Week 15: Finals, Winter Break Plans

As of the writing of this post, regular scheduled classes have ended and final exams have begun. No work is currently being done on the bender, due to rearranging tools and machines at home and preparation for final exams, so no update to show here. The tank desk mentioned before can be seen below, but it was disassembled for transport and has been placed to the side for the moment as things are being rearranged.

I will not be at home to perform any work on the bender for the majority of winter break, which will be from December 21st to January 24th. As of this post, I am unsure of the exact date at which I will return. I believe that the capabilities demonstrated thus far are proof enough that we have completed our task as requested of us, but that variables yet left undetermined (such as the decision between 5052 and 6061 aluminum) should be resolved before more work is performed, mainly due to the significant impact that such a decision would have on the work to be performed. In the particular example given, if 5052 aluminum were indeed to be utilized, then calculations made thus far would have to be redone and work thus far would be null and void.

Regarding work provided by other teams, contact has been made with the vehicle positioning sensing subteam with concern to the potential for fabrication of a corrugated metal strip to be used with a Hall effect sensor. Extra details revealed the precision required for the metal strip, and having not received information early enough to warrant serious investigation, it was decided that the best course of action would be to move forward with external fabrication of the corrugated strip. Internal investigation of corrugated strip creation will be pursued during the spring semester if extra time is available

What a tank desk looks like when set up:

What the tank desk look like right now, with things being shuffled around: