for the continuing team.

Material List

 * Legos
 * Rubber bands

Software List

 * Chrome Browser (to research models)
 * Google Sketchup (to draw model guns)
 * 3DTin (From Google Chrome Apps)

Time
Week 1, 4 hours of work was done by each student researching different models of rubberband guns and constructing prototype Lego rubberband guns.

Week 2, 5 hours of work was done by each student researching tirgger systems, improving on prototypes, creating another prototype, and uploading videos and pictures online.

Week 3, 4 hours of work was done by each student designing different guns and trigger systems, improving on the prototypes and uploading sketches online.

Week 4, 4 hours of work was done by each members of the team. The last week was spent to improve the latest gun model we built rather than trying to build new guns. But, we came up with another model that we are going to build for next project. Another Software was found that can help with sketching the designs, 3DTin.

Total over 17 hours of work was done for this project

Tutorials
Below is a website that jump started our research for a successful trigger system. Maybe the next team that works on the gun can also start from here.
 * Trigger system animations

Below is video tutorials of google sketchup. Sketch up is crucial when creating the preferred design of the gun. It allows you to change the small details on a gun
 * Sketch-up tutorials

Next Steps

 * Since a pistol was successfully created, the next step would be to build a gattling gun out of legos.
 * We're not only going to push to make a gatling gun, but also pistols or rifles shoots rubber bands sequentially. The main focus is the trigger system which we have improved drastically.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
User:Kjaved373/enes100/rubberband gun

Link to project 550_JHK team page.

Give instructor top 3 project choice list

 * 1. Rubberband gun

 * 2. Rube Goldberg

 * 3. StrandBeest

Write problem statement
What should the design of a rubberband gun be for efficient reloading and firing?

Assign Task1
Research different models of rubberband guns.

Look for easy ways to reload.

Look for models that have high capacities.

Compare actual work done to Task1
Made an early prototype of a model rubberband gun that has a trigger and can shoot two rubberbands at this time.

Week1 Narrative
My teammates had already made a base for the rubberband gun and I expanded on it by adding a release and a trigger. I had trouble at first trying to find a way to release the rubberband efficiently without sacrificing reloading time. The wheel Lego pieces seemed like a good starting point to release the rubberbands, but that turned out to be to weak. There was another piece that connected to the gun to form a 45 degree triangle and that released the rubberbands excellently. The problem was finding a trigger. I tried three ways to use a trigger and the one that worked was putting an "L" shaped piece underneath to prevent from automatically firing. When you want to fire, you just pull that piece and it shoots very efficiently.

Assign Task2

 * Expand on prototypes built
 * Research better triggers and ways to release rubber bands

Compare actual work done to Task2
Improved on the pistol and crossbow designs to allow each to fire multiple rubberbands and a better base to hold it. In addition, another prototype of a rubberband gun was made.

Week2 Narrative
The beginning of the week was spent on looking for ways to allow the rubberband guns to fire more than one rubberband. This was done by adding another trigger and a few more release points. The prototype of a new gun was made using spare lego pieces found at home. The trigger system is differnet than the previous guns and only allows one rubberband to be fire at this time. It is similar to a bow and arrow but it shoot the rubber band by pulling back a piece of the gun and letting go.

[| Video of Crossbow firing 5 rubberbands]

[| Video of the prototype gun firing a rubberband]

Assign Task3

 * Get ready to present to class
 * Improve on the prototype design
 * Improve accuracy and efficiency of the rubberband guns

Week3 Activities
Presented to class all the different designs of rubber band guns made so far, improved on the two prototypes and increased the strength of the pistol. Also, made a sketch of new proposed way to automatically fire rubberbands.

Week3 Narrative
The first half of the week was spent on putting together a presentation for comparing the trigger systems and comparing the advantages and disadvantages of each. The pistol rubberband gun was made more powerful and accurate by lengthening the base to allow the rubber bands to stretch further. A sketch was made that allows the rubberband gun to fire rubberbands automatically by a rod going back and forth (similar to a seesaw) and shooting a rubberband each time it switches sides.

Assign Task4

 * Improve on the sketches made by all the team members
 * Start building the newly proposed trigger systems and guns
 * Finalize the existing rubberband guns to make them look more aesthetically appealing

Compare actual work done to Task4

 * The guns were made more appealing by minimizing the number of pieces on the guns while maintaining durability
 * The extra pieces went to adding on to the "geared gun" and adding a handle to the other guns
 * Tested the power of each of the guns by taking measurements of how far each fire goes

Week4 Narrative

 * The pistol was greatly stripped down to make it even lighter and easier to hold.
 * The crossbow was also stripped of some pieces, but some pieces were added to make it more durable.
 * The rifle was improved upon hugely by adding a gear that allows the rubber band to be wound up, and made stronger.

 * There was a test done to test the power of each gun, the following are the results:

- Each gun was loaded twice with similar rubber bands and fired straight from the same starting point.

- The distance was measured each time to determine the power of each gun.

title: User:Kjaved373/enes100/rubberband gun


text:
User:Felhariri3680/enes100/rubberband gun

Link to project JHK team page.

Give instructor top 3 project choice list

 * Coanda
 * Bernoulli
 * Boat

Write problem statement

 * How to create some kind of rubberband gun that is extremely accurate and efficient when it comes to firing and reloading.

Assign Task1

 * Create basic designs for potential gun models whether it is a gattling/pistol.
 * Research already made rubberband gun models and upload them on wiki for reference.
 * Make a list of what type of material may be used for a gun (ex. wood, legos)

Compare actual work done to Task1
Created basic designs on google sketch up Started building pistol

Week1 Narrative

 * This week, two models were drawn up using google sketch up. Throughout the week, the group members and I started building two guns. One was the pistol which was build upon the sketch up. The gattling gun however was ruled out since it involves the use of engines in order to rotate. The team was close to deciding on using an old gattling gun model saved in the enes folder in the lab however decided to start from scratch.
 * The image above symbolizes the typical lego blocks that were used to build the bases of our weapons.

Assign Task2

 * Start creating a more efficient trigger system for the pistol.
 * Research rubber band pistol models in order to build on ideas to implement on our guns.

Compare actual work done to Task2
This week the work that was done on the gun included:
 * Finding trigger system animations that allowed us to study how we can implement it on our guns.
 * Started creating a simple sketch-up of our gun which will allow us to edit our gun before implementing it on our system
 * Help add an additional trigger system on our main gun to fire multiple rubber bands
 * Presented our product to the class in order to get feedback and comments which will give us additional ideas in improving our gun.

Week2 Peer Review
Go to each team mates weekly summary wiki page. Read their activities and narrative. Then go the associated discussion page. Say something positive on this page. Try some constructive criticism. Add your name and a signature ~ by entering four tildes in a row to create a time and date stamp. Create a new category if another team mate has already commented here.

Assign Task3

 * Create separate pieces for a specific trigger system I want to try on our gun(s)
 * Try to create an even more detailed sketch-up

Week3 Activities
Rationalize differences
 * This week, more work was done on google sketchup as part of the trigger system was created.
 * A new and more efficient rubberband gun was made from legos
 * Additional trigger systems were analyzed

Week3 Narrative
Learning curve throughout the sketch:
 * The basic shape of trigger was made by drawing a square.. the cube was created by using the 3-D tool
 * The square was pulled
 * Encountered problem when I wanted a hole in the square
 * Tried using an eraser however it didn't work
 * Created an inner square; and then pushed that part in
 * This allows the square to be inserted into the gun once it is printed
 * Creating the triangles on the side.
 * Used the pencil tool in order to create the triangles.
 * Placed lines on the sides of the cube and then created the final side of the triangle. The triangle lays outside the base of the cube as shown in the picture.
 * Encountered a problem when I wanted to connect the triangle at the top. This happened when drawing the second triangle on the other side..Once the final line was drawn (the one that lays outside the cube).. sketchup automatically connected that line with the edge of the first triangle.
 * First I tried drawing the final line again however it still automatically connected the lines.
 * Thought that if I rotated the screen or tilted it, then it would be easier to draw the final line.
 * Used the rotation tool and then drew the second triangle. Panned around a bit and made sure everything fits and is on the same axis (even though i rotated my screen)
 * Sketch up of trigger
 * Sketch up of sling rubber band gun

Week3 Peer Review
Go to each team mates weekly summary wiki page. Read their activities and narrative. Then go the associated discussion page. Say something positive on this page. Try some constructive criticism. Add your name and a signature ~ by entering four tildes in a row to create a time and date stamp. Create a new category if another team mate has already commented here.

Assign Task4

 * Try to print out the part that was done on sketchup
 * Keep improving the design and reloading system in the gun to create the most efficient gun
 * Keep analyzing different trigger systems and see if they can be implemented on our gun.

Compare actual work done to Task4

 * My partner created a gun with a trigger system out of gears
 * Helped improve the design of the trigger by extending it and making it look more like a gun.
 * Looked back at the gattling design.. played with it some more
 * Searched for motors that can eventually spin our gun in the future.

Week4 Narrative
DC motors
 * Eventually use one of these which supply enough power and are cheap enough to buy
 * Additionally, I tried working on the design of the gattling gun since the idea of the project was brought up again.I encountered several problems on sketch up. For instance, creating a stand for the cylindrical gattling gun to be placed. I tried using the pull button from the bottome of the cylinder however the software stated that curved objects may not be pushed and pulled. The motor will be placed in the back and is labeled by the black square in the sketch. The handle of the gattling gun could not be drawn either since a circle with a small radius was not allowed to be drawn.
 * Gattling sketch up


text:
User:Truongdat120891/enes100/illuminate clothing 2ND PROJECT

Link to project.T2C 2ND PROJECT team page.

Give instructor top 3 project choice list

 * Illuminate clothes
 * Water jet
 * Helicopter

Write problem statement
trying to improve the program for the lilypad, they way i wrote the program right now is pretty long and complicated, and it doesn't do much except for control the timing of the lilypad

Assign Task1
write a program that can make the led dim and go off slowly

Compare actual work done to Task1
I have got some clue where should i start with the RGB LED Strip. I got a ideal for designing the RBG strip.

Week1 Narrative
This is the design i made for the RGB strip and led, and here is the link where i get all the information about circuit. Because i don't have the arduino for now so i can't test out anything. As soon as i receive the arduino and material i will start on loading the code i have from research and learn. I had amazing ideal about making a box so we can fit everything in and then cover it up with silk. I had the right silk and i had the wood but i can't cut the wood in half. Even with the saw and knife. It's turn out ugly so i decided to order some from the place my father work.
 * http://fritzing.org/projects/arduino-knight-rider-with-8-blue-12v-led-modules/

Assign Task2
I will plan on finishing what I was doing in week1.

Week2 Activities
===Compare actual work done to Task2= the RGB led is working perfectly and i can write a code to let the led fade and then change the color differently.

Week2 Narrative
By using the arduino uno, i was be able to controle the RGB led and with 5 volt the led is pretty bright, and by using the code that i wrote, i can make the led fading slowly to change from this color to the other. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCiCnfOLDk4 this is the behavior i got.

Assign Task3
i will try to combine the button switch and rgb led

Compare actual work done to Task3
I can control the RBG led with a button switch and used the button switch to change the RGB led's pattern

Week3 Narrative
I was trying to control the RGB led with button switch, but i met a few problem. On the first test, i wasn't be able to get the arduino working, it keeping reset when i pull the switch, after hours of researching and find out what is the problem, i found out the switch can't be run with a high voltage, so all i did was just put on a resistor for the switch.Then i met another problem is, i can't get the switch to turn off the led or change the pattern, i can manage to turn on the RGB led right away, but it took me a thousand of times pressing the button to make it stop blinking.It turned out that the delay time in my code and the pattern of the led can't be complicated, it must be simple to be able to turned the led right away from this pattern to the other pattern. This is the video when i was working with the led. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do-3Fj8O6cs&feature=youtu.be And this is the first code i wrote base on a sample code
 * code1
 * this is the final code i wrote to get that final behavior
 * code2

Assign Task4
I will complete what i was doing with the button switch and i will make the led strip working.

Compare actual work done to Task4
I can made a circuit include the rgb led using a case.

Week4 Narrative
I was trying to assemble everything into a final product, which i would include the rgb led. wire, the arduino,a switch, and a case for everything. I opened up a car strip led, remove everything inside. then wire up the led into a strip of led. by measuring the distance between the hole, i cut up a wire a little bit longer than that( about 1 cm). i dont want the led to move a round so i used a hard wire, then i used a scisor to bend the wire.(i used my hands to bend the leg of the led because i dont want to twist and broke the leg of the led). i connected 3 of the led then i tried to fit it in the case for good measure. But it turned out the wire was too hard, so it wasn't flexible for me to fix the distance, and when i twist it up with the led, it is actually bend and the distance i was measure wasn't long enough. After a few times, trying to twist and bend, i gave up on using the hard wire, instead i used the copper wire which is really flexible. Now i can used my hand to do everything, it was much easier to used a copper wire to wire the led up, and i can fixed the distance between two led also. but when everything is ready. i put it in the case, because of it is too soft so the wire of this wire touch the other. i used a couple chop stick ,i measured the distance, then i cutted the chopstick up and tried to fit in the case( i made the chopstick really thin so it doesn't take much space in the case). Basicly i just made a wall between 4 lines of wire. by using a scold gun, i glue them up to the case. i put everything together closed the case and then connect the wire to the arduino. IT WASN'T WORKING. i was so frutrating, i took everything apart again, and test the led, it was working fine. But when i closed them, they were completely dark, not even a single light come up.


text:
User:Epcole/enes100/illuminate clothing 2ND PROJECT

Link to project.T2C 2ND PROJECT team page.

Compare actual work done to Task1
Rationalize differences

Week1 Narrative
Upload photos to wikimedia. Upload video to youtube. Convert all spreadsheets, documents, and presentations to wiki format and create wiki subpage of your page for each of them. Link to them here in a narrative that tells a story. High light the problems (engineering problems) you had and how you solved them.

Week1 Peer Review
Truongdat was very organized during this project. He seemed to have a very effective approach to the task and was able to produce very good results. Epcole 13:32, 28 August 2011 (UTC)

Assign Task2
Record what you are planning on doing for the team during the weekend between week1 and week2 of the project here.

Compare actual work done to Task2
Rationalize differences

Week2 Narrative
Upload photos to wikimedia. Upload video to youtube. Convert all spreadsheets, documents, and presentations to wiki format and create wiki subpage of your page for each of them. Link to them here in a narrative that tells a story. High light the problems (engineering problems) you had and how you solved them.

Week2 Peer Review
Go to each team mates weekly summary wiki page. Read their activities and narrative. Then go the associated discussion page. Say something positive on this page. Try some constructive criticism. Add your name and 1sfoerster 13:32, 28 August 2011 (UTC) to create a time and date stamp. Create a new category if another team mate has already commented here.

Assign Task3
Record what you are planning on doing for the team during the weekend between week2 and week3 of the project here.

Compare actual work done to Task3
Rationalize differences

Week3 Narrative
Upload photos to wikimedia. Upload video to youtube. Convert all spreadsheets, documents, and presentations to wiki format and create wiki subpage of your page for each of them. Link to them here in a narrative that tells a story. High light the problems (engineering problems) you had and how you solved them.

Week3 Peer Review
Go to each team mates weekly summary wiki page. Read their activities and narrative. Then go the associated discussion page. Say something positive on this page. Try some constructive criticism. Add your name and 1sfoerster 13:33, 28 August 2011 (UTC) to create a time and date stamp. Create a new category if another team mate has already commented here.

Assign Task4
Record what you are planning on doing for the team during the weekend between week3 and week4 of the project here.

Compare actual work done to Task4
Rationalize differences

Week4 Narrative
Upload photos to wikimedia. Upload video to youtube. Convert all spreadsheets, documents, and presentations to wiki format and create wiki subpage of your page for each of them. Link to them here in a narrative that tells a story. High light the problems (engineering problems) you had and how you solved them.

Week4 Peer Review
Go to each team mates weekly summary wiki page. Read their activities and narrative. Then go the associated discussion page. Say something positive on this page. Try some constructive criticism. Add your name and 1sfoerster 13:33, 28 August 2011 (UTC) to create a time and date stamp. Create a new category if another team mate has already commented here.

Complete Project Page
Follow the "project done" format.

Start Next Project Week0 activities
During this week you will perform the week0 activities of the next project.


text:
User:Tfalak3666/enes100/illuminate clothing 2ND PROJECT

Link to project.T2C 2ND PROJECT team page.

Compare actual work done to Task1
Rationalize differences

Week1 Narrative
Upload photos to wikimedia. Upload video to youtube. Convert all spreadsheets, documents, and presentations to wiki format and create wiki subpage of your page for each of them. Link to them here in a narrative that tells a story. High light the problems (engineering problems) you had and how you solved them.

Week1 Peer Review
Truongdat was very organized during this project. He seemed to have a very effective approach to the task and was able to produce very good results. Epcole 13:32, 28 August 2011 (UTC)

Assign Task2
Record what you are planning on doing for the team during the weekend between week1 and week2 of the project here.

Compare actual work done to Task2
Rationalize differences

Week2 Narrative
Upload photos to wikimedia. Upload video to youtube. Convert all spreadsheets, documents, and presentations to wiki format and create wiki subpage of your page for each of them. Link to them here in a narrative that tells a story. High light the problems (engineering problems) you had and how you solved them.

Week2 Peer Review
Go to each team mates weekly summary wiki page. Read their activities and narrative. Then go the associated discussion page. Say something positive on this page. Try some constructive criticism. Add your name and 1sfoerster 13:32, 28 August 2011 (UTC) to create a time and date stamp. Create a new category if another team mate has already commented here.

Assign Task3
Record what you are planning on doing for the team during the weekend between week2 and week3 of the project here.

Compare actual work done to Task3
Rationalize differences

Week3 Narrative
Upload photos to wikimedia. Upload video to youtube. Convert all spreadsheets, documents, and presentations to wiki format and create wiki subpage of your page for each of them. Link to them here in a narrative that tells a story. High light the problems (engineering problems) you had and how you solved them.

Week3 Peer Review
Go to each team mates weekly summary wiki page. Read their activities and narrative. Then go the associated discussion page. Say something positive on this page. Try some constructive criticism. Add your name and 1sfoerster 13:33, 28 August 2011 (UTC) to create a time and date stamp. Create a new category if another team mate has already commented here.

Assign Task4
Record what you are planning on doing for the team during the weekend between week3 and week4 of the project here.

Compare actual work done to Task4
Rationalize differences

Week4 Narrative
Upload photos to wikimedia. Upload video to youtube. Convert all spreadsheets, documents, and presentations to wiki format and create wiki subpage of your page for each of them. Link to them here in a narrative that tells a story. High light the problems (engineering problems) you had and how you solved them.

Week4 Peer Review
Go to each team mates weekly summary wiki page. Read their activities and narrative. Then go the associated discussion page. Say something positive on this page. Try some constructive criticism. Add your name and 1sfoerster 13:33, 28 August 2011 (UTC) to create a time and date stamp. Create a new category if another team mate has already commented here.

Complete Project Page
Follow the "project done" format.

Start Next Project Week0 activities
During this week you will perform the week0 activities of the next project.


text:
User:Anton1102/enes100/rubberband gun

Link to project JHK team page.

Give instructor top 3 project choice list
All of these were denied and I decided to join the rubberband gun project
 * 1. Robot Arm
 * 2. StarndBeest
 * 3. Robot Mast

Write problem statement

 * What materials are we going to use.
 * How are we going to gain materials that are outside of the class.
 * What kind of design are we going to come up and use that is from our own thoughts
 * How long will it take to finish this project
 * Can we alter the way of the project so that is completely new and original while the title of the project remains same.

Assign Task1

 * Get ready to discussing with the group about this project such as materials and designs, start brainstorming ideas, designs, and materials that will be applied to this project.
 * Look through any documentaries from the class projects or website videos and understand the basic requirements for this project and set up a specific goal for the group.
 * Find any designs that we can build upon. This is a Rubberband gun so we can modify the design in many ways such as pistol design, rifle, or even crossbow design.
 * The [Crossbow design] and another [crossbow]
 * "Repeatable shot" rubberband guns can be made from [lego] or [wood]. Even repeatable [pistol]

Compare actual work done to Task1

 * I started to build the structures of the pistol and the crossbow.
 * Showed the team that we can do many things with the LEGO especially variety improvements we want to put.
 * We worked on how to make the trigger on each of the guns we are making
 * Through multiple tries, we were able to make the trigger system

Week1 Narrative

 * As we built the structure of the rubberband guns piece by piece, we were struggling with the trigger system. We kept our focus on how to stabilize the rubberband when extended and high tension is built on the rubberband and release it with the trigger manually.
 * I personally built the crossbow to show the different approach and defining of the "RubberBand Gun".

Assign Task2

 * Get ready to present to the class our project
 * Improve on the projects with more identifiable structure (Look more like a RubberBand Gun)
 * Discuss with the group about another improvements we can add or more we can build.

Compare actual work done to Task2

 * I changed the cross bow to a rubberband gun from a slingshot.
 * Presented to the class our project, progress, and our goal.
 * Perfected the single shot firing of a rubber band
 * Added another trigger right behind the trigger for multi-shots
 * Managed to improve the crossbow to shoot 5 rubber bands. The first step being improving to shoot 3 at the same time and manually at different times (The position of the rubber bands differs the number of rubber bands released per trigger).

Week2 Narrative

 * After changing the crossbow into a rubberband gun rather than the slingshot, the improvements were focused on the crossbow which showed more accuracy and power over the pistol we built.

Assign Task3

 * Study the another trigger system and either plan to apply and build upon the current rubber band guns or build the new that can surpass previous models we built
 * Get ready to improve the rubber band gun in stabilizing and aiming.
 * Be ready to build the whole structure for the rubber band pistol and find a way to fire multiple shots towards the direction pointed.

Compare actual work done to Task3
*Advantages: *Crossbow: -Easy and fast reload -multi shots -High accurately -Stable  -powerful than the pistol *Pistol: -Light and can hold in one hand -Strong power *New Rubberband Gun (Rifle): -Stable -Strongest power  -Highest accuracy with sight alignment  -Easy reload *Disadvantages: *Crossbow: -High chance of jamming -Needs correct rubberband placements in order to shoot properly  -fragile wings *Pistol: - Unstable handle -Difficult to reload  -limited to one shot (malfunctions when multiple rubberbands are on and released) *New Design: -fragile structure -Need to lock the gear first in order to reload
 * I tested the guns we built so far to figure out the advantages and disadvantages of each and see if there are any major problems that we need to solve or improve on the guns.
 * These are the advantages and disadvantages of each guns:
 * The current trigger on the crossbow and the pistol has limited improvement on itself. I was able to design and build the new trigger system that managed to take the group to another path to achieving our goal.
 * My group members and I presented our current progress on our projects such as new improvements on crossbow and pistol and even our whole new design.

Week3 Narrative

 * This week I was able to come up with the new design for the rubberband gun. I basically managed to build the new trigger system that the group have thrown away at the very beginning.
 * With this new trigger design, I can work/ build upon this to get close to the goal of making semi automatic rubberband (Shoots one rubber band but multiple of them loaded)
 * This new trigger allows its gun shoot the strongest and most accurate among the designs we made.

Assign Task4

 * Starting from the small pieces of the problems toward the goal, I am going to try to design another new trigger system that is not for the machine or gatling gun, but a automatic pistol.
 * Try to see the limit of the LEGO functions and my designing skills and improve it.
 * Try to find if any, a way to improve other trigger system that is on the crossbow.

Compare actual work done to Task4

 * I managed to reduce the parts and pieces of the rubberband guns.
 * With preserved parts, I added more improvements such as legit gun handle and the trigger that can be easily pulled with a finger.
 * Came up with another idea of trigger system. Similar to the latest one I built but that can control the main gear manually so that multiple rubberbad can loaded and shot per each trigger pulled. This is for the next project which Omair and I will still continue working on rubberband gun.

Week4 Narrative

 * This week I managed to reduce the parts of the guns and balanced and strengthened further so that it is our ultimate piece of the this project.
 * I was also managed to get 3d design software within Google Chrome. The software app is called 3DTin.
 * The reduced pieces and slimmer rubberband gun.jpg
 * The balanced gun.jpg
 * The side view of our rubberband gun.jpg

title: User:Anton1102/enes100/rubberband gun


text:
User:Qchi8375/enes100/howard communitycollege/engines

wikipage for new engine team of 2011

Idea
Projects Start with an idea. The idea for a project is typically a few sentences. The sentences should inspire problem statements. If only this section exists, then nobody has worked on the project yet.

Subsystems
Projects are broken up into subsystems. Create a list of subpage links to subsystem sections here.

The goal is to provide framework to capture the information associated with huge, big problems. A quadcopter project may be split up into vision systems, motor control systems, power, air frame, gryo/accelarometer software, copter GPS, target GPS, communication system, fail safe system, testing apparatus, etc. The cardboard boat project could be splitup into quickly built boats, racing boats, themed boats, dramatic sinking boats, battle boats, etc.

Each subsystem should have the format goal/design/testing. This information should not be associated with a particular college, team or individual. It is the collective wisdom of the wiki editing world. It is the starting point for those that want to work on this project. The goal is an open hardware or open project repository of information similar to the open software community's GIT.

Projects may get so big there are subsubpages for subsubsystems.

Tutorials
This section lists tutorials for those that want to repeat the successes of previous teams. The goal is to polish these tutorials to the point where they are competing with instructables, hack a day and other diy, maker sites.

College/Universities
howard community college

Problem Statement
Put the last negotiated problem statement with the instructor or client of the project here.

Team Members

 * [chi]
 * saunders
 * morgen

Summary
Put an overall, one paragraph summary here with links to the team weekly reports.

Poster
Put a graphic in wikimedia, include the graphic here or link to it here. The graphic should be suitable for creating a traditional project poster.

Story
Tell a story of the project. Describe how split up, what the obstacles were, what testing was done, what informal decisions were made, what assumptions were made, what the results were. This is a longer version of the summary with links to all the details collected associated with the project. These links could be to software, links to videos, links to project pages with pictures, etc. Think of the story as a summary of the team weekly reports on one long page rather than a short paragraph like the summary.

Decision List
List all formal decisions made with links to their documentation such as a decision tree or decision matrix.

Material List
Figuring out what to purchase, what to build, what everything costs is a huge part of engineering. Typically there is a list of materials in stock, materials that are ordered, materials that should be ordered next time there is money, materials that have not been fully justified. These issues are part of healthy management of the engineering lab but are associated with a particular college. The detail needs to be published in this "Done" form. However in the project root, just a list of materials is necessary.

Software List
Installing and learning different software packages is part of most engineering project just like the materials list.

Time
Time estimates and actual time consumed measurements helps justify salaries (grades). The only way to gain respect for estimated project time and costs is to practice.

Tutorials
Most projects consist of making instructions to jump start the next team, shrink the learning of tools and software to the minimum, advice on where to purchase materials, how to assemble, etc. Tutorials modified or created are described here with links.

Next Steps
If this is not filled out, the next team may have to repeat each of your steps just to figure out what the next step is. It is best to write this immediately at the end of the project while creating the summary, poster, presentation, and story.

Subjective Critera
While reading these sections, practicing engineers are building up the following impressions about the document. So the following categories are more subjective:

Repeatablitly
Is there enough detail to repeat the work?

Integrity
Proving something doesn't exist or doesn't work usually requires exhaustion. Simply saying "it can not be done" is like challenging a pro basketball player (engineer) to one-on-one basketball (find a solution). It does not inspire respect. All the different ways respect is created can be found throughout the wikibook General Engineering Introduction.

College/Universities
All the above is summary information that comprises the wiki of all students in general engineering classes using this site. To see the people involved, the actual engineering projects, the pain-money-time involved, click on the university names listed here. Colleges should add their name to each project they every work on under this heading. This page should contain the details of the projects, teams and individuals. This way colleges and individual students can build up portfolios.


text:
User:Hoo User Page Bot

This bot syncs user and user talk pages across all wikis, request can be made here. Feel free to complain if it does anything it shouldn't. Every request gets performed and reviewed by Hoo man.

title: User:Hoo User Page Bot


text:
Tectonic hazards/Seismic performance

Seismic performance is an execution of a structure's ability to sustain its due functions, such as safety and serviceability, at and after a particular earthquake exposure. A structure is, normally, considered safe if it does not endanger the lives and wellbeing of those in or around it by partially or completely collapsing. A structure may be considered serviceable if it is able to fulfill its operational functions for which it was designed.

Basic concepts of the earthquake engineering, implemented in the major building codes, assume that a building should survive The Big One (the most powerful anticipated earthquake) though with partial destruction. Drawing an analogy with a human body, it will have dislocated joints, fractured ribs, traumatized spine and knocked out teeth but be alive and, therefore, quite O.K. according to the prescriptive building codes. This situation is a major barrier to implementation of any structural innovations in the earthquake engineering technologies employing the seismic vibration control and, particularly, the most effective brands of base isolation.

However, alternative performance-based design approaches already exist and are implemented at earthquake engineering research. Some of them, for assessment or comparison of the anticipated seismic performance or for seismic performance analysis, use the Story Performance Rating R as a major criterion while the Seismic Performance Ratio (SPR) is used for a rather accurate prediction of seismic performance of a building up to the point of its state of severe damage.

Anyway, replacement of the present prescriptive design standards with the future codes of performance is not an easy task: most of the designers would be reluctant to accept any additional legal obligations.

title: Tectonic hazards/Seismic performance


text:
User:Qchi8375/enes100/engines

 * engines

Give instructor top 3 project choice list

 * I was assigned to the Engines project more precisely the sterling engines.

Write problem statement
Look through the existing problem statements. Find something not yet done on the project. Create a problem statement for it. Think of a new subsystem that needs to be built for the project. The goal is something simple, possible, for zero dollars.
 * I am going to be working towards the possible construction of a workable sterling engine and also the aim of making the available engines a lot more useable than they already are.
 * these links will show u the engines i am starting my work with. From those we have in stock, they do not spin even when heated. I will be seeking an answer to this problem too.
 * [|engines sterling engines design]

Assign Task1
Planned Individual Work
 * My first task will be to seek possible errors which may be hindering the spinning of the available sterling engines i have been given shown in the above link.
 * I will also research the mechanism of a good sterling engines and understand the properties essential to its proper workability.

Compare actual work done to Task1

 * From the available workable engines i came across in storage, there actually seemed to be various common errors made at various parts.The main issue was to make a smooth running crankshaft so as to reduce the friction opposing the engines power as much as possible.This picture will show clearly the way the crankshaft is attached to the power stroke of the displacer
 * Also the engine could not possibly function effectively if there happens to be some air loss between the sides of the displacer. If the expanded air is constantly being lost due to poorly fit in displacer, there will not be enough energy to move the displacer.

Week1 Narrative
I was able to come across some various tips on how to efficiently put together a successful sterling engine based on the ti can design. a number of videos are shown below
 * [|engines how to prepare a stirling engine from tin cans]
 * [|engines making tin stirling engines]

Assign Task2

 * I am going to begin my search for the suitable materials which will be used to begin the the construction of the stirling engine. We already have a tin can available so what is left is a good and light material which will serve as a god displacer. It has to be light such that it can be easily moved by compressed air inside the can and also able to withstand these high temperatures.

Compare actual work done to Task2

 * We started bringing together various parts which we are going to use in the construction of our engine design. They are shown by the pictures below.

Week2 Narrative
based on the below links, we were able to begin collecting the parts we needed. We were basically sawing the tin can and also trying to ensure that all the parts could rub against one another with the least friction as possible, since in this project friction is our greatest enemy.
 * We could now start the construction based on this model.
 * [|engines beginnning to construct the engine]
 * [|engines tips to buil the engine]

Assign Task3
Task 3 now that we have all the parts we need for the project will be to start the construction.

Compare actual work done to Task3

 * we began the construction of our engine as planned using all the various parts we were able to get. this construction was based on the following designs.
 * Full Assembly Snapshot 3-29-11.jpg
 * Duel Displacer Full 4-5-11.jpg
 * Duel Assembly X-Section 4-5-11.jpg
 * Center Holes 4-5-11.jpg

Week3 Narrative
it was now a lot more smooth and this is very necessary because even the least friction cannot be tolerated. a good example of these tin can engines in a row is shown in the following links-
 * Based on the instructions we got from Mr Foerster about how to test for the workability of a tin an stirling engine, that is by heating it from beneath and watching the displacer rise in the column of the tin can when not yet attached to the crankshaft, then putting ice at the top of the tin can and watching the displacer fall. We then decided to try it out and it happened to work just as fine as expected.
 * there was initially the problem of the piston for the displacer being a little bent to one side. this bend caused there to be a lot of friction in the smaller displacer and at first construction the engine did not work. but by attaching the piston at the tip of the smaller displacer to the crankshaft, the bend was now able to be compensated for and thus was going to work out just fine.
 * in order to make the smaller displacer at the top of the tin can, we decided to use epoxy. this was poured in small cylinders surrounded by paper and allowed to dry. once dry, we were able to get them out just fine and smooth. this was also a way to avoid calculating very small measurements which is usually a very difficult process.
 * [| engines larger engine out of tin cans]
 * [| engines tin can motors]

Assign Task4

 * Task 4 is to seek out plans on how a bigger and better stirling engine can be made still out of tin cans. it still has to portray all the characteristics of the smaller one. the only difference is the size.

Compare actual work done to Task4

 * We were able to finally come up with some new cans which were definitely of an ideal size for what we anticipated. there was just a little problem because even though our stirling engine passed the test, it still did not work when fully assembled.

Week4 Narrative

 * we now have fully assembled our stirling engine according to the designs we calculated. the pictures are shown here..

[|possible problems]
 * Unfortunately even though this design happened to pass the test, it still did not function properly when fully assembled. with this in mind, we believed the problem had to bee around the crankshaft and the flywheel since its displacer and power piston functioned properly( if not it would not have passed the test). we then decided that the problem might be the fact that the crankshaft was not perfectly straight. so we disassembled it totally and straightened out the crankshaft .after it was fully straightened, we attached it to the two rods from the displacer and the power piston but it still did not work out.
 * The next solution to its not working came up as we turned the crankshaft around. we noticed that there was a slight bend where the power rod was attached to the extension of the crankshaft rod coming downwards. at this attachment point, it would bend out of place every time a revolution was made by the crankshaft. To solve this problem,we decided to make that point of attachment to be right at the tip of the power displacer itself. this was able to solve this little issue but it never really made our engine function.
 * the third and final thing we tried was to increase the weight of the flywheel. We believed that by doing this,the momentum of the spinning wheel would compensate for the moments when the power piston was moving downwards in the cycle. in order to do this, we attached some quarters as seen in the pictures. when the coins did not suffice, we also attached some paper pins for a temporary test. This did make the crankshaft spin a lot more smoother, but still the engine did not start to work as planned.
 * However i was able to find the following link which proved helpful in answering some of my possible problems

Complete Project Page
Follow the "project done" format.

Start Next Project Week0 activities
During this week you will perform the week0 activities of the next project.

title: User:Qchi8375/enes100/engines


text:
HAM/Howard Community College/Fall 2011/550 BH^2/Weekly Reports

Link to 550_BH^2 team page.

Week 1
We debated the merits of either boosting the power and range of a wireless router or building a radio transceiver from scratch. It was decided that the building of a transceiver was more in line with the description of the HAM project. With our project goal in mind, we assigned tasks to each other including looking into the laws and regulations governing radio transmissions, designs/schematics of transceivers and antennae, and the overall science of HAM radios.

Week 2
We brought back information stating that a license is required to send live transmissions on specific frequencies that are "open" to HAM radio operators and that Radio Shack is no longer the place to go if you want to find electronic parts such as transistors and wiring. (Alternative locations?) We also discovered several locations that hosted designs for both antennae and transceiver. We experimented on a pair of walkie talkies that were disassembled during class to get a look at the inner workers. Pictures were taken and posted on Flckr.

We attempted to augment the power supply to the walkie talkies by using an external power supply. This worked for a few minutes before we increased the voltage too much and a loud popping noise was heard from one of the units and it stopped working. Attempting the same with the other unit did not have the same effect. So was this just one bad unit or a random power surge?

Week 3
The Columbia Amateur Radio Association (CARA) was hosting a festival on Sunday, October 2nd and Mr. Forrester was convinced to give points to people that attended or assisted in setting up the event. Several members of CARA including the VP, Dave Prestel were present to provide knowledge of HAM radio and to give tests for those seeking a FCC license. A foxhole radio (FHR) was built at home and tested but unfortunately did not appear to work as it was intended. A possible fault with the ground wire? Or perhaps just the inherent difficulty in getting an FHR to work?


text:
Wind Tunnel/Howard Community College

 * /Fall 2011/
 * /Spring 2012/

title: Wind Tunnel/Howard Community College


text:
Wind Tunnel/Howard Community College/Fall 2011

This section is for team pages doing the Wind Tunnel project.
 * /550_Wizard_Jr/


text:
Wind Tunnel/Howard Community College/Fall 2011/550 Wizard Jr

Problem Statement
Using an Arduino, control the speed of a R/C servo so that speed can be manual entered.

Team Members
RHorton

Summary
Weekly Reports

Poster

Successful test.

Story
Initially, during the weekend prior to week 1, I was under the belief that I could use computer case fans in an array and control them using a external controller panel in conjunction with a PC power supply as the source of wind in the wind tunnel. Testing was conducted to ensure that the supply could be used without a computer and that the fans intending to be used were functional. After discussing this concept with Mr. Foerster, it was suggested that I try and control that fans with an Arduino for more precise/accurate control over the windspeed that would be in the tunnel. In addition, I conducted research into wind tunnel design for ideas on how to build one and what the overall specifications should be.

Web searches for ways to control a case fan with an Arduino resulted in methods that required a lot of wiring for just a single fan and resulted in abandoning using case fans for the wind source. I was later provided with a powerful R/C motor and a electronic speed control (ESC), that apparently are highly coveted items, to use as a replacement wind source. In addition, I also took with me an Arduino Uno board which had a USB port for PC connectivity. A web search for arduino programming software brought me to the arduino main page which had the software and drivers necessary to interact with the board. It also had a forum where I would later find necessary code for controlling a servo.

Installing the software and drivers was relatively straight forward and initially, I attempted to only control an LED by using the example sketch blink which made the LED rapidly turn on and off and could be changed to increase or decrease the rate of change. I also played with the fade example sketch. After having some basic understanding of the programming language, which appeared to be similar to C/C++, I wired up the Arduino to the ESC in what I believed to be the correct way and attempted to use the Servo example sketch Sweep which should have had the motor turning but nothing happened.

Later web searches turned up better sketches that were designed for servos in conjunction with an ESC. With the same wiring as before, I attempted several of these sketches but to no avail. While there appeared to be communication between the ESC and the Arduino, the commands were not getting to the motor. Initially thinking that it was a power issue, I swapped out the power brick I had been using for the battery that was designed for use with this ESC/Motor. Unfortunately, this did not alleviate the problem with none of the programs working. As a result, I returned the motor and ESC indicating that something might be wrong with the hardware. I received a second set that was much simpler than the first and this one proved fruitful.

After using butt splices to attach the ESC and motor together, I went back to using the brick power supply and tied the wire ends together. Using the esc_easy sketch, a single change to the code made the motor immediately respond to commands. This hopefully indicated that the sketches were fine and that the problem lied in the hardware of the first motor and ESC.

Decision List

 * Use PC Case Fans for wind source and PC Power Supply
 * Use array of case fans in design
 * Use Arduino to control fan speed
 * Use R/C servo and ESC as wind source
 * Use arduino to send commands to servo via ESC
 * Change out current combo for smaller set due to problems.

Material List

 * 1) Apple iPhone 4 32GB - for taking pictures and video
 * 2) Scythe SY1225SL12SH 120mm Case Fan x 11
 * 3) Rosewill RFA-120-BL 120mm Case Fan x 6
 * 4) Sunbeam Rheobus Extreme Fan Controller
 * 5) COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus 460W Power Supply
 * 6) Arduino Uno
 * 7) Power 32 Brushless Outrunner Motor
 * 8) 60-Amp Pro ESC
 * 9) 11.1V Tenergy 2100mAh LIPO Battery Pack
 * 10) Hacker Brushless A10-13L
 * 11) Thunderbird-9 Brushless Speed Controller

Software List

 * Arduino Programming Software

 * Programs

Time

 * Time Spent on Research: 6:30

 * Time Spent on Testing Fans and Power Supply: 1:30

 * Time Spent on Arduino Programming: 3:00

 * Time Spent on Testing ESC and R/C Servo Set 1: 4:30

 * Time Spent on Testing ESC and R/C Servo Set 2: 2:00

 * Total Time: 17:30 (hours:minutes)

Tutorials
For information on Arduino software, hardware, sketches, and installation instructions, everything one needs is at Arduino.cc.

Wiring the ESC to the arduino board is fairly straightforward. Looking at the 3-pin connector coming from the ESC, one wire is the ground (most likely black or brown in color), one is for voltage (most likely the red wire), and the third is for the control signal that will allow the arduino to send commands to the ESC (most likely orange or some other color other than red or black/brown). The ground wire needs to be connected to the GND on the digital side of the board and the control wire to whichever digital pin is being used in the sketch.

Next Steps
With the smaller R/C servo and ESC working with the Arduino now, a small scale wind tunnel may be built to test different designs in order to maximize airflow, wind speed, or to accommodate different measuring instruments.


text:
User:Rhorton4549/enes100/Wind Tunnel

Link to project Wizard Jr team page.

Give instructor top 3 project choice list
Provided instructor with my top three choices for next project which where Wind Tunnel, Helicopter, and HAM. While I was initially going to stay with HAM as I was the only person who wanted to do the Wind Tunnel, I made the decision and approached the instructor to work on the Wind Tunnel project by myself.

Write problem statement
Design the basic layout and decide what instruments need to be included in the final build of the Wind Tunnel.

Assign Task1
Research wind tunnel design and what they are designed to help test for. Determine if case fans and power supply will be sufficient for project.

Compare actual work done to Task1
Tested a 460W power supply to see if it functioned properly and to learn how to have it power on without the need for a computer. In addition, I also tested 14 case fans to see if they were functional and to test their stress on the power supply.

Week1 Narrative
To use a power supply without a PC, you need to bridge the ATX power connector using either a paper clip or there are cheap power supply starters that are safer that do the same job.

Photos detailing using the paperclip method:

Testing the power supply.

Testing the Fans
Testing the Scythe fans.

Testing the Rosewill fans.

Wind Tunnel Design Research
I conducted a web search using Google with the terms: Wind Tunnel Build Guide. 3.21 million results popped up but only some of them promising. One of the first was the NASA site for the Glenn Research Center. The actual site that was in the Google search was for Build Your Own Wind Tunnel. This has links to both web pages and PDFs detailing various designs, for K-12 students, of different tunnels with differing size and applications.

The next promising site was to MakeProjects.com which had a complete guide to a small scale wind tunnel using only a household fan for the wind. The last options looked at was from ScienceBuddies.org which had a design closer to the full-scale model that this project is pushing towards. This one is broken down into sections focusing on the main parts of a wind tunnel. I will be reviewing these at a later date to better understand their design and which may best assist me in design and construction.

Assign Task2
Locate and install Arduino programming software and try to control the speed of a fan via voltage control.

Compare actual work done to Task2
Web search for "control fan with Arudino", "fan speed control with Arduino", "Arudino Uno RPM monitor", and other variations found results that required complicated wiring or were designed for more than what I was seeking. Mr. Foerster suggested new search parameter: pwm esc arduino. First search result provided best possible solutions to controlling RC motor.

Week2 Narrative
I took home an Arduino Uno and a RC servo w/ propeller that Mr. Foerster says is a highly coveted item by many other project groups so I am extremely luck/fortunate to be given it for the project. A web search based on the servo type, Power 32 Motor, found the product page which contained information about necessary voltage and current for operation. This servo requires at minimum, 2.40A @ 10V for idling with a continuous current of 42A w/ a max burst of 60A for normal operation. There is nothing in the engineering lab that can provide that much current and after sorting throug h the assortment of power bricks in the back there was only a few that provided over 1.5A and only one that I found that could do 2A @ 12V.

Connected to the RC servo is a 60-Amp Pro Switch-Mode BEC Brushless ESC. ESC stands for Electronic Speed Control which has a power connector and a 3-pin connector coming from it that would in a model aircraft lead to electronics that receive directions from a remote control.

To control the RC servo, I was given a Arduino UNO. Having no idea how to use an Arduino, I did a web search for Arduino Uno and ended up at Arduino.cc which appears to be the main hub for everything Arduino with drivers, programming applications, example sketches, and forums. I downloaded the current software version, 0022, installed the sketch software and went through a short process to install the drivers.

Driver Installation
To install drivers for the Arduino UNO required first connecting the board to my PC via USB which resulted in a popup message saying that my PC was installing drivers. This however, resulted in failure as Windows could not locate drivers for the Arduino. Apparently older models like the Arduino Duemilanove were supported in Windows with drivers easily found and loaded. After this failed installation, I went to the control panel, then clicked on System & Security, then System, and finally Device Manager. The Arduino was listed under "Other Devices" with a yellow caution symbol next to the device name. I chose to update the driver, and select the driver from one on my PC instead of letting Windows search for one. The drivers installed without issue other than the warning that Windows could not verify the source of these drivers. After installation, the board was recognized and was visible in the Arduino programming software.

Week2 Peer Review
Go to each team mates weekly summary wiki page. Read their activities and narrative. Then go the associated discussion page. Say something positive on this page. Try some constructive criticism. Add your name and a signature ~ by entering four tildes in a row to create a time and date stamp. Create a new category if another team mate has already commented here.

Assign Task3
Attempt to control the R/C servo via Arduino with the Servo library in the Arduino programming language.

Compare actual work done to Task3
R/C servos can not be controlled via PWM, Pulse-width modulation, like computer case fans. Instead, it is a servo that uses PPM, Pulse-position modulation. The servo library must be used and web searches for pwm esc arduino come up with several possibilities for programming code. Connecting the ESC(Electronic Speed Control) to the Arduino Uno requires connecting the 3-pin connector coming from the ESC to a GND pin and Pin 9 on the board. This was difficult in that the wires connecting to the 3-pin do not have any indication as to what they do. One wire provides power, another ground, and the third should be for the control signal.

ESC 3-pin Connector

To provide power to the ESC and thus the R/C servo, this power supply was used. It's specifications do not match up with those of the servo but provided enough to get the ESC to respond.

Possible GND and Control Wire Connection: Connection

Running some of the programs listed on this page produced no results which may have been the result of lack of power or incorrect connection to the ESC or the Arduino.

Week3 Narrative
Class was missed on Monday.

With the lack of results from the work over the weekend, the battery was found that is compatible with the ESC and R/C servo to use as the power source and the code used by a previous group was given to use as a basis. This code was used successfully to control multiple ESCs and video showed this in action. The project folder was copied to an external hard disk for examination later and hopefully, incorporation into the current project.

Assign Task4
Examine the code used by previous groups and use and/or modify it to work with the R/C servo and ESC.

Compare actual work done to Task4
I examined the code that was developed by a previous group that used multiple ESCs and servos. There were six different sets of code for different scenarios. The ones that I focused on were esc and esc_easy. esc_easy was focused on finding the pulse width for the ESC. Since the ESC used in the project is based on PPM (Pulse-Position Modulation) versus the PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation) pins used on the Arduino Uno, the code was designed to interpret the signals from the ESC and translate them into a pulse width that could be later used to control the ESC and thus the servo.

The code was loaded into the Arduino software and compiled to verify there were no problems then loaded onto the Arduino Uno board. At this time, the board was wired to the ESC with two connections. One was a black wire connecting the GND on the digital side of the Uno to the GND wire coming from the ESC. The second wire connected to pin 9 on the board to the control wire on the ESC. After pressing the reset button on the board, the serial monitor on the computer was waiting for an input speed. In entered the value 65, the system started, and set a signal to the ESC to set the speed at 65. The ESC responded saying that it has instead set the speed at 53 but the servo did not respond at all. This was repeated for both lower and higher values with responses saying that the speed was set from 0 all the way to 56. While there seemed to be communication with the ESC, something was not translating that information to the servo and making it move.

The only time the servo appeared to move at all was when the power source, a battery that was compatible with both the servo and ESC, was connected. This resulted in both a long beep from the ESC followed by three short beeps, but also the servo twitching three times.

Week4 Narrative

After the failures of getting the initial ESC and motor combo to function with Arduino, I brought this to Mr. Foerster explaining the difficulty I was having with getting the software and hardware to work together. After coming to the hypothesis that it could be a hardware issue as there was information being relayed between the ESC and the computer but not getting to the servo, I was given a different ESC and brushless motor. The power requirements for this combo is much more modest versus the previous one and can run off the power brick I was initially going to use.

The ESC used for this combination does not have plugs that would allow an easy connection between it and the motor as in the previous combination. Instead, it was suggested that I use butt splicers that allowed me to insert one ESC cable into one end of the splicer and the motor end into the other. While the motor side was snug and did not come out easily, the ESC wires were too small in diameter to stay in. Using a set of pliers, I flattened the end with the ESC connector to the point that the cable could not be removed. While intending to test this configuration on Monday or Tuesday, I forgot the Arduino Uno and necessary cables in my rush to leave and had to wait until Wednesday to retrieve them.

Wednesday night, after retrieving the Arduino Uno board and three wires, I proceeded to wire the ESC to the Arduino and spliced the power wires from the power brick to the power wires coming from the ESC. In order to verify that the power leads were connected correctly, the power brick was plugged in and if the light on the brick remained a steady green, then the connection was correct. Had the light blinked faintly green, then the connections were reversed and this was the case initially, requiring me to unplug the brick and switch the connections. After this correction, I opened the Arduino software and loaded up the esc_easy program which was designed to simply find the pulse width necessary to operate the ESC and thus the servo. The program was loaded onto the board and then the serial monitor was opened. Under the original settings, entering a value resulted in no immediate response. However, after adjusting one of the parameter variables to a lower value of 30, loading the program onto the board, and opening the serial monitor again and entering a value, the motor immediately started up almost scaring the crap out of me as there had been no response from previous tests including the first combination. Here are two videos of the successful tests.

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title: User:Rhorton4549/enes100/Wind Tunnel


text:
Tectonic hazards/Seismic load

Seismic load is one of the basic concepts of earthquake engineering which means application of an earthquake-generated agitation to a building structure. It happens at contact surfaces of a structure either with the ground, see The Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering Portal, or with adjacent structures, see Seismic Pounding between Adjacent Building Structures, or with gravity waves from tsunami, see Tsunami wave propagation.

Seismic load depends, primarily, on:

 * Anticipated earthquake’s parameters at the site
 * Geotechnical parameters of the site
 * Structure’s parameters
 * Characteristics of the anticipated gravity waves from tsunami (if applicable).

Sometimes, seismic load exceeds ability of a structure to resist it without being broken, partially or completely. Due to their mutual interaction, seismic loading and seismic performance of a structure are intimately related.

title: Tectonic hazards/Seismic load


text:
Talk:Pakistan

More changes have made for me. Thanks --Mohamed Aden Ighe 01:37, 13 October 2011 (UTC)

title: Talk:Pakistan