Alexander Hoganson at Thursday, June 9, 2016 3:53:46 PM

Mr. D.C.

Attached please find about 2/3 of our final paper. It will be done by around 9:00 tonight at the latest.

Thanks for your time and consideration

Posted by Alexander Hoganson at Thursday, June 9, 2016 9:04:12 AM

Attached find the final poster. PLEASE NOTE this is not the actual final poster! As soon as the linear actuators can go up and down, I am going to take a better picture with an image that actually looks good.

Other than that, it's done.

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Alexander Hoganson at Thursday, February 4, 2016 10:38:30 AM

During this week we finished re-constructing the Y axis. The fourth iteration of the bottom wheel attacher works, and holds the wheels in place. We are reasonably confident that the stronger ABS plastic won't break. We also started thinking of concepts for the pen holder, and plan to use springs and a linear actuator to keep the pen perpetually in contact with the whiteboard.

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Posted by Alexander Hoganson at Thursday, January 14, 2016 11:34:34 AM

During weeks six through twelve, a lot of work was completed on our project. First, and most importantly, we finished CADding THE PART. It worked perfectly on the first print, as was to be expected from a masterpiece of design. It fulfills its function of holding the Y axis up, attaching it to three Vex wheels, and has a gripper that attaches the belt firmly in place. The piece fit smoothly together with everything on the first try, and once we screwed screws in, holds all components firmly in place. Then, we moved on to designing a bottom wheel holder. Unfortunately, this took us significantly more iterations to satisfactorily complete. The bottom wheel holder has space for an axle, and holds two wheels that help support and align the y axis. We finished this part last week, but unforseen stresses caused it to break. By printing again with Ultron, the sturdier piece will be able to support the weight we need it to. Finally, we built a guide rail for the top wheels, keeping THE PART aligned in the center of the track at all times. We decided to use a counterweight system on the Y axis that will help balance the weight of our marker-holder. Once the belts are tensioned and power directed to the stepper motors, the project should be able to move in two dimensions.

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Alexander Hoganson at Thursday, November 12, 2015 10:06:38 AM

Week Five: Someone broke a part that we had finished and installed. We printed it again on better plastic (we will see how it works) and re-installed it.

Week Six: Tapped the axle that we constructed using the lathe and installed a set screw. Acquired 3 bushings from Mr. P. Installed the set screw and connected the stepper to the axle. After filing and lubing, we will begin construction on The Part to hold the stepper motor in place. Also presented the project proposal.

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Alexander Hoganson at Monday, October 26, 2015 8:55:48 AM

Happy homecoming week! In addition to constructing a bobsled, which was awesome and should have won first place if not for the fact that we have an inept student coucil, we also completed construction this week on the horizontal axis. By drilling a hole through the gear, and affixing the plastic with a screw, we have stopped slippage by the belt. We filed down one side of the plastic and the belt no longer slips or catches at all. Movement is smooth, and we moved on to begin designing components for the vertical axis. We also completed and submitted the project proposal.

This journal was written for 10/22/15

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Alexander Hoganson at Thursday, October 15, 2015 10:03:44 AM

Short week this week. We tried again to put the guards on the pulleys, the rear ones stayed on but the important front ones fell off. Next class we plan to drill holes to fit screws. This problem is an irritance that needs to be fixed ASAP so real work can begin.

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Posted by Alexander Hoganson at Thursday, October 1, 2015 9:58:18 AM

During Week Two, we received toothed timing pulleys, and timing belts. We designed a guard for the pulleys to prevent the belts from sliding, as during pulley testing we noticed this was a problem. We have decided that the non-driving gear will be free spinning. As soon as the guards are in place and secure, we will begin designing the Y-Axis modifier. This step will be critically important.

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Posted by Alexander Hoganson at Thursday, September 24, 2015 10:10:11 AM

The Etch-A-Whiteboard project is well underway.

So far, we have put in a purchase order form for belts and pulleys, connected a raspberry pi to a monitor (for testing purposes) and completed data overview sheets on H-bridge stepper connectors. We have decided on a general order for our various electronics: 3 units: joystick to hub, steppers to h-bridges to hub, tv to hub. Hub contains raspberry pi, h-bridges, batteries. As soon as the pulleys and belts come in, we will begin to work on making the horizontal axis have movement. Once this is completed, we can work on measuring and formatting the y axis. Once that is done, we can begin connecting electronics.

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Posted by Alexander Hoganson at Sunday, September 13, 2015 8:00:07 AM

The Problem:

In our modern world, we have started to lose touch with reality. The Etch-A-Whiteboard seeks to bring drawings, concept art, and photos back into the real world on a large scale, fulfilling a void in people’s daily lives.

Background:

The Etch-A-Whiteboard works on the same principle as a 3-D printer, only in two axes of motion. Given a set of coordinates, the Etch-A-Whiteboard will be able to do vector calculations and move the die (dry-erase marker) to any point on the board. This will enable the device to draw any imaginable shape with the precision of a computer.

Significance:

In addition to exploring advanced construction and assembly challenges, as well as stepper motor applications, the Etch-A-Whiteboard will utilize advanced edge detection and line tracing algorithims to allow it to reproduce images. The Etch-A-Whiteboard will also push the frontiers of large-scale electromechanical image production.

Current Research:

The Etch-A-Whiteboard is a fairly unique project. Little research has been done regarding this specific application of technology. For this reason, Etch-A-Whiteboard is patent-pending-pending. However, research has been done on several distinct system aspects of the device.

The Etch-A-Whiteboard uses the theory behind the X-Y motion of a 3-D printer to move the marker. 3-D printers are, of course, a well-established technology with years of research behind them. Using already discovered techniques from 3-D printer construction will help to build an accurate, high-precision machine.

Image recognition, edge detection, and line tracing are all well-known computer sciences. Although still difficult to perform reliably, previous research on this subject will be used to help generate competent algorithms.

Application Potential:

The Etch-A-Whiteboard may seem like a frivolous piece of technology. However, it actually has a variety of very useful applications. Its potential applications stem from its ability to perform large-scale drawings with the precision of a computer program. Potential uses include:

-Teaching assistance for large-scale, high precision diagrams, in engineering or biology class, for example

-Production of high quality posters (put up a sheet of paper, write, remove, repeat)

- Stress reduction through technologically assisted drawing

-Full-scale prototype drawings

-Accurate, removable templates for cutting, tracing, etc.

Objectives:

To create a large, mobile whiteboard that can be drawn on using one of three methods: input given by a joystick or other form of controller, text-based input, or image based input.

Sources of Support:

Support from this project would come from parents in terms of funding, Mr. D.C. in terms of help, and other labs in terms of advice and assistance.