Arcs and routers

The following picture describes the latest concept for the bus position monitor. It involves using a stream of water slowly filling up a cylinder to show the progression of a bus on route. The mechanism would work using a positive displacement pump driven by a programmable step motor to regulate exactly how much water passes into the tube. So we went and bought a step motor.




As of yet the step motor remains un-programmed due to software issues but construction of the positive displacement pump initiated in yesterdays workshop tutorial. The clear 12mm hose that Patrick brought to the tutorial was a good tool to visualise the pump and decide what materials would be best for this design. But we later realised (after consultations with tutors and workshop staff) that the hose was too thick and the arc we routed out for the pump to turn in was too large.




After this hurdle we decided to use a smaller diameter hose (about 3/4mm, made of silicon/similar) and route out a smaller and more accurate arch using the drilling press/router machine in the workshop. We finished the session with a much more accurate and feasible pump housing and a clearer idea on resolving this design.