Sunday, April 24, 2016

Spring Semester Update!

This spring semester has been going by so quickly. We have a few more weeks left until Maker Faire and we are close to being done. As a reminder, as part of the cabin team, we will be fabricating a quarter scale and a half scale for Maker Faire. Here is an update on our progress so far.

Figure 1: CAD model of the cabin
Quarter Scale Model
The quarter scale is about 80% fabricated. The actual shell that is made out of wood is about 90% done and needs a little more sanding and lastly, paint. The door mechanism is designed but also needs to be fabricated. The interior is not yet started and it will all be done by 3D printing the components.

Intermediate Scale Model (Half Scale)
Currently, the side panels of the intermediate scale are being worked on. We will be completing this model in the next week or so since this model will not have an interior and will solely be only the exterior. Every part of the model is pretty mush done. All that is left is gluing and screwing everything together. Once all the pieces are together, it is time to paint. We have yet to decide what colors we want for the cabin.

Monday, October 5, 2015

Progress Summary [9/23 - 10/5]

Wednesday September 23, 2015
As part of the cabin team, we started working on the full scale model that was previously made by the international team this past summer. We started sanding as well as applying bondo to the imperfections. Ron wanted it to be partially done by the 28th since visitors from Sweden will be here. 

Saturday, September 26, 2015
The cabin team met on a Saturday to finish sanding and painting the cabin. We were able to apply more bondo and then sanded it down a little more. With a new paint gun bought by Ron, we were able to paint the full cabin in less than an hour. Once we fully painted the cabin white, we noticed there were many imperfections we missed. With the paint applied, the imperfections were more noticeable. We applied more bondo to it and applied another coat of paint once the bondo was dried and sanded. We have yet to complete the green and grey color scheme to the full size cabin. 

Wednesday September 30, 2015
The cabin team presented last on this day. After the presentation, Caleb showed the cabin team, Ron, Prof. Furman, and other member of the Superway team the hoist he made. Since he is leaving the following day, he showed us the remaining tasks needed to complete his project. The hoist is to be built in order to raise the full scale model in order to finish the bottom structure of it. The hoist needs to be welded in order to complete the project. 

September 1 - 5, 2015
I managed to get Solidworks on my laptop and so i was doing a little practicing on it. I am more familiar with Creo so Solidworks will be a little challenging for me. 

Monday, September 21, 2015

Work Summary [9/16 - 9/21]

This past week was pretty busy to say the least. I wanted to be more involved so I was able help with the 43rd annual Electric Vehicle Rally at DeAnza College. Although I am part of the cabin team, I wanted to learn a little more about the small scale model and I felt this is a good way to do so.

Friday, 9/18/2015
I was able to meet Bill James, the founder of JPods; it is very similar to the Spartan Superway. He gave us a brief tour of his progress and showed his website. The videos he showed us helped me realize how big this project is and what it could do to the community. He showed us their version of their bogie and cabin. After that, the disassembly team managed to get the small scale running and soon disassembled it and packed it in Kenny's car.

Saturday, 9/19/2015
The disassembly team met at DeAnza College at around 9:00 am to set up the small scale at the Rally. We managed to assemble the track just after the rally started. We were able to get the small scale to run. However, we had problems when the bogie would switch stations. Every time we had the bogie switch to a station, the cabin would get stuck, or it would completely fall off the track. One problem we noticed was the bogie was using a piano wire that was slipping off the servo and this prevented the switching on the bogie. At the end of the day, we stopped showcasing the switch mechanism and we ended up getting an award for student project and received  a volt meter as a prize.

Also, as part of the cabin team, we kept in touch with Caleb to see what days we can start working on the full scale cabin. Once we get things organized, we will start finishing the full scale cabin.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Blog Assignment #2

As being part of the cabin design team, I wanted to find ways to improve the interior, as well as the exterior, of the cabin. With a current design and a full scale model currently in the making, I incorporate some of my ideas that needed improvements. Wheelchair accessibility and bike storage are some of my main requirements in my design. Figure 1 shows a sketch of one side of the cabin with 2 out of the 4 seating. My ideas are similar to the VTA lightrail trains. The interior will include folded chairs that will enable a space for a wheelchair or bikes that will be hung from above. I included some ideas to where the HVAC system can be placed. I also added some ideas for the exterior design which includes a redesign of the current window placements. I feel the current design of the windows will not allow the riders to look directly forward and backwards.  Figure 2 shows an example of a parked cabin with a guided rail system. Looking at past teams and designs, they did not fully incorporate the stations. 

Figure 1 Interior Concept Design

Figure 2 Exterior Concept Design in a with guide rail system 

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Suggested Improvements 9/2-9/9

I am very interested in the design aspect of the cabin, such as the exterior and more importantly the interior. Looking at past interior design from different team, they each had their take on how the interior of the cabin should look like. Looking at their designs, they did not consider adding bike storage to their cabin. Figure 1 shows a rough sketch of what the interior should look like with some bike storage. All four seats will be able to be folded for wheelchairs and for the bike rack. The bikes will also be out of the way from the door in case there is an emergency. Another aspect i would like to further improve on is the station and how it should be easily be accessible by wheelchair. The station floor and station floor should be flushed. 

Figure 1

Summary - September 2, 2015

For this class meeting, we took a tour of the different sub groups that we are able to join. I chose to do the full scale model and hop in improving the cabin. I spoke to one of the mentors to see what is needed to complete the full scale model of the cabin. So far, Rebecca and I are interested in completing this project. We also discussed what we could do to improve the cabin, such as adding a door or adding an interior to the full scale model of the cabin.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Mark Acoba

Mark is currently a senior in the BSME program at San Jose State University. Pursuing a bachelor's of science in mechanical engineering, Mark seeks to develop solutions for everyday problems in the world we live in. With an emphasis in design, he hopes to contribute to the Spartan Superway to help design and improve current work on the PRT (Personal Rapid Transport) system. Mark also enjoys working on cars and playing sports.