Building MCM

This past week we began work on our most critical module. Friday, 11/20, we had to show three parts to our GSI. These parts were manufactured using methods such as drilling, grinding, welding, and cutting. The few pieces we had made along with others we are working will be assembled to make our most critical module.
Our most critical module is the arm and the extension mechanism to lower down into the arena. During the manufacturing process, a guide arm and sliding arm were cut to length. Using tig welding, the guide nuts were attached to the arm mechanism. We had to purchase a plastic tube from Home Depot to use as a guide for the threaded rod, which cost about $1.38.
The assembly for our most critical module will be coupled with a motor. The entire casing for the gears at the top of the arena will be made to be able to rotate about an axis for our other module.

We are all very excited about putting our plan into action. We can see it coming together. Ahead there will be challenges, for example the design of the rotation mechanism, but this excites us. We are learning so much from the design and manufacturing process and have had to make continuous adjustments. I'm glad we are through the dry stuff in the class and got to move on to hands-on work.