Week 1: Ideating & Finalising Project

After many backs and forth discussions with each other and with Tony, our group finalised our project idea, the 4-Wheel Drive Remote-controlled Heavy Duty Trolley. This means that each wheel has its own motor and rotation, allowing for multi-directional movement with different modes, such as stationary turning and ‘crab-driving.’ As a result, the trolley can easily navigate tight spaces. Furthermore, the remote-control aspect enables the user to control it without the need to physically push the trolley.

To illustrate this, we constructed a prototype model of our trolley, where each wheel can rotate on its own as shown below.

Week 2: Tweaking & Modelling our Design

Since the main idea of our project has been approved and confirmed, the next step was to develop the details of our project. To do so, we constructed a simplified block diagram to represent the principal parts of our trolley and how they were all interconnected.

We also created the initial 3D model of our wheel with the dimensions of parts we planned to buy. This included the servo motor, the wheel, shaft and aluminium profiles which we planned to use for assembly.

Week 3: Shopping Time!!

After modeling our design, it was finally time to go shopping! This kicked off a flurry of shopping links to various components for our project. We sorted through different wheel models, servo motors, batteries, drivers, and more. The list seemed endless, but in the end, we consolidated all the suitable parts needed for our project and created our very first shopping list!

Week 4: Break Week

Our group took a break from our project for this week to enjoy our summer breaks! As our group split to travel on our respective Overseas Learning Trips with the CN Yang Scholar’s Program. Our group were spread across the globe with 3 of us in Switzerland, 1 in Denmark and 1 in China!! XD

Week 5: Risk Assessment :/ + Wheel Model Ver 2.0

Since everyone from our group is back from our respective trips, it was time to start MnT-ing!! Before we got started, we had to first get our risk assessments done, which was what we set out to do before starting work in the lab.

Additionally, we also had slight changes in our wheel model. After several discussions, we realised that there were potential load bearing issues that may arise if we were to attempt to place our ideal goal of 50kg per wheel. Moreover, we failed to account for wiring difficulties from the wheel to the driver, as version 1.0 of our wheel could potentially get tangled up in its own wires. Hence, we tweaked our design to have a smaller width and have the wheel bear the load directly, as compared to its side. To illustrate our idea better, we constructed version 2.0 of our model!

Week 6: Ordered Supplies

After having our first check-in with Dr Ho and Hanyang, we finalised the design and went ahead to purchase our first set of parts, which included 2 different wheel models for us to test out, as well as the remaining pieces to our model. RIP to Lloyd’s wallet, we appreciate your sacrifice (T-T)