Week 9: meeting 4-28-15

This is a video of the LEDs turning off when a sensor is hit. The blue LEDs turn off when the flex sensors is activated and the yellow LEDs turn off when the touch sensors are activated. This will allow for the lights to flash during the game.

Week 8 5/22/15: Pinball Machine Frame

5/22/15

Front View of the pinball machine frame

Diagonal View of the pinball machine frame

Back View of the pinball machine

Week 8: 5-21-15

During the day the frame was constructed with plating for the sides, bottom, and front. The backboard was also built so there will be a place for the display to be; space was taken into account for all of the wiring. Code for the sensors is still under development but is making progress, when the code is fully completed then the wiring will be done for the machine. The ultrasonic is no longer counting but it doesn't reset after 3 failures, instead it just stops the code completely. The construction is going to be continued when everything else, wiring and coding, is fully complete.

Week 8 meeting 5-19-15

In the meeting, the ultrasonic started to have issues when it came to being in a code with multiple sensors. The touch and flex sensor worked together in a single code but ultrasonic would only count instead of sensing when something got within a certain range of it. A layout of the sensors is being developed to show people how the setup for the senors that are used will be arranged. The blog layout has also been changed to fit a Drexel theme. The display and touch sensor have been put into one code and the force put on the touch sensor was able to be seen on the display.

Construction of backboard frame and side plating

As shown on the top, the backboard frame that will house the display was assembled and drilled to the pinball machine. The bottom part shows the side plating has been added to the sides. It also has been added to the front and bottom.

Week 7 meeting 5/14/15

During the meeting the code for a working display sensor has been made. It can display "High Score" and "Score" along with numbers that correspond to points. The other objective that was attempted to be done during the meeting was getting the code for the three main sensors that will track points working in one single code. An issue with this is that when the touch sensor was active then the ultrasonic sensor would stop working, the ultrasonic also didn't sense when something was within a certain range of it, instead it was counting. Multiple attempts at fixing this problem were done but nothing was found to fix it. Originally the construction of the machine was supposed to be done at the machine shop but the shop was closed during the scheduled time of construction. A new time has been scheduled so there will be about an hour to 1 1/2 hours for construction. The pieces for the machine have been traced and are ready to be cut out and assembled. Once completed then the sensors can be placed and wired in preparation for the final product.

Week 6 meeting: 5/7/15

During the meeting, the parts needed for the game platform, flippers and starting ramp were settled on. The parts that are needed are plywood, plastic sheets, screws, PVC pipes, 2x4 wood and a white marker. The display for the pinball machine was coded for, though more coding will be needed in order to properly display the player's score. The blueprint paper that will be used for the pinball machine's design were obtained and so has multiple breadboards and Leds. Coding for the touch sensors that will be used on the three targets was created. For the starting ramp, PVC pipe was chosen to be used  to be used since its easy to work with and modify when creating the curve at the end of the ramp. The plastic sheets will be used to cover the top of the pinball machine. This will make sure the pinball doesn't leave the playing field if it's hit too hard and makes sure nothing gets inside the machine from the top. The spring that will be used on the ball launcher was tested. A new spring was considered due to the fact that the tension or spring constant was too high making stretching the spring difficult. Multiple design ideas for the sensors and flippers were created.

Design ideas for sensors and flippers

Miniature version of pinball machine

Small scale version of the pinball machine.

Week 4 meeting: 4/23/15

During the meeting, more parts were ordered and the miniature model was complete. The parts ordered were 100 ft of copper wire and a display for the arduino so the score can be displayed. The display can hold 4 lines of text so a code for the high score will be made so the arduino records the highest score gotten before it resets. The 1st and 2nd line will read "high-score" and the actual high-score respectively, the 3rd and 4th line will be "score" and the players actual score. For a tilt sensor, an accelerometer was chosen to use since it will be the most reliable. The materials that will be used for the machine were discussed because some materials would be hard to cut through and if a mistake was made then it will cost more time to re-do it with certain materials. New sensors for the point system were being chosen, the vibration sensors would be hard to get but with the flex sensor code already stable and working it would be easier to find a way to make those work with the point system.

Construction of wooden frame for pinball machine

Bottom half of frame with support

Finished wooden frame

Week 4 Meeting: 4-21-15

During the meeting, the coding for the flex sensors was developed. Since the flex sensors came in they were tested and found to be reliable. The analog reading showed that when the flex sensors weren't flexed the value was 0 degrees. The coding that would utilize the flex sensor for scoring or lighting LEDs still needs to be developed. Based on how the flex sensor worked the adruino could signal the scoreboard to add a certain score if the degrees goes above 0. The reading could also be used to switch on a LED. The frame for the pinball machine was created the weekend before which gave a better outlook on how the pinball design will look.  The ultrasonic sensor was tested and it showed how far a object was from the sensor. The sensor could be used to show if the ball bearing has fallen past the flippers and the game needs to be reset. Construction of the scale model was started. Balsa wood for the frame of the scale model was bought. A circuit board was taken apart for the circuit design.

Flipper design in AutoDesk Force Effect Motion (Video Link to Dropbox)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nk8mrt0tvww846f/IMG_1434.mp4?dl=0

Week 3 Meeting: 4-16-15

During the meeting the arduino's voltage was tested again. Multiple codes were used but the voltage wasn't as reliable as hoped. The voltage reading from the wire just sitting there was above 1 and less than two, when the ball touched the wire the voltage went below one or to five. However whenever something else touched the wire it gave a voltage lower than one which would make using voltage unreliable since if something else touches the wire it could read it as the ball. Different sensors have been brought up and the members are brainstorming which sensors will be most reliable. Vibration sensors were one of the sensors brought up but with the machine having buttons that have to be pushed there is fear that those vibrations will cause the sensors to go off. If a vibration sensors was used then an idea to counter the button pushing would be a tilt sensor so if the player hits the buttons too hard or shook the machine then the machine would stop loading points and alert the player they shook the machine too much. When the tilt sensor stops sensing then it will allow points to be rewarded again.

Arduino Testing

During a meeting today, the arduino was tested and without the sensors that are required for the machine an accelerameter was used to test the arduino. The accelerameter worked well with the code that was used but getting  the arduino to keep score for each sensor that is hit will require more work. A bread board will be required to plug in every sensor that will be needed and allows for flexibility and less clutter. If getting the arduino to work does not happen then a mechanical design will have to be implemented. Further assistance is needed with the arduino in order to continue with this design.

Flipper and button design

    

    The way the flipper design will work is when the buttons are pushed a metal rod will be pushed in and pull a second rod down that is attached to a metal wire. The metal wire will be wrapped around the peg that the flipper is on, when the second metal rod is pulled the wire will turn and rotate the flipper peg which will rotate the flipper.

Week 2: Meeting 4/9/15

During the meeting, the machines layout was discussed and the materials for the parts were being decided. The design proposal was still being worked on but the members were sending their completed parts of the proposal to one person to put it all together and submit it. The budget for the machine has also been started and is almost completed for the prototype design that has been decided.

Week 2: 4/7/15

Today group 2 met in the Race learning terrace. Different parts of the design proposal were discussed and divided up between each individual group member. There will be a meeting later on in the week which will be used to critique any parts of the design proposal that may need revision. Designs for how the score will be read when contact between the ball and bumpers: one design included a conductive metal that will cause a current that will be read.

Week 1 4/3/15

Welcome to section 073- group 2's blog. The project that was chosen was the pinball machine. During the first meeting, a general layout was created of the machine as well as some materials that will be required to make the machine. Multiple methods for doing a scoreboard and creating a system for input and output methods have been written down. Some methods for doing a scoreboard would be an NXT or running MATLAB through a tablet or monitor. For the input and output methods, there was the thought of using an Arduino micro-computer to light up parts or add points to the scoreboard.

Brainstorming sketch

The preliminary sketch for the pinball machine.