ME 250 was a class that certainly required a lot of time and effort. The course aims to have students learn the basic concepts of design and manufacturing, and then apply them to create a working robot that plays a game that we all know and love, Slotbots.
I had never really “formally” made anything. Meaning that I’ve certainly built my fair share of things, but I’ve never gone through the engineering process the way we did in this class. I’ve learned that when faced with a daunting task or given a large project, the first thing to do is step back, and look at the whole picture, and break the problem down. Ask what are we trying to do, and what are the parameters that need to be met? Then continue on to ask how are we going to do this? This is followed by brainstorming and the selection of a concept. Essentially I’ve learned the value of the funnel that Professor Hart talked about in lecture. Start big with strategies, and then work your way down to small components, and how all the pieces interact with each other. The amount of detail, and the importance of selecting the correct tolerances and materials was often the difference between success and failure of the robots that were built. The effort spent keeping drawings and CAD models up to date, and accurate down to the washer may take longer initially, but it saves hours of time spent remaking parts that were made incorrectly because of an unclear or mislabeled drawing. The knowledge of what each tool can do, and how to use them properly will not only allow for a better part to be made, but you will learn more about what the best way to go about making the part is. The most important things I’ve learned about design and manufacturing are the need for accurate drawings, and a full plan of action before diving into a project as it will save time, money, and result in a higher quality, better overall product.
Building a slotbot is certainly not a one-man job given the time frame. Members of teams needed to depend on each other in order to be successful. It is important for all members of a team to fully understand the project, but they do not have to be an expert in every aspect of the project. The key to a successful team is leadership, and dedication of the members. The leader needs to recognize the skills of the members and utilize them to their maximum potential. The leader also needs to keep everyone on the same page, working together towards a common goal, as well as keep the team to a schedule. The schedule may need to be constantly updated, but it is important to know what has to be done when, and how much time can be allotted to different tasks. Members must be able to trust the work of other members, which requires the dedication of every member. It is also important, especially in the design stages, that nobody is scared to say what is on their mind, even if they think it isn’t a good idea. When a member is struggling with a task, the other members need to step in and help.
I believe my performance could have been better if I was slightly more on top of the material. I was so eager just to build, that I didn’t take enough time to really learn and apply the design concepts from lecture. Despite this, all of our modules were functional, and well constructed. The fundamental problem in our design was the robustness of our two modules that were in the slot. We relied on gravity to deploy our wedge, which, once in place permanently locked the flipper in our favor. However it was difficult consistently get it to fall into the correct place. It would have been a much smarter idea to use a giant hollow wedge that extended all the way up the slot, as several other teams had. The primary reason in our poor performance in the competition was more a result of lack of practice operating our modules, as all our modules functioned as they should (outside of the wedge deployment). Another thing that I could have improved was the schedule. We loosely stuck to the schedule, and seldom updated it. We got everything done on time, but at times it was slightly unorganized resulting in inefficient use of time.
This course was quite frustrating overall. Frustrations began with the rule changes. I was part of a three member team, so we were already pressed for time, and literally every rule change required that we completely redesign at least one module of our slotbot, nullifying hours of CAD, sketching, and brainstorming. It wouldn’t have been such a big deal, however there were at least three rule changes that were in no way a “clarification” after the rules were supposedly set in stone; the biggest of which were the constant starting zone adjustments and the new last minute ball configuration. What angered me even further was the fact that hardly any rules were actually enforced during the competition. Nearly every team was outside of the starting zone “The zone measures 24" along the slot (starting at the edge of the ball retainer) and 24" perpendicular to the slot.” Rule C-1. But an even bigger issue was the fact that the team that got second place did not meet the size requirements of the robot as stated in the rules “Your entire machine must fit in a box no larger than 12" x 12" x 24", and yet somehow they walked away with $200 despite rule B-3 which explicitly states “Machines that exceed the size and/or weight constraints must compete, but are not allowed to win.” I don’t know why it was decided that the rules would not be enforced but it was certainly not a fair competition in any way. There were far more rules that were violated by many teams that I don’t want to go into now, but I am disappointed in the standard withheld in the competition. Despite the lack of rule enforcement, I did learn a lot in the class, and I think that this version of ME 250 is a great class. I would recommend either changing the rules to those that can/will actually be enforced, or making the game a little simpler. The game this year was far more complex that it was last year, which is why so many teams failed. Another suggestion would be to give teams perhaps a week or two more manufacturing time, which will allow for more design flaws to be worked out and hopefully result in a more successful competition.
Overall I enjoyed this class. It was very interesting and fun to see an idea come all the way into full functionality in just a few short weeks. I am looking forward to 350 in hopes to apply what I’ve learned from this class, and improve in my performance.
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