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Customer Correspondence

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Meeting w/ Dr. Hensel & Dr. DeBartolo

1/19/2011

Summary of meeting:

Dr. Hensel and DeBartolo wants something SIMPLE. They really like the 4-bar linkage idea because of its variability and simplicity. Simple also means as little motors as possible.

The most important part about the meeting was:

• Our MSA does not need to morf to another possible MSA project. (That is for another MSD MSA team)
• Our MSA does not necessarily have to pick up full scale/full weight items. (i.e. we can pick up styrofoam blocks)
• The MSA design will not be a box of parts. (i.e. will not be an erector set)
• Over time though, as different MSAs are developed, the catalog of parts will increase leading to more possible projects at the professors discression

Meeting w/ Dr. Hensel

1/18/2011

Summary of meeting:

MSA ideally would change from the year to the next but that would be the responsibility of another MSA MSD team.

LVE can be real time controlled but the ability to be autonomously programmed is a big plus.

We need to keep the following in mind:

• The skill of the 1st year students
• Time (usually they underestimate what they can accomplish)
• Resources (shop, labs etc)

• Ideally designing of the MSA would include some basic analysis for the 1st year students (trig, geometry, center of gravity, maybe some calc)
• "Imagine a kit of pieces given to a team. Complementary parts would be manufactured by the students"

• The LVE/MSA with require analysis and creativity
• Erector sets are fair game as long as they can be justified.

Hard data:

• Ideally this MSA would last 3 years and then get updated by another MSD team

• 100 students per semester / 4 student teams = 25 LVEs BUT depending on when the class periods

are we could get away (possibly) with as little as 10 LVE chassis and enough MSAs for all the groups that semester.

• Shop time: 2 hour lab sessions/ 12 kids per lab

Dr. Hensel also mentioned that he's in his office 9-11 so we can drop by to ask questions if he is there.

Other Correspondence

MSD I and MSD II

Throughout the project we regularly stayed involved with both Dr. Debartolo and Dr. Hensel regarding the direction of the project, including the detailed design review at the end of MSD I. Some key notes from the several discussions:

• Preferred easily removable platform that's not a threaded permanent connection
• Data and file storage, being up to date within a group, is important
• Like flexibility of the calculator to be used in future classes, exposure to Matlab
• Prefer the MSA can be marketable to other programs and majors
• Would like feedback regarding improvements, cost reductions, etc