Howling Success

Arm quadruped assembly

This week the Addtronics team has been hard at work updating parts and features. The new end effector adapter bracket and revised end effector have been installed and tested with a 100% success rate! he new end effector adapter bracket is a modified off the shelf part made of aluminum in order to provide greater strength and support when lifting the lid. The end effector was revised in order to be compatible with the new adapter and was made thicker to handle the weight of the lid better. Additionally, limit switches have been implemented in order to update the systems operations and GUI design. The GUI now displays commands to automatically stow and deploy the arm which have been fully implemented. The arm reaches completes the stow command by fully retracting the linear actuator and rotating the arm back fully without crushing the electronics box lid. The limit switch detects when the arm has made it to this position and establishes that the command has been completed. Deploy works in the opposite manner where the arm rotates forward until the end effector makes contact with the base of the transformer pad. A sensor indicates when contact has been made and the arm is then instructed to stop rotating.

Moving forward the Addtronics team will continue to refine and condense parts as well as simplify the operational commands of the system. This will allow for easier assembly, installation, and control of the system. Additionally, the team will continue to work on the Final Design Report (FDR) as well as the accompanying presentation, poster, and video to fully explain the functioning system in a way where it could be implemented and modified by anyone.

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