Amidst a torrent of schoolwork, waiting for supplies to arrive, and gearing up for a national robotics championship, it was a slow week in Grazer world.
I have a craving for something tangible. Working on the computer is constrained, and difficult. Honestly, computer aided design work is probably my least favorite thing about this project, as it can be really frustrating given that my computer fits just the minimum requirements for Fusion 360. But enough complaining, I really just need to put the metal to the grindstone and forge ahead in the creative process.
In the mean time, I was waiting a week or so for parts to arrive, the primary components for the entirety of the Grazer.
Pictured: 1/2 inch aluminum tubing (left) and 3/8 inch keystock (right).
As soon as the materials arrived I was eager to see how the joint designs from last week would mill on the CNC machine, but all I had time for was to get the piece of stock in the jaws of the vice.
This really does take a good amount of time and consideration, making sure that the ends of the piece are flat and level, and that there is enough material sticking out to mill the entire feature. Another consideration to take into account will be using an endmill (bit) small enough to carve out the tiny features of the part. The endmill pictured above will definitely be too large…
In related news, I’ll be taking off (with a bus) this Tuesday (4/21) for St. Louis, Missouri for the First Robotics National Championships. In the same stadium where the St. Louis Rams there will be over 600 robots that can stack boxes on top of each other and then put a trashcan on top. Sounds kind of mundane but it’s been an awesome build season, I’m stoked to put a capstone on it!
First:
Independent Seminar Blog 