9/22/2023
Nathan Kurth from Chem-trend is sending a sample of ultra purge resin. The purpose of this is to develop a cleaning procedure for the recycle-bot extruder. Once the sample is received sometime next week for trialing can proceed.
Ideas are still being formulated on how to improve the cooling of the filament out of the extruder, but design and construction should begin next week.
10/7/2023
Testing of the purge resin began on 10/6/2023 but due to a break in the connection between the part ant the screw the trial needed to be stopper. A redesigned connection piece is current being made and will be implemented ASAP. This new part will include thicker side walls, PETG material, and 100% fill to increase the sheer strength of the part.
3d Modeling of the first design of the new cooling system has begun and should be completed this coming week.
Next Steps
-Repeat Purge Cycle
-Finish Cooler Design and work on implementation.
10/28/2023
-The motor was reattached using L bracket steel after the it was found that screws were not strong enough. This allowed us to restart the units with the new PETG part that was previous ally printed. Now we need to continue work to reenforce the strength of the unit and continue work on the cooling unit.
11/4/2023
Recyclebot was taking apart due to stress issue stemming from the introduction of ultra purge and a new, stronger motor. Once taking apart it was discovered that recyclebot has critical failures in the hopper and connection parts between the hopper and the barrel. Most of these were caused by the screw itself or the heat from the barrel. The decisions was made that ether a redesign or rebuild will be necessary. What this will look like is still developing.
1/27/2024
Below is a drawing of the new base idea for Recyclebot. This involves an 80/20 aluminum extrusion frame. The plan is to chain drive the unit to allow for gearing and to add shear point to reduce unit damage during operation. In this coming week, we need to finalize part list for the extruder and work on funding to project through EMI. The biggest concern is getting funding in adequate time.
2/3/2024
Recyclebot is still moving forward with the same plan. We are working to finalize parts list and budgets. This will all be rolled into an application to the EMI program for the need funding for Recyclebot.
2/10/2024
Recyclebot is still working on the EMI program application. Will be completed early the week of the 12th.
2/17/2024
Recyclebot is still working on the EMI program application. The rough draft was submitted to the rep to go over before final changes. We also received the barrel and screw unit this week. Recyclebot will begin drafting mounting parts for the frame, motor, and extrusion unit. The picture below is the new extrusion barrel compared to the old barrel.
2/24/2024
This week most of the work was done on the CDR presentation. Also, the EMI proposal was submitted to GM.
3/9/2024
This week the team is still waiting for a response from EMI. We are a bit locked down until funding is acquired. Below is the working idea for the barrel mount system. The idea is to use angle iron to mount the barrel to the frame. Then attach a plate to properly behind that to provide the thrust bearing for the screw stop. Next week will being the frame assembly.
3/16/2024
This week I work on the external portion of the frame of the new Recyclebot. This involved cutting, squaring and mounting double wide extrusion. Next week I will cut the internal supports for the mounting of components.
3/24/2024
This week I cut the internal frame pieces for the unit, know we can begin the process of mounting the motor and barrel to the frame. We also got word from EMI that Recyclebot should be funded so work will begin with their team to organize the future of the project.
3/31/2024
This week I work on my lab task of going through the 3d filament. This involved a manual inspection of the filament quality. I also order a selection of parts from temperature controllers to gears for the actual units. In the coming week construction will continue. Below is an image with dimensions of the frame so far.
4/7/2024
This week a lot was done. First as a group we made our social media post, and did the rough draft of our report. Our group as wrap the barrel in nichrome wire. I personal worked on the barrel mounts included in pictures below.
This involved first cutting 80/20 aluminum extrusion to size. Then expanding the gap between the slots. The all of the piece were slid onto the barrel and attach with the 2 L Brackets, and 2 L Brackets cut down to size. Then the areas around the mounting holes was mark and cut out with dremal / hacksaw / tin snips. Then it was placed onto the support mounts.
4/13/2024
This week has mostly been spent on preparing the slides for EMI and preparing the final report for this semester. I also work on the first iteration of the back plate to hold the screw in the extruder. I would consider this first attempt a failure with room to improve. The plate just has too much wiggle room. I think it might be salvageable, but a redesign might need to be done. The barrel was also wrapped with corresponding temperature zone this week.
4/20/2024
This week was spent working on all the documentation for this year. We had our meeting with the EMI team as a year wrap up. The slides are located in the Recycle Bot drive. The rest of the time was spent working on the final report. The last thing for the year will be completing the final report. We look to come out to a fast start next year with a solid plan from the beginning.