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PROTOTYPING SMARTER

Sean Lavery

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FRC1712

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WHO AM I?

  • Fuel Control & Tank Level Indicator ISEA for NAVSEA Philadelphia
  • BS in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University
  • FRC 116 (student) 2003-2007
  • FRC 1712 (mentor) 2008-Present

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AGENDA

  • What is Prototyping?
  • Research
  • Proof of Concepts
  • Finding Key Parameters
  • Iteration

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WHAT IS PROTOTYPING?

  • “A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process.”
  • A prototype is what we create to guide our final design and work
    • Identify & prove concepts
    • Determine key parameters
    • Find areas of improvement
    • Iterate future concepts
  • Not just hardware!
    • Software, Processes, etc.
    • Scouting App prototypes
    • Sign In Sheet prototypes

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RESEARCH

  • Draw inspiration from other ways of tackling similar problems
  • What products exist that may help solve a game challenge?
    • Commercial/industrial products
      • Controls/sensors! (DigiKey, Automation Direct, Adafruit, etc)
    • FRC-specific products (AndyMark, VEXPro, REV, etc)
  • Learn how other teams are handling the same challenge
  • Use as a springboard for your ideas
    • Proven examples can be used to “skip” the Proof of Concept stage (although not the entire prototyping process)
    • “Fast forward” your prototypes
  • Previous FRC games, FTC games, VRC games
  • Robot in 3 Days (Ri3D)/Build Blitz
  • Chief Delphi, Team Blogs & Social Media

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PROOF OF CONCEPTS

  • PROVE that your CONCEPT is feasible
  • A basic demonstration that the premise behind your design has potential
  • Can be made out of almost any material(s)
    • Wood, cardboard, LEGO, 80/20, PVC, etc. etc. etc.
  • Can be scaled to a smaller (or larger) size
  • Can be moved by hand or powered by whatever is convenient
    • Cordless drills, motor testers,
  • Does NOT need to work flawlessly
  • Overall – it should demonstrate whether or not we should continue developing a design or move onto other concepts

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PROOF OF CONCEPTS

  • 1712 2019 (start about 1:10)
  • LEGO Hab 3 Climb
  • LEGO Choo-Choo Linkage
  • 254 Skystalker (WARNING – OLD MEMES)
  • 1712 2020 Hook Deployment

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FINDING KEY PARAMETERS

  • Use prototypes to identify and determine key characteristics of a final design
  • Determining what are “acceptable” ranges of parameters (what works and what doesn’t)
  • Determine what is the “ideal” or optimized parameter (what works best)
  • MULTIPLE TESTS REQUIRED
    • Isolate your variables
      • Change one thing (independent variable) at a time, when possible
    • Record your data!
  • Feed this data to the Design, CAD, & Software teams for input into final decisions

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FINDING KEY PARAMETERS

  • Examples:
    • How much compression (squeeze) is required to hold/move/launch a game piece?
    • What sensors can best detect a game piece?
    • How much game piece travel is required/optimal to trip a sensor?
    • How high off the ground should an intake be?
    • What wheel/roller/grabber material(s) work best on an intake?
    • What are ideal shaft spacings for an intake or indexing mechanism?
    • What motor behaviors can clear a stuck game piece?
    • What angle should your mechanism for receiving game pieces from the human player be mounted at?

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FINDING KEY PARAMETERS

  • 1712 2017 – Beaver Tail
  • Ri3D 1.0 2013
  • Ri3D Team Capital 2019
  • 2363 Intake Development 2020

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ITERATION

  • “Iterative design is a design methodology based on a cyclic process of prototyping, testing, analyzing, and refining a product or process.”
  • Take the results of your latest prototype, and use them to evaluate and design your next design
  • Find what works and what can be improved
    • May involve trial and error
  • Refinement and improvement of core design concepts via iterations
  • The first “production” component (installed on the robot) doesn’t mean the prototyping process has to stop – iterate to keep improving

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NUTRON’S HOPPER ITERATIONS

  • 125 (2017) spinning dye hopper prototyping process
    • https://imgur.com/a/FLKTP
  • SEVENTEEN iterations to 18 balls per second and a trip to Einstein
  • Incorporates all the items from the prototyping discussion
    • Research > Proof of concepts > identifying key parameters > multiple iterations

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FINAL THOUGHTS

  • “I have not failed, I have successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work” – Thomas Edison

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  • “Perfection is achieved not when there’s nothing more to add, but when there’s nothing left to take away” - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

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  • “For the simplicity on this side of complexity, I wouldn't give you a fig. But for the simplicity on the other side of complexity, for that I would give you anything I have.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

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