This week, the team ordered and received the first batch of components to test on! With some of the parts that came in, we conducted some basic initial tests, including assembling a key subsystem to validate its geometry and ease of assembly.  

We also continued to develop plans for testing various crucial aspects of our concept. Specifically, we worked on developing solid quantitative metrics from the tests we needed to collect, to validate parts initially chosen and give us valuable information of steps to take moving forward.  We met with several professors and conducted more research on possible routes to take with this. 

The team also came to a decision on a design for a test bench, with plans to assemble it next week! 

This week, the team finally began to get our hands dirty! After official PDR approval from our faculty coaches and liaisons and reflecting on the experience, we consolidated initial test plans for concept subcomponents and prepared to execute them. We prepared our first test materials on the lathe from a sample provided by the liaisons, with the help of UF’s prototyping manager, Jeff Bielling. We made a list of materials needed for testing, determined what was already available to us in the UF labs, and submitted our first purchase order for the remaining items to begin destructive testing next week!

This week, the team finalized and submitted our PDR report and presentation. We had the opportunity to travel to the NextEra Energy site in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, where we gave our PDR presentation and met our liaisons in person. We gained valuable feedback from them and other staff engineers, as well as approval for the project to move forward.  

Additionally, the team completed an initial 3D printing model to verify critical dimensions of the working area that our product will interact with. This model will be instrumental in the coming weeks in the development of a test bench that will be used in initial testing and prototyping. 

This week, the team had the opportunity to participate in a Preliminary Design Review (PDR) peer review with other teams from IPPD, where we presented our PDR presentation and received constructive feedback. We also began torque and force calculations to further define our specifications and help choose subcomponents of our concept design.  

During our weekly liaison meeting, we also had the opportunity to meet with turbine technicians, gaining more insight into current processes conducted at NextEra and their difficulties.  

While this week’s Hurricane Milton brought class cancellations and chaos to everyone’s schedules, the team was still able to make notable progress on our project and began finalizing the logistics regarding our PDR presentation in Palm Beach Gardens next week!  

This week, our team made significant strides in developing a design concept. After thoroughly exploring various options based on individual background research, we were able to narrow down key design elements to align with the main objectives of the project. We then had the opportunity to present our concept generation slides to our liaison engineers, who responded positively, offering constructive feedback and reinforcing confidence that we are on the right track.  With this solid foundation in place, we have now transitioned to refining our initial draft of our Preliminary Design Review (PDR) report in preparation for presentations in the coming weeks.  

In IPPD this week, the team also had the opportunity to gain new insights into ideation techniques with UF’s own Dr. Elif Akçali at a divergent thinking workshop! 

After getting it checked by our liaisons and with multiple revisions suggested by the IPPD community, our team’s name and logo are officially confirmed. We are now NeXtract!

Unfortunately some of the team’s activities were cut short due to Hurricane Helene causing a campus closure. However, we still managed to put a lot of work into concept generation for all aspects of the tool. Each team member took a different area and began creating ideas using the specifications that we finalized during our meeting this week. By the end of next week, our concept choices should be narrowed down to the best of the best. This week the team also put together our elevator pitch after a workshop by UF professor Dr. Lawrence Tinker.

This week the team took a deep dive into the requirements of the project and began developing some specifications to meet those requirements. After having our first draft reviewed by our coaches, we realized that most of our specifications did not have metrics or were not relevant to the project. So, in our weekly team meeting we talked through how to improve our specifications to make them measurable, relevant, and realistic. We also came up with a preliminary project roadmap so every group member knows what they need to do and when they need to do it by. Additionally, we also started compiling each individual team member’s background research into collective group knowledge, so we can all have a common basis to start generating concepts.

This week the team was able to meet with our liaison engineers for the first time! We learned about their positions at NextEra Energy and were able to get more information about the current situation. Prior to the meeting, the team spent time reviewing our scope of work and formulated questions to get more specific information to solve the problem. We also did some research into current bolt extraction methods and created some possible ideas. Using the knowledge gained from the meeting, we are excited to refine these ideas into a more substantial concept. The team also got together again for individual headshots and a group photo.

Hello everyone! This team will be working with NextEra Energy to design and prototype a tool to remove broken fasteners from the bolted connections of wind turbine blades. This week, the team got to introduce ourselves (you can meet us here) to each other and to the coaches, professors Edward Latorre and Lawrence Warren. We discussed our scope of work, created a plan for meeting with our company liaisons Drake Viscome and Estafania Rosso next week, and drafted our first memo. We also came up with a preliminary team name and logo concept and drafted a team charter. We are excited to begin diving into the project and furthering our learning as developing professional engineers.

Image source: NextEra Energy Website: https://www.nexteraenergy.com/about-us/work.html