• The suspense is at its peak...

    oabdourrahmane • 05/27/2025 at 09:22 • 0 comments

    The team, under pressure, is mobilizing its final resources to complete the excavator at all costs. In a race against time, every minute counts: the assembly of the cab is finally complete, the final tests of the Arduino code are underway, the wheels are mounted, and a few gears have been hastily added to ensure a minimum level of mechanical functionality. We’re structuring, adjusting, re-testing… sometimes successfully, often with surprises.

    And then, in the final seconds almost like in a movie the project works.

    Granted, it’s not exactly the result we expected, nor the one we dreamed of at the beginning of the project. Unfortunately, we had to skip several elements due to lack of time, resources, or technical issues. The excavator is not yet mobile, and the arm, which was supposed to have three joints, only has one or two functional ones. Several parts had to be simplified or replaced with makeshift solutions, and the full 3D printing process couldn't be completed.

    Still, this project has taught us discipline, adaptability, time management, but above all, that in any technical project, a flawed but functional prototype is far better than a perfect dream never built.

    And who knows… this prototype might just be the beginning. We still have the ambition to finish it entirely in the near future.

  • Error Sending...

    oabdourrahmane • 05/26/2025 at 11:12 • 0 comments

    We just forgot to send this picture of the last session. 

  • What if...

    oabdourrahmane • 05/26/2025 at 11:06 • 0 comments

    What if… it is possible? Just when we thought time had run out, a twist of fate gave us a second chance: two more weeks to complete our tiny excavator with one of those weeks taken up by final exams. It’s a narrow window, but this time, we believe in it more than ever. Hope is back on the table.

    During this latest session, we made some important strides. We began the Arduino wiring, laying the foundation for the robot's control system. We also started cutting structural parts out of wood, adapting our design to better suit the materials we had on hand. And perhaps most importantly, we began designing the wheels, aiming for a balance between functionality and stability.

    Yet, let’s be honest  there’s still a lot of work ahead. Many components remain to be assembled, fine-tuned, and tested. The 3D-printed parts are still partially unfinished, the wiring needs to be finalized, and the mechanical integration of motors and servos requires careful attention.

    But despite the pressure, the time crunch, and the looming exams, we’ve seen a shift: the project is no longer stuck. It's moving forward, piece by piece. It’s no longer about catching up, it's about believing it’s still possible.

    So yes, we’re late, but we haven’t given up.

    This time, we truly believe we’ll finish the project you’ve all been waiting for.

  • It's not over

    oabdourrahmane • 05/12/2025 at 09:17 • 0 comments

    The project updates are as follows : 

    The theoretical part:

    We wrote detailed documentation on Hackaday

    We made a clear list of requirements (goals, components, steps, constraints)

    We understood and organized the Arduino code

    We started 3D modeling in Fusion 360, working on the three articulated arms

    At one point, we had a tiny bit of hope that we could finish the whole thing on time – we got hyped, thinking it might even be the best project in the class.
    But since we wanted to do everything ourselves, we discovered that almost every part we designed had some kind of issue: too thin, not fitting the servos, unstable, or just not printable.
    3D modeling, which we thought would be pretty straightforward, turned out to be way more complicated – especially when trying to assemble moving mechanical parts.

    So we looked for alternatives, checked out 3D models online, and watched a bunch of tutorials.
    And then… we realized most realistic models had over a hundred parts – with gears, axis systems, wedges, ball joint supports…
    Way too complex for our already packed schedule.

    So we made a strategic decision: only keep the main parts needed to simulate the basic functions (mobile base, articulated arm, rotating cabin), and leave out the so-called “secondary” parts.
    This helped us focus on the essentials, but it also had a downside: the project won’t be finished in time for the original deadline.

    Still, we learned a ton, and the adventure isn’t over. The project is still going, and we’re planning to finish it soon – after exams, when we finally have time again.

    Moral of the story:
    Building an articulated excavator isn’t just a small DIY thing… but it’s super exciting.

  • Time is money...

    oabdourrahmane • 05/12/2025 at 09:13 • 0 comments

    Alright. We won’t lie to you: we caught a case of time kleptomania. 
    Yes, that weird condition that stole two whole weeks from us before we even realized we only had two left to build a full excavator. 😅
    But giving up was not an option (even if, honestly, we kinda wished our arms were already 3D printed).
    We rolled up our sleeves and got serious about the heart of the project.

    The project really picked up speed in the last two weeks, with strong involvement from the whole team.
    Even with last-minute constraints and exams coming up, we held several meetings on Discord, shared our progress in video calls, and worked in parallel on both the 3D modeling and the code.
    We set up a good coordination system, which should allow us to finish the project quickly once exams are over. 

    However, we leave you with the 3d modelling of the excavator and keep you informed of the progress of the project.


  • 22/04 sequence

    oabdourrahmane • 04/29/2025 at 09:34 • 0 comments

    during the session we make the code of the 4 motors. We have 4 different codes: 3 for excavator's arms and 1 for wheels. We also have detailed the technical composant and their needs. We choose to modelize the wheel and its caterpillar on Fusion. The cabine will be on cardboard and we still don't know for the arms.

  • Second session

    oabdourrahmane • 04/01/2025 at 10:43 • 0 comments

    Today We are supposed to make the cardmodel of the Tiny-Excavator, it's an important part because thank to this part we can see if our sketches measures are realistics and in adequacy with our hopes for the project and more generally we can see the failure of our projects hopes and our sketch. Today we started the cabin's carboard

  • The images

    oabdourrahmane • 04/01/2025 at 10:40 • 0 comments

    I Have forgot to pu the picures :

    the sketches :

    the plans :

  • First seance

    oabdourrahmane • 03/04/2025 at 10:01 • 0 comments

    We get the idea to make an excavator.

    We realised the achievable goals and advanced goals that we want to reach. We wrote step by step  specifications of our project. 

    We have make a first sketch that modelize the pieces movment and an other sketch with more details about each pieces of the excacator and the dimesnions. 

    For the next session we will make the cardboard model and modify the sketch if we need.

    Here are the pictures: