V1.0

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A new RC project is coming! This time, the achieved CAD skills from TU Delft helped me to simulate the entire model and therefore make the optimal design:

QuadDrawing-page-001BottomFrameDrawing-page-001

The dxf files for the frame are my own design and can be downloaded for free from here under GNU license. I chose to make the frame out of 2mm carbon fiber because I found cheap sheets on http://www.hobbyking.com. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a laser that cuts carbon fiber sheets, so I cut them with the Dremel.

Specs:

  • Motors: 4x3536 NTM (910kV, 350W)
  • Props: 4×12″
  • ESC: 4x30A
  • Accu: 5000mA
  • Frame and booms: Carbon fiber
  • Controller: HKPilot 2.7

Each motor produces 1.2kg of thrust and the final weight of the aircraft is 3.2kg. It stays in the air very stable because of the 320mm long booms.

The final product looks like this:

IMG_3750

V1.0

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After the flying wing project from TU Delft – semester 1, I decided I should build my own wing with the skills achieved. So I designed it with the following specifications:

  • Wing span: 8500mm
  • Sweep angle: 30°
  • Taper ratio: 1.2
  • Propeller: 8″
  • Motor: 1400kV, 210W
  • Accumulator: 2x3S (11.1V) 1100mA

And before the first crash:

IMG_3468

Unfortunately, I couldn’t film the crashes but I can tell that I had a lot of fun building and piloting it.

The Beast is ready for the first lap

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I was concerned that this project is never going to be finished, but here it is, a rear wheel drive buggy with front suspension!

After 2 years I decided to finish this project this summer. To be honest, not only did I slightly overtake my budget of €1,000, but I also had to work extra hours besides the 4 hours per day working schedule.

Nevertheless, a lap in this thing worths every single cent and time invested in it!

RFID Door Lock DIY

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For this project you will need:

  • Arduino board (25 €)
  • RFID Reader (ID-20/ID-12) (24 €)
  • RFID Adaptor (20 €)
  • RFID Tag (1 €)

Total costs: 70 €

Instructions:

  1. Mount the RFID reader into the adaptor socket
  2. Install PuTTY on your computer
  3. Connect the sensor to your computer through a USB cable
  4. Scan the tag and you should see a unique code displayed on the terminal, such as: 2500ABF31C58. This is the tag’s identification code. You use PuTTY to find out what code does the tag has in order to use it on your algorithm
  5. Connect the adaptor (including the sensor which is already connected) to the Arduino board specifing the following diagram
    RFID Arduino
    1. Tx D.P. 2
    2. Rx D.P. 3
    3.
    4. GND GND
    5. +5V(DC) +5V
  6. Upload this code to Arduino board
  7. Connect your relay switch (5 V) to Pin 7 (digital) in order to command your door lock or a led when the tag is scanned.

id-12

(source: http://bildr.org/2011/02/rfid-arduino)

Bucharest City Marathon 2013

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A few days ago, I decided to take part in one of the biggest sport competitions held in our country. Being used to short distances and running 6 km per day (2 days per week in extra-season), I jumped in to overcome my limits. Until now, the longest running race I finished was the Triathlon Challenge Mamaia 2012 where I had to run 15 km.

photo(3)

Today, I finished the Half Marathon (21 km) in 1:55 minutes. The weather was good, so the conditions to beat my record were appropriate. In the first 10 km I ran with an average of 15 km/h, whereas in the second part of the race I had an average of 8.8 km/h as I had no experience of how to maintain my energy level constant for such an effort.

I drank a coffee and a magnesium pill before the race, during it I drank 1 litre of water and by the end of the race I had 2 kilograms less.

This was a unique opportunity for me to develop my resistance to effort. I will train more for the next year in order to participate to the marathon (42 km) and finish in less than 3:30.

Pan & Tilt DIY

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For this project you will need:

  • Arduino board (25 €)
  • Wii nunchuck (18 €)
  • 2 servos (3.5 € each)

Total costs: 50 €

You should connect the first servo to Pin 7 (digital) and the other one to Pin 6 (digital), the + and – should pe connected in series to Vcc (5 V) and GND respectively.

The algorithm for Arduino is posted here.

bpt01

(source: http://www.robotshop.com/ca//ProductInfo.aspx?pc=rb-lyn-74)

Infoeducatie contest – first on the podium

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The project ended in a successful way, with the first prize of the national contest Infoeducatie 2013 and a special prize from Google. After a one week camp I managed to connect with different people working on very interesting projects. I got valuable feedback which I tried to implement quickly in order to improve my project. Here are a few pictures with Xtion Arm and with the rest of the competitors from Robotics and Software sections.

Roboti14
Xtion Arm – final version.
Roboti09
The robots of the camp… and their developers.
download
News paper post with the winners of the camp.

Xtion Arm v2.0

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As I am qualified to participate to “Infoeducatie” National Contest, robotics section, I have started to build a new arm, 1:1 scale, stronger and which is capable of moving in 3 axis. In order to do this, I used 3 independent motors for the shoulder joint, one for elbow and one for rotation (in the biceps). In all, there are 5 motors (this model) 12 V DC, which I chose for its included gearbox with a powerful ratio (1:131) and as well as for its compactness.

Here are my sketches for the lathe man:

And here is the result:

IMG_1060IMG_1204

For the skeleton, I used plexiglass as in the previous version, but this time a thicker one (6 mm).  Here is the draft:

IMG_1103

The following pdfs are exported from CAD. This project is open source, so feel free to cut your own parts using my sketches.

plexitmp | plexi–6mm | plexi–8mm

Here are the parts after laser cuts:

IMG_1173

Putting the pieces together:

Building the frame which holds the arm:

The final result: