Competition 2010: Day 1 - Check In

After a night's sleep in the local hotel, Sleep Inn, we headed to the Fayetteville lake to unload, diagnose the sprint lower unit, and perform some other last minute repairs.

Mike and Paul both headed to a local marina for a second opinion on how to fix the sprint lower unit. After consulting with a technician about the E-Tek motor specifications, it was discovered that the motors run at a maximum of 3,000 RPM, less than the expected RPM of the propeller that was attached. It is hypothesized the slippage occurred because of this. To rectify this problem, a different propeller was purchased with a larger radius and a lower pitch. This new configuration should work but needs to be tested.


Also pictured below are the new solar panels mounted on the boat. The panels have been graciously loaned to CMSS from the CMU Solar Decathlon team (specifications for the panels, as well as all other critical system components can be found in the 2010 Technical Report.) The mounting system is hinged at the center and held in place with pins to allow for easy removal of the solar panels from the boat.


Back at the lake, the final decals were applied, with the front Hydra logo looking particularly good. The entire hull was then waxed and polished to reduce drag.

Baby Bear (the boat trailer) is being unloaded from Papa Bear.

Chris is unloading a solar panel from the trailer.

Ibuki is chilling next to the boat. The solar panel mounts are in the upwards configuration.

The new solar panels mounted on the boat.

David is explaining the motor controller box for the electrical inspection.

The hull has a reflective finish after being waxed and polished.

Chris, David, and Austin are analyzing data and working on the LabVIEW code.

Tomorrow both configurations will be tested in the qualification events.

Competition 2010: The Road to Competition

We have made it to the Sleep Inn in Fayetteville, Arkansas where we will be staying for the duration of competition.

Although relatively straightforward, the journey was not without perils. The rental van was in unsatisfactory condition to say the least. The van needed the right turn signals to be replaced but we were desperate for a vehicle and took it anyways. They said the repairs were minor and we could be reimbursed for any induced costs.

Immediately after hooking the van up to the trailer we discovered in addition to the turn signal bulb needing to be replaced, much of the van's electrical wiring was either disconnected or plain wrong. Austin and David were able to go to work on it and get the trailer lights working but the problems with the vehicle continued.

During the ride to Arkansas, it was discovered that the air conditioner was non-functioning, the steering assembly was loose and rusted through, and the gas pedal had a tendency to stick. The rental place has agreed to drive a replacement van down to Arkansas and switch it out with this van tomorrow morning. Well we made it, here are some pictures from our journey.

We departed from CMU at 4:30 am EST and arrived in Fayetteville at around 11 PM CST.

Driving westward through the Ford-Pitt tunnel.

Passing through ohio.

Making it past the arch with Mike sleeping.

Pre-Competition Update

We have been hard at work finishing up new additions to the boat. New items include reinforced floor panels, a new driver panel, and a new throttle.

Robbie and David eating some sauteed mushrooms while Austin sands a piece for the motor controller box.

David is laying out the layup materials for a new floor panel.

The floor panel under vacuum.

The plastic for the driver panel being CNC milled by Harrison.

The new throttle Jimmy made.

Vacuum-formed plastic for waterproofing the electronics.

Harrison showing off his finished dashboard.

We have also been testing the sprint lower unit with less than favorable results. When the throttle is turned up above 30% a grinding noise occurs, indicating slippage. Our new testing location is the Monongahela River near the Birmingham Bridge in Southside.

Initial testing of the sprint mount showed that it was shifting out of gear into neutral. A plate was manufactured it to keep the shifting pin from turning but a second test indicated this did not fix the problem and some sort of slippage still exists.

The boat is being put into the water with the Birmingham Bridge in the background.

Initial Testing of the Sprint Mount

After consulting with Outboard Exchange, the seller of the lower unit, they have suggested that the slippage occurs near the propeller attachment and a dirty fix is to epoxy the propeller in place. We are currently investigating this option. Expect more details on this tomorrow.

Well, Hello There...

Geez…it certainly has been an uncomfortably long time since the last update, hasn’t it? Well, rest assured that this hiatus in updates in no way reflects the work we’ve been doing. With competition looming ever closer, the past weeks have been a lot of hard work and some noteworthy progress.

For one thing, we finally had that BBQ that we’ve been putting off since last semester. The gang met up in Donner Ditch for burgers and bonding, as well as some intermittent frisbee and pineapple-related activities (please reference pictures for clarification on what exactly that means…).

In addition to serving as our President, Mike also serves us burgers.

Power Management waits for noms.

Paul's sweet frisbee moves astounded us all. But mostly just me.

Most of the group.

Thus begins the Pineapple Adventures.

Delicious.

Pineapple Tower of Might.

In other, more exciting news (although it is hard to top that pineapple tower), we have officially voted on next year’s executive board! Congratulations to Ibuki, President; Paul, Vice President; Rahee, Treasurer; and Leenie, Public Relations Chair.

We also recently submitted three more SURG proposals (that’s Small Undergraduate Research Grant, for those non-CMU readers out there) in the hopes of getting some more moolah for the budget. The three proposed projects were 1. design of a brushless DC motor controller, 2. design of a modular solar panel, and 3. use of dimples in the reduction of pressure drag forces, for which we were awarded $800. Check out the kiva to read through the final drafts.

Finally, despite Dave’s warning that we should plan on having only one pool test (just in case they see what we do and don’t let us back), we were actually able to fit in two pool tests, the most recent of which took place last Wednesday, April 21. This second test may or may not have been scheduled due to the first being a complete bust—but! either way, we are in good shape for our lake test this Saturday, May 1.

Stylin' for the Pool Test.

Yes; people really do swim in there.

Long view. How artsy -- who was taking these pictures?

Fiddling with wires.

Since no one has sent me the video yet,

I decided to titillate you all by including this blurry

picture of Austin taking the video. They say

expectation is almost as satisfying as indulgence.

Stay tuned for more updates regarding the lake test and our final haul towards competition.

SciTech at the Carngie Science Center

Hello everyone, and welcome back from Spring Break! This past weekend, while you were all sleeping in and playing Halo, Ibuki and Leenie were representing CMSS at the Carnegie Science Center's biannual SciTech Days. Super fun!

SciTech is an year-round initiative that features Pittsburgh projects in Biotechnology, IT, Robotics, Advanced Materials Processes, Environmental Technology, Nanotechnology, and Green Technology. The SciTech Days (held in November and again in March) is a week-long event geared towards Middle and High School students in the Pittsburgh area.

Last week's SciTech Days (March 9-13) set aside special "Green Technologies Area," where our exhibit was featured. We put together a few presentations and brought in some toys for the kids to play with -- out endurance motor mount, a model solar panel, and the requisite foam/ fiberglass composite. Anyone who's interested in checking out our display boards can find them propped up somewhere in the High Bay.

See below for pictures!

First day! Clearly, this was after the woman in charge explained to us in three different ways why we couldn't block the exit with our posters...and before she explained to us using the phrases "sharp edges" and "small children" at least four times why we couldn't leave the motor mount on the floor.

Some awards we dug up in the High Bay. Go us!

Ibuki explains the motor mount. Leenie listened carefully in the background so she could repeat his spiel to future visitors and make them believe she knows how a motor works. They were a good tag team.

Day two! By this time, we were experts at not creating a hazardous environment of blocked exits and sharp edges.

Our neighbors during the second day of exhibits. These people were pretty neat -- they create solar-powered art installations. The integration of art and technology makes both disciplines more accessible to artists and techies alike.

Woopie

You know a meeting is getting somewhere when someone clearly and unabashedly states that “we need woopie.”

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the intricacies of the CMSS lexicon, “woopie” is a metal cylinder that sits on top of the drive shaft. Designed by alum Will Wedler in the spring of 2007, it was lovingly dubbed “woopie,” a name that has stuck for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, that piece was custom-made for the old shaft and we will have to make a new one because, well, it’s hard to find a piece that fits.

With Spring Break just around the corner, we are working hard to make some progress before we become distracted by warmer weather and that pungent smell of manure around campus. After ordering and receiving some important parts, we are ready to start designing the layout of the charge controller printed circuit board. We were able to get a student rate for printing at Advanced Circuits, so once the board is designed we should be set to print it. Still no response from the cell company, Sineva, but even with that setback we are on schedule for the panels. We will certainly have them for competition, if not lake testing

Looking ahead, we are preparing for a pool test, which will occur immediately after Spring Break. This pool test is crucial in that it allows us to calibrate our sensors, which will provide us with valuable race day stats come competition. Unfortunately, we were unable to calibrate our sensors last year, so the information we gathered from competition was virtually meaningless. This will be a good change going into this year’s competition.

Also, look for us at the 2010 SciTech festival at the Carnegie Science Center! We will be presenting on our various projects on Friday and Saturday, March 9^th and 10^th. We will keep you updated.

A ReCap in Pictures!

Apologies for the brief hiatus! For those of you who missed Activities Fair and our Meet and Greet: check out the pictures below, feel a little sad about all the fun you missed, and contact us for ways to get involved.

"Pretend like you're friends!"

Showing me all of the people who signed up -- a grand total of 15?

Activities Fair can be a good place to pick up a lot of useless SWAG. And he didn't even sign up for the club...

One of these doesn't belong.

"Zoiks! Isn't Solar Splash fun, guys!"

The thinkers...

...and the doers.

Check out our website (link to the right) to learn more about how you can become part of CMSS.

Also, a quick thank you to the people who have been leaving comments! For those of you who have used the information here towards your own projects, we would love to hear about what you are working on. We're glad this blog could help you out.

Stay tuned for more updates.