Assemble it Once, then do it Again
Assembly is where you realize that all the parts you thought would fit together try really hard but then decide they don't have it in them. I'm largely referring to the chain joining the two sprockets and leads-crews. I am infinitely grateful to my past self for having the forethought to order 3 feet of chain instead of exactly what I needed. I'm also grateful YouTube has tutorials on how to connect and change the length of chains. I quickly discovered the tower has to be assembled in a very specific order or you have to backtrack a few steps. Faye tried to take an assembly video which ended up riddled with 'And I messed up so we're just gonna pretend that didn't happen and I'll go back a few steps'.
Adjustments included 3D printing a mounting bracket for the elevator motor and adjusting the holes in the elevator shaft walls for mounting. The elevator shaft walls also required a widened hole at the bottom to compensate for a dowel that was needed to increase the tension of the chain so that it wouldn't catch. The elevator platform nut screw holes had to be countersunk because it slipped my mind that screws had heads that would cause the platform to not reach its full height in the elevator shaft. The final assembled prototype was much more sturdy then I expected so it looks like I did something right!
After a week of tinkering I had enough feedback from Amanda and Faye to laser cut the final covers using purple 3mm acrylic. Unfortunately, this was also the time of term when the 2A Mechatronics class needs to lasercut and build their bridges so Watimake was a zoo. I also cut some extra holes for wiring, recut a smaller version of the vacuum head, and altered the Pi platform to have legs, Pi mounting holes, and space for wiring underneath.
The acrylic was thick enough that countersinking could be done. I did this by hand to ensure that the cards did not catch on screws when moving inside the shaft or on the leadscrew covers. It assembled just as planned (with some light sanding) and looks really snazzy with the new purple walls! Sadly during transport one of the parts snapped, but it was minor enough that it could be fixed quite convincingly. The mechanical also seemed to behave during our demo so I am very happy with how it turned out!
Notes for what needed to be done
Cutting the chain to size
It doesn't quite fit...
But with a dowel it does!
And the final assembled prototype
Starting the cut of final pieces
They're quite pretty in purple
Some final 3D printed pieces
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