MSU T-Shirt Shooter Tank

ECE and ME Design Project Collaboration

News

February 27th : Power Supply Designed. Experimenting with motor controller begins.

February 28th : Motor controller configured to drive two wheels. Second controller may be required for all 4 wheels to drive.

March 9th : M.E. worked hard over spring break to finish frame. Mockup of cannon built that successfully launched a shirt. Circuitry for cannon still in development. We are still waiting for sprockets. When they arrive we will start trying to drive the tank.

March 12th : Launcher circuitry in development. Initial problems using receiver to talk to the PIC solved. We must discuss as a team to see what additional functionality will be required.

March 16th : Sprockets added to the tank. Chains will be installed soon and test drives will begin.

March 17th : Cannon testing in Breslin Center

March 30th : Actuator Added to PIC circuit design. Mold made for fiber glass. Problems with fuse sizes should be fixed shortly. Treads are being made in the shop.

April 10th : Actuator Installed. PIC circuit completed to control cannon and actuator. Motor Controller installed. Problems with motors encountered. Gear is slipping on the axel under heavy loads. A few solutions are in the works to attempt to fix the problem. However, currently drives forward and back great, and when motors are fixed, the tank will turn well.  Sponsor found for paint and fiber glass body (see links section for more info)

April 21st: Design day approaches and the project is showing mixed results. The cannon fires well and interfaces with the control circuit seamlessly. The fiberglass body and paint job look teriffic, but there are still problems with the motors gearboxes. We are looking into getting more robust motors with greater torque. It will hopefully be finished by design day, but it may require additional time afterward to install.