Team Vision for Subsystem-Level Design Phase
Plan
Our goal of the subsystem design phase was to focus on the most critical aspect of the design, the motors.Accomplishments
Our team was able to finish motor benchmarking and compile a list of four different concepts with different motor options. These concepts were then complied into a spreadsheet where they were compared to what engineering requirements each one would meet, as well as a preliminary BOM for each concept. We were also able to come up with a preliminary electronics design, and narrow down our microcontroller list.Three Week Plan
Feasibility: Prototyping, Analysis, Simulation
Motor Benchmarking
Linear ActuatorsRotational Motors
- Key: Dark Orange: Optimal; Light Orange: Marginal.
All motors in the optimal and marginal selections meet engineering requirements for resolution and torque. These motors may not meet requirements of velocity and/or cost. The prices reported do not include required controllers, but the bill of materials does include these required controllers.
Required Motor Specifications
Calculations of Moment of Inertia - 2D Linear Actuators
Calculations of Moment of Inertia - 2D Rotational Motors
Calculations of Moment of Inertia - 1D Linear Actuators
Calculations of Moment of Inertia - 1D Rotational Motors
Moment of Inertia - Calculated Values
Electrical Design
In determining the layout of the electrical design, a broad level view was taken and elaborated on. There were 3 possible options in setting up the motor and each has a potential subsystem. Option 1 utilizes only a microcontroller which in turn controls the motor via a voltage regulator such as in Alpha Team's original design. This isn't necessarily practical for motors of extreme accuracy and thus Options 2 and 3 contain motor controllers from their respective companies. The microcontroller can either connect to the motor controller such as in Option 2 or be completely bypassed such as in Option 3. Option 2 retains the standalone aspect of the design, as the microcontroller/microcomputer can be powered and utilized independently of a desktop computer while still controlling the motor controller and motor.

The method of communication used will be primarily serial using either USB or RS232. Of the top candidate motors that have been benchmarked, many recommend or require their own motor controller to achieve maximum motor performance. These motor controllers also offer their own programmable software which can connect to a microcontroller/microcomputer via RS232 or USB respectively. Further design details will be created once a design choice has been made.
4 Options and Bill of Materials (BOM)
The four concepts include:These are the Bills of Materials for different concepts.
Risk Assessment
Please click the image to get a bigger view.
Design Review Materials
Links for:- Subsystem Design Review Presentation here
- Subsystem Design Review Handout here
- Subsystem Design Review Presentation With Chosen Motor Specific to Jeff Pelz here
Plans for next phase
3 week plan here!Subject Matter Experts
Who We Met With | What We Talked About |
---|---|
Dr. Lam Dr. Kempski Dr. Schertzer Dr. Lamkin-Kennard Dr. Schrlau |
Discussed servo motors, and referred us to Dr.Kempski. Gave us a few names of companies, and a book all about motors. Mentioned a piezo stack and the Iron Triangle. Mentioned New Scale Technologies, in Victor NY. Gave us previous MSD teams EDGE pages to look at. |
We would like to acknowledge the time taken out of each Subject Matter Expert's busy schedule to talk to us, thank you.
Problem Definition | Systems Design | Subsystem Design | Preliminary Detailed Design | Detailed Design
Build & Test Prep | Subsystem Build & Test | Integrated System Build & Test | Integrated System Build & Test with Customer Demo | Verification & Validation | Final Gate Review