Devin Hotchkiss reflection

This class has taught me a lot about the start to finish process of creating a functioning machine.  Conceptualization, design, fabrication, redesign, and final assembly all were key steps we took throughout the semester to make a competitive robot.  Having a background on the SAE Baja team, I was somewhat familiar with machining techniques and CAD modeling.  However, this course allowed me to look at a system with different constraints and on a smaller scale than I was used to.  In addition, using Solidworks expanded my repertoire of CAD packages and helped me recognize some of the differences between softwares.  Learning how to use the laser cutter and the waterjet machines was also a new experience that I enjoyed.

One of the biggest lessons I will take from this class is that the design process is all about iteration.  After modeling and fabricating a part, it is often the case where upon re-evaluating the functionality of the piece, a better solution or design may be discovered.  It is important to then redesign the piece for reasons such as easier manufacturability or ease of assembly.  Looking back at the blog, it is clear that some of the components on our machine evolved from the original concept.  On that note, one of the biggest factors weighing into redesign of parts – and our machine in general – became simplicity in both machining process and integration into the final assembly.  Nothing beats having a simple, reliable design that accomplishes one task very well, as opposed to trying to do to many different things with a decent level of success.

Another important lesson I will take away is the value of working in small groups.  Being able to communicate with everybody working on the project and keeping them up to speed with the robots progress was key to our success as a team.  Weekly team meetings were helpful in making sure everyone knew what was going on and what tasks or parts still needed to be completed.  Having a schedule or at least a rough timeline to keep us moving forward with our project beneficial.  I felt that the class assignments and milestones did a fairly good job of outlining the process for us even though objectives tended to ramp up quite a bit at the end.

Overall, I thought the course was well constructed and covered a broad range of useful material for design and manufacturing.  The lectures covered a lot about different machine components, like bearings and power transmission as well as many design theories.  However, I thought it might be useful to include a lecture (or part of one) on different tips and tricks of the actual machining.  Processes such as zeroing a piece from the middle, or how to ensure the piece is squared up (all right angles) might have been useful to know about and discuss in lecture that way our time in the machine shop would be used more effectively.

I could have improved my performance in the course by learning how to delegate better and doing a better job sharing my previous knowledge of machining with the rest of my teammates.