Week of 03/29
This week we built the foam generator and went to N51 to test. The foam generator was made out of two pvc
chambers, connected with hoses to push connects, and one regulator. We wanted to see how airtight our
assembly was, figure out the ideal ratio of water to shampoo, determine a psi for the system, and evaluate
the qualities of the foam that was created.
We had really great foam at times but it was hard to maintain consistency with only one analog regulator. A few things we noticed through testing:
1) The water/soap chamber had leaks at the bottom and top. The bottom leak was because of a loose connector. The top leak happened because we were continuously opening and closing the chamber to fill it with water. We need an easier way to reload the system that will maintain it's seal or build a bigger chamber to fill up less often.
2) We need two regulators. For this test we used one and split the flow to the water/soap and foam generator. A second regulator will give us finer control over the different flows.
3) We may have put too much steel wool in the foaming chamber. Even though the bubble size was ideal, the flow was not continuous. This may have been due to clogging.
4) For the next test we also want to try hose length consistency. At the moment the hoses are of varying lengths to reach the different chambers. Standardizing these will remove inconsistencies in the system and allow us to fine tune the pressure settings.
FOAMING TEST & KUKA
Schematic of Foam Generation System
Assembly Parts
Putting the System Together
Filling Water/Soap Chamber
Stretching Steel Wool to place in Foaming Chamber
Optimal Foam Quality
Leaking Connections in System
Lack of Water = Foam Buildup
This week we also received training on the kuka. In the next few days we hope to build our extruder system v2
and design the auger end effector. We will first test with clay and then introduce the foaming system as it is refined.
Kuka Training