Model Plane- 2/14/13

Open and Closed Loop Systems (ex. 1.6)

This picture shows an open and closed loop system. It works by using an input as the variable. The input is based on a light reading from the phototransistor, which ranges from 5000(no light) to 0(max light). The variable tells the system when it should continue based on the reading from the phototransistor. It continues to loop until it has the correct reading.


Conclusion:

1. Another example of an open looped system could be a toaster oven, because it will continue to operate until the time variable reaches the specified limit. It would not benefit from feed back because time is a very specific variable.
2. The mouse on a computer is a closed loop system because it will not act until an input gives it specific feedback on how to react.

Variable Fuctions (ex. 1.5)

Here is an example of a variable function that I made using RoboPro. It works by running through the counter then updating the variable on each loop. As soon as the process runs five times the varible will read 5 which will tell the system it is time to stop.

Conclusion:

1. I might modify the plus command to reset a block to 0 by doing a [-5] counter after the system finishes.
2. An industrial need for counting could be used on an assembly line, where the system would count how many parts go through to log the output.

Branch Fuctions (ex. 1.4)

Branch functions are important in a system to provide multiple endings.

• An example of a normally open switch would be the home button.   
• An example of a normally closed switch would be a garage door opener.

In the system above it includes a switch and a motor. The motor will start once the switch is pressed, then stop when the switch is pressed again. Then the system ends.

Moneyball

The following questions correspond to the in class movie we watched, "Moneyball."

1) The "Moneyball" approach to baseball uses strictly statistics to build a good team. Billy Beane crafted a cheap but sucessful team by choosing players based on batting averages only and disregarding other factors like fielding skills. The Moneyball strategy is a science, but the way that Beane created the team was executed in an artistic fasion. The way he delegated with other teams to get the players he wanted was very elegant and creative.

2) The equation used to calculate OBP is (H + BP + HBP)

3) Design is to plan and create something in a skillfull and artistic manner.
4) Describe 3 situations where movie characters (intentionally or not) applied a step from the PLTW 12 Step Design Process:

       1 - In one of the first scenes, the board of managers and team owners were sitting around a table discussing how the Oakland A's could have a good season dispite their small budget. Many were saying that they needed a few big budget players while Billy Beane was arguing that all they needed were a few average cheat players. This shows the planning and pinpointing the problem part of the design process.

       2 - Later in the movie, Billy Beane hired the Yale graduate to use him as a draft manager. This move was significant in the design process as part of the planning stage. He was planning to make a good team so he picked up the Yale graduate to make a better team for the A's.
       3 - When the A's actually started winning was when Beane's team actually started playing. That was the execution portion of the design process.


5) What is “Leadership”? List the three aspects of leadership that we come up with in class. (In class research/discussion)
1 - Leadership is leading a group to complete a common task.
2 - It is having a vision and being able to communicate it clearly to others.
3 - It is creating a work group that can work well together.


6) Describe 3 circumstances from the story where a character exercised effective leadership:

       1 - Billy Beane organized the "Moneyball" team by executing his vision of cheap players who have values that other baseball clubs may overlook.

       2 - Billy Beane speaks to the losing A's team in the locker room to inspire them to play better.

       3 - Billy Beane decides not to move to Boston so he can stay in California and live with his daughter.


7) According to the movie, what was the A’s record at the start of their winning streak? 51 : 68

8) What does this ratio simplify to (roughly)? 1 : 1.5

9) How long was the A’s record setting winning streak? 20 games won.

10) Given the A’s win/loss ratio at the start of the streak (listed two questions above), what are the odds of winning 20 games in a row? Run the numbers. (In class research/discussion)

• Their odds of winning 20 games in a row is the A's current win percentage to the power of twenty. Raising their current performance (51:68; 57%) to the length of the win streak gives the chances of the win streak (0.57^20=.000013). So the reciprocal of 1.3x10^-5 = 76,923 games. Theoretically the A's must play 76,923 games before they reach the 20 game win streak.

11) Based on your calculation, do you think the A’s got lucky or was there something to the Moneyball approach?

• I think the Moneyball approach played a huge role in the massive win streak, although I think that luck played a huge part in their successes, as it does in everything else. There are just too many variables to measure a "good" baseball team, so luck does end up playing a large role.

12) Did Billy Beane strictly apply the “science” of Moneyball to his management approach? Was there an “art” to his efforts as well? Describe a circumstance where he broke from the Moneyball approach to make a positive change for the team.

•  Billy Beane's first approach to all player trades were Moneyball sciences, although his style of trading was a very artistic art form in the ways he negociated with other teams.

Basic Programming in Robo Pro

This week we have been working on basic programming. We are using the the computer program RoboPro, which allows you to easily create flowcharts that control the actions of a system. Here is a screenshot of our first program

This simple program starts and stops the motor for designated periods of time

Our first program included all the basic commands and was built in about 10 minutes. The little box that says "subprogram test" actually includes about 3 commands within it, allowing you to keep the work interface cleaner and organized.

This next screenshot is our second system which included a switch which terminated the program on activation. The system would loop for infinity until the open circuit was closed, allowing the program to end.

And of course an action shot to wrap up this activity:

Flowcharts

Here are some interesting flowcharts that we made to show simple tasks.

The first two are for sorting machines.

 This one is for a counting machine. Yay.

Edit: the flowchart includes an error. The final "no" arrow should redirect to "is it even or odd" instead ofo "choose a #." 

Interview with an Engineer

Interviewing my dad, John Vance

Professional Background

3. Gather the information below. Use the buddy system for all interviews. No interviews are to be conducted in private

a. Interviewee name: John Vance

b. Interviewee’s specific degree: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

c. Interviewee’s place of employment: Veridiam, Inc.

d. Interviewee’s email address and/or phone: john1.vance@gmail.com

Professional Interview

· Please describe your engineering field.

• Currently working in the area of manufacturing engineering. The company Veridiam is a contract manufacturer producing special metal products for the nuclear power generation, aerospace, and medical device industries.

· What is your current job title?

• Vice President of Engineering and Quality.

· Please describe your particular job and duties.

• Responsible for product engineering and quality at all four Veridiam manufacturing facilities and a combined staff of twenty six engineers. Performs functions including cost estimating, design for manufacturing capability, developing manufacturing processes, customer interface, sourcing appropriate manufacturing equipment, developing and implementing work procedures, sourcing proper starting materials. Also responsible for quality systems and inspections; insuring that all facilities meet I.S.O. 9001,as9100, I.S.O. 13485.

· What is your average work schedule?

• Works Monday- Friday, from 7am- 6pm

· Starting with high school, describe your educational background chronologically.

• Graduated from Boise High School class of 78'
• Graduated from Naval Academy class 82' with Bachlor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
• Graduated 90' University of Boulder MBA

· If you had it to do over, related to your career or education, would you do anything differently?

• No, since engineering provides for many interesting careers and opportunities.

· What advice would you give to me as someone interested in pursuing a career path similar to yours?

• Look around and find an area that you are very interested and then go for it. Engineering course of study can be challenging at times, but you can stick with it and achieve your goals.

Personal Reflection

5. Reflect on your completed interview and answer the following questions. You may also add additional reflections or thoughts.

a. What surprised you the most about the interview?

b. What was the most important piece of information that you learned form the interview?

c. How has this interview influenced your feelings about your future career?

Emergency Preparedness List

Here is a list of items that you may need in case of an emergency like a fire, earthquake, or power outtage.
water

• flash light
• water
• first aid kit
• battery powered radio
• cell phone
• extra clothes/ blankets

After discussing the list above with my mom, we decided the following should be added:

• [change] extra batteries for the flash light
• [add] candles and matches for light besides the flash light
• [add] emergency phone numbers
• [add] medications
• [add] money/ IDs/ passports/ credit cards

Steve Jobs' Life Lessons

Steve Jobs' is one of the most prominent figures of this generation. He revolutionized the entire technology industry by doing what he loved and believing in his destiny.

A few years ago, Steve gave a speech at Stanford's graduation ceremony.

Three main lessons that stood out to me from his speech were:

1) Let your life fall into place. Don't worry if things aren't going perfectly, things will work out.

2) Only do what you love. If you don't love what you're doing, find something new. If you love what you do, you will be able to feel good about yourself and produce great work.

3) Live each day like it were your last. Don't hold back, be courageous and daring.

By living by these points, Steve was able to become wildly successful just by doing what he loved. I think Steve was hoping to inspire a new generation of creative inventors that will make a difference in the future. I certainly believe Steve makes good points and will remember them as wise life lessons.

Steve Jobs Speech

Nuclear Power Powerpoint gives us the Power to Understand Modern Power Sources

Deep Dive Innovation at Ideo

Questions from the Deep Dive Documentary

1. “From the buildings in which we live and work, to the cars we drive, or the knives and forks with which we eat, everything we use was designed to create some sort of marriage between functionality and aesthetics.”

2. The folks at IDEO state that they are not experts in any given area. But, they do claim to be experts on the design process, which they apply to the innovation of consumer products.

3. After the team of designers is brought together, told the problem, and informed they have five days to “pull it off,” what phase of the design process do they immediately engage in?

       -The designers need to figure out how the shopping cart can be improved, so they get out into the field to talk with experts and average consumers to help them know what areas need improvement. They also take pictures of various sticky situations where shopping carts fail, like crowded check out lines. They also research facts and statistics online, such as shopping cart theft rates, then present all of this to the entire team so everybody can be brainstorming the same issues.  

4. Give two examples of what the team members did during this phase.

a. Online research for facts and statistics

b. Research in the field, interviews, taking pictures, observing (not behind a desk!) 


5. List five rules-of-thumb that IDEO employees follow when they share ideas during the brainstorming phase:

a. Stay focused on topic

b. Encourage wild ideas

c. Differ judgement

d. One conversation at a time

e. Build on the ideas of others


6. Why should wild (and sometimes crazy) ideas be entertained during the brainstorming phase?
      -Wild and crazy ideas should never be ignored because it's those kinds of ideas that end up being really innovative. You need to work with those wild ideas to trim them down into something else that's better.

7. After the brainstorming phase was over, the team narrowed down the hundreds of ideas by voting for those ideas that were not only “cool” but also doable in a short period of time. What phase of the design process is this called?- This phase is part of the concept design and feasibility assessment.

8. IDEO believes that the ideas and efforts of a group will always be more successful than the planning of a lone genius.

9. Once the ideas were narrowed down and divided into categories, the group was split into four smaller teams. What phase(s) of the design process was each of these groups responsible for?
     -The small groups were a part of the design phase since ideas from each prototype would be used in the final build.

10. The leaders at IDEO believe that playful behavior and an exciting environment are two important reasons why their employees are able to think quickly and creatively to produce innovative results.

11. Sometimes, people come up with great solutions that work by trying their ideas first, and asking for permission later.

12. Design is often a process of going too far and having to take a few steps back. What phase of the design process would the critique of the four mock-ups come under?
     -This phase would probably be the design requirements phase.

13. Upon critique of the four teams’ models, it was obvious that none of the teams had developed an optimum solution. However, the people at IDEO believe that it is important to fail often in order to succeed sooner.

14. What percentage of the entire week’s time did it take to fabricate the final prototype?
     -100%

15. Instead of showering his design team with a tremendous amount of praise, what did the boss require his employees to do with their new design?
     -Go out to a real supermarket and test it in real life situations and ask the supermarket employees their opinions.

16. Of all the things that we are surrounded by every day, what has not been placed through the design process?
     -Natural things. Nature. Fruits, trees, rocks, and much more.

Ideo's Futuristic Shopping Cart

First Try at Auto Desk Inventor

Here is my first sketch from Autodesk Inventor. This is the fruits of about twenty minutes of work.

Cardboard Canoe Challenge

     

Achievements : 14/19

    Over the past two weeks we completed a really interesting and unique project. We had to use a couple sheets of cardboard and two rolls of duct tape to create a boat that could float and traverse the pool.

My team decided to build a boat similarly shaped to a boston whaler, with a square back and a pointed front, with a flat bottom. We used one sheet for our bottom then taped different boxes to the sides to build our walls.

This is Joe and me adding the side wall to our cardboard boat.

After we had our frame of the boat completed, we covered the entire outter shell with ductape, then taped a few extra sheets on the inside bottom to add support and keep the bottom from buckling. Our boat was ready to hit the water.

The first contest was to see who can go the furthest, the fastest. Our boat was really fast, and what I found interesting was how well our boat sat on top of the water; the water seemed to only rise up about an inch on the sides of the boat even with Kingston inside it. Our previous predictions for how high the water would go were in the range of six inches to a foot.

We put Kingston inside and had our three polo players

push us to victory in the distance competition

This video shows the speed and prowess of our watercraft

We pretty much dominated in the early stages of the games, but that was soon to change in the later phases. Below is a picture of the blindfolded challenge. In this challenge our team had to put one man in our boat and the rest of the team had to direct them verbally to help them collect kickboards placed throughout the pool.

We directed Joe the best we could, but failed to pull a victory.

However our boat quickly began falling apart after the cardboard became waterlogged. So the blindfolded challenge was our boat's last.

Our boat was still intact, but the bottom was soaked and threatened to rip through.

Design Achievements:• Define the Problem and Brainstorm Solutions - We need to cross the swimming pool using only cardboard and duct tape. To tackle this problem we have gathered ideas from actual ships and boats. We have decided to use a boston whaler type design, with a pointed front and a flat bottom, sides and back. To test this out we first created a mini boat out of regular paper and our small prototype worked out so we continued onto the full scale version.
• Big Brain - Cover all sides with duct tape, copy the design of actual boats, use a big surface area for better bouancy, and create thick sidewalls to keep the boat strong.
• Criteria & Constraints - The one implied criteria is that the boat must float. Implied constraints are that we can only use cardboard and duct tape, we must cover all sides to prevent clogging the pool filters, and the cardboard must meet the quality standard so it doesn't fall apart in the pool.
• Sketch Ideas- sketches complete!  
• Prototype Ideas- we created a mini model of our water craft (pictured above) and the key feature is the large cabin.
• Select an Approach - our mini water craft actually worked really well, we are going to replicate it on a large scale now. We make note that the side walls need to be securely in place.


Build Achievements:
• Build It!- Done
• The Early Bird Gets the Achievement - I think we finished 2nd here.
• V-Bottom- part of our design was keeping the bottom flat...


Test Achievements:
• The Fastest- our craft traveled the fastest (probably because we had 3 water polo players pushing)
• The Farthest - we completed about 5 laps 
• The Longest - our water craft fell apart after water got in the inside. The cardboard turned to mush and ripped.  
• Balance Master - Joe was able to do this one.
• Videographer -  we got the video up on youtube and onto our blogs (see above)


Reflection Achievements:
• Feedback - Generate ten items of feedback for your effort (+, change, ?, !)
  1) + it could displace a lot of weight
  2) ! if water gets on the inside of it it quickly falls apart
  3) + however if it stays dry then the waterproofing on the outside protects it
  4) [change] possibly tape the inside of the boat to help keep all the cardboard dry
  5) ? if the base sheet of cardboard was smaller/ larger, how would that affect its bouyancy?
  6) ! any weight that is expected to float needs to be distributed throughout the entire bottom to prevent buckling
  7) [change] possibly a study sheet(s) that runs from the bow to stern to help improve its backbone
  8) ? if many more sheets are piled on the inside, will that affect the craft's bouyancy?
  9) + the boat has good speed because the majority of the hull sits above the surface of the water
  10) ? would a pointed back increase the craft's speed?
• How Low Did You Go?
  Our craft sat approximately two to three inches under water. It was definately surprising how little it sunk. The specific     weight of water is 62 lbs per cubic foot. Kingston weighs 110 lbs in comparison. So Kingston, spread over the area of about 15 square feet, was able to stay afloat.
• Redesign -
  If my team were to do another Cardboard Canoe, we would keep the same basic design since it worked well. We would probably narrow the edges since the huge bottom was a weak point. We might also experiment with having a pointed back.
- Build your watercraft. Document it with a presentable photo.- Draw 3 different sketches for possible designs. Label at least 3 key features for each sketch. Describe the feature's functionality so a viewer understands why the called out feature is important.

https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=91a2ca99fd6a964d&page=play&resid=91A2CA99FD6A964D!398&authkey=OVYln*SK10U%24

Mousetrap Racecars

This week we did a project where we had to find out a way to get a mouse trap to propel a small car that we built. We did this by constructing a simple frame, attaching the mousetrap and wheels to it, and then connecting the pullback bar to a string that we wrapped around one of our axels. When the mouse trap snapped back, it spun the axel, therefore moving the car. 

My partner for this project was Putnam (brownetowneengineering.blogspot.com)


Looks good! It's ready to race!

Proposed rules:
1)must have at least two axels and at least 4 wheels
2)moustrap must be attached to car

Trials:
During our first trial our car was able to travel 15'5'. This was our best trial, since our other two trials didn't even make it past the five foot marker due to malfunctions.

Achievements: 13/15

Earned:"Brainiac," "Visualize It!," "Build It," "The Price of Glory," "Competitor," "Going the Mile!,"  "Heavy Foot," "Feedback," "Re-work," "Game Changer," "Name it," "Leave It Cleaner Than You Found It," "Design/Build"
Failed:
"Long Distance Winner!," "Led Foot,"

My First Blog Post

Welcome to my blog! The other day was the tenth aniversary of the 9/11 attacks. People have finally decided to start rebuilding the towers. Here's a picture of one of them-

you can read about the project here

Hello everyone! This is were I will post everything engineering!