Week of 5/19

This week I was able to make lots of progression on my CAD design for the rover. I started the week by researching numerous other different designs for rovers. With my main idea being a slight spin on the Rocker-Bogie suspension. However after looking at many different tests and designs, I decided that the best course of action was to simply stick with the base design for the suspension. After this I began looking at other people's models for the suspension online and began to create my own design.

I first started by creating the long limbs of the suspension in to different directions. When making this step I had to think of the various different materials in which I could use to make the rover. At first I tried to create a PVC style suspension, where I would then drill holes to attach various other parts to it. However I soon realized that instead, I would focus on a laser cut/3d print approach in which I could be far more accurate.

Different overviews of suspension

After this step I next worked on designing the mounts for the motors, which would simply be

screwed in and attach to the sides. After this step, I then worked on designing and finishing the second axis of the rocker bogie suspension and added the mounts for motors onto it. After these steps were complete, I moved to creating the different bearing joints that the different pieces of the suspension would attach to to allow it to work. Lastly I began working on a rough wheel design, however I was not able to fully finish this and I may delve into more research on what makes better wheels for various terrains.

Measurements

Rough wheel prototype