3D Printing Tank Wars at CalTech

Yearly, the Mechanical Engineering college students on the California Institute of Know-how in Pasadena are challenged to design, construct, and function a fleet of three robotic tanks that may efficiently navigate, management, and defend strategic base positions on a grass course. This yr marked the thirty third Annual Engineering Design Competitors. There have been six groups of 4, and virtually half of the members had been girls.

Mara was fortunate sufficient to run into The Riveters – an all-female staff of engineers sporting iconic Rosie the Riveter ribbons. The tanks they entered into the competitors had been two-thirds 3D printed masterpieces. The tanks had been all 3D printed in numerous colours to match an iconic feminine trio – The Powder Puff Ladies!

They used 3D printing primarily for elements that weren’t load-bearing and that will be laborious to machine, just like the motor mounts.  In addition they saved backup prints helpful for on-site repairs in case of collisions on the course. They took full benefit of 3D printing for prototyping and testing their designs as they moved by means of a number of iterations as properly.

College students fabricated their tanks utilizing the MAKEiT 3D printers within the Caltech machine store, or the Craftbots within the 3D printing lab, which may also be used for private initiatives.

Right here is how the competitors labored: The robots moved out autonomously throughout the first 40 seconds of the competitors. Then the opponents had been in a position to remotely management the robots to maneuver the next targets; traverse and steadiness on a 10-foot seesaw, climb an elevated four-foot platform and push to activate a big button to seize a strategic place. Whereas direct ramming assaults had been towards the foundations, you possibly can shoot Nerf balls at different robots, and for those who scored direct hits 3 times, the embattled robotic had to return to the beginning.  

Most groups operated two tanks at a time, so if one took a spill, they might swap it out for an additional one of their fleet.

The competitors featured robots with tank-treads or wheels for mobility, large shovels or scoops to launch Nerf balls, and all of the robots had been constructed fully from scratch – no manufactured elements had been allowed (aside from wiring!).

The design of the robots usually takes about six months – and it provides the groups invaluable expertise in what they might come up towards within the skilled engineering world. The iterative means of design, fabricate, take a look at, redesign, fabricate and retest simulates typical trade cycles. So regardless that the top result’s enjoyable and thrilling, the expertise shifting into the ‘real-world’ is invaluable.

The Riveters had been the undefeated champions of this competitors, due to technique, engineering, preparation, design, and creativity. They had been cautious to not over-design, and actually, scrapped their first design fully.  They designed their tanks to be dependable, and to resist the obstacles on the course and completed two weeks early, so that they had loads of time to apply – and get a very good night time’s sleep the night time earlier than. 

Congratulations to The Riveters for a stellar efficiency – on Worldwide Girls’s Day, no much less!  Even the mini trophies had been 3D printed on a LulzBot Taz 6. The massive trophy is a portion of an precise metal gear which will probably be handed alongside to subsequent yr’s winners. 

For extra details about the groups click on the hyperlink under.

http://www.mce.caltech.edu/occasions/me72

Are you utilizing 3D printing for an superior faculty undertaking?  Please go away me a remark – I’d love to listen to about it. 

I’m Mara and this has been your MatterHackers Minute.  Go be superior!