WEEK EIGHT
We finalized the building of the circuit using the Arduino Uno kits. We also started the building the inner side of the box which is the electrical component of the box. We ordered gas tanks and incorporated it into the box. The gas tanks will be will be filled by using a bicycle pump or a compressor. For testing we made use of the bicycle pump but we are also considering using a compressor. We used rubber tubes to connect the gas tanks to the solenoids to allow good efficient flow of air throughout the system.
The tubes will serve as a channel to link the solenoids to the linear actuators, causing air from the tanks to be discharged into the linear actuators. Once enough pressure goes into the linear actuators, they increase in length simultaneously. Keep in mind that the big linear actuators are attached to the skeletal frame because they have a greater increase in length compared to the small linear actuator. The small linear actuator is connected to the top slab of the box in order to open and close the lid of the box. A pressure gauge was added to the air flow system in order to help us know and regulate the amount of gas present in the tanks at an instant.
Furthermore, we added the led strip to the outer side of the box but it has not been tested. The LED strips will create a spookier feeling when the box when it is sent a signal from the micro-controller which happens to be the Arduino Uno in our project.
Technical challenges:
On our initial attempts to pressurize the tanks, we discovered that the pressure kept reducing anytime we stopped pumping air into the tanks. This implies that the air was leaking from some unknown place. So, we pressurized it multiple times to find out the exact leakage point but we could not. For this reason, we knew they could be leaking from the conjunction points (the screws and other attachment). So, we added teflon to the threads of the screws entering the solenoids, gas tanks and gauge. Once we did this, the leakage stopped.
The video above shows the point where we discovered the leakage while attempting to pressurize the tanks. The gauge kept reflecting backwards anytime we stopped pumping while it was supposed to stay still.
Testing process:
The tubes will serve as a channel to link the solenoids to the linear actuators, causing air from the tanks to be discharged into the linear actuators. Once enough pressure goes into the linear actuators, they increase in length simultaneously. Keep in mind that the big linear actuators are attached to the skeletal frame because they have a greater increase in length compared to the small linear actuator. The small linear actuator is connected to the top slab of the box in order to open and close the lid of the box. A pressure gauge was added to the air flow system in order to help us know and regulate the amount of gas present in the tanks at an instant.
Furthermore, we added the led strip to the outer side of the box but it has not been tested. The LED strips will create a spookier feeling when the box when it is sent a signal from the micro-controller which happens to be the Arduino Uno in our project.
Technical challenges:
On our initial attempts to pressurize the tanks, we discovered that the pressure kept reducing anytime we stopped pumping air into the tanks. This implies that the air was leaking from some unknown place. So, we pressurized it multiple times to find out the exact leakage point but we could not. For this reason, we knew they could be leaking from the conjunction points (the screws and other attachment). So, we added teflon to the threads of the screws entering the solenoids, gas tanks and gauge. Once we did this, the leakage stopped.
Figure 1: Inner side of the box.
Figure 2: Skeletal body
Figure 3: The Pressure Gauge
Figure 4: Gas tanks
Figure 5: Unconnected Linear actuators
Figure 6: Micro-controller
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