3D Printing First Prototype

Returning to work on the project was primarily an attempt at producing the solution developed during MTE481. The design is shown in the below figure. The difficulty of producing this prototype is its size which increases printing time and requires it to be separated into multiple pieces.

The outer shell is approximately 170mm tall and inscribed within a 308mm diameter circle. This is significantly larger in the x-y plane than the 3D printer allows (220mm x 220mm). Two finished prints are shown in the figure below. Note the mismatch between wall thickness due to the printer not printing perfectly perpendicular to the build plate.

Additionally, these prints took about 30hrs each. Evidently a redesign is needed to shorten manufacturing time to allow revisions. This will also increase the total print area of the robot allowing a smaller demo board to be used. These revisions should primarily focus on reorienting the motors and spray can which will affect the control model of the robot. The current CAD model at the end of this week is shown in the figure below.