As I mentioned here, I'm taking a class called 2.670 during IAP this year. 2.670 is the class that almost every Mechanical Engineering sophomore takes during their IAP since it leads into 2.007, one of the most famous robotics classes at MIT.
Last time I only had pictures of some parts and a toolbox, but now that I've finished building my robot I figured I should let you know how things went.
Let's talk about some of the tools we used first. We used band saws
to cut some aluminum brackets. We used mills
to drill holes in some polystyrene brackets, and we used lathes
to turn and tap a plug for the end of our bottle. A tool we didn't use, but look really fancy is a pipe bender.
In addition to using heavy machinery, there was a lot of "station work" where students would wander around to various tables to assemble various parts. There was the riveting table, the caster wheel table, the shoulder bolt table, etc. For much of the two weeks, the lab looked a lot like this:
There was also some wiring and coding going on, which justifies the giant table full of random wires, USB->Serial adapters, and 7-segment displays.
After two weeks of assembling and coding (and a little painting) I ended up with . . .
I like to call it a spastic spider bot, even though he only has two legs. I call him spastic because even if you tell him to go straight, he'll still kind of go wherever he wants. The proof is in the video, I guess, so I present to you what a spastic spider bot looks like when he's supposed to go straight, turn right, turn left, and then repeat. That's right, theoretically there's order to what you're about to see.
So now I'm done. I have a pistol competition at West Point in a couple of days (this one) and I plan on trying to clean my room/get organized before term starts. Also, Toy Design starts soon and I'm really excited for that! I'm filming this year (have I mentioned that?) and get to visit Hasbro!
Ok, one last thing. Somebody (I don't remember who) asked about laptops for MechE. I have a different answer now than I've had in the past.
If you buy a new laptop now from almost any manufacturer, it's going to come pre-installed with Vista. SolidWorks DOES NOT run on Vista. No, I don't care if it's the Vista version of SolidWorks, it doesn't work. I've tried it on a computer more than capable of running it, I've talked to the CAD guys at Hasbro, and I've talked with other people. If you're going to be MechE and run SolidWorks (which you'll have to) then you NEED Windows XP. Thus, your options are:
1) Buy a Vista laptop and then swap out Vista for XP (MIT will give you a free copy of Windows XP).
2) Buy a Mac and use BootCamp to dual boot with XP (this is what I'm doing, it's working great)
3) Do whatever you want and use lab computers to run SolidWorks (not ideal)
4) Complain that SolidWorks should run on Linux and then write some crazy code to make it work (also not advised/necessarily possible).
Hope that helps! Happy January!
Comments (Closed after 30 days to reduce spam)
There's a 5th option - you can run a virtual machine with XP on it. This is a shameless plug for the company I work at, but also a good alternative. Huzzah!
Also, Vista is one of the worst OS's out there, regardless of MechE stuff. It's best to avoid it altogether and revert to good ol' XP. I use XP x64 and I'm very happy.
Posted by: Michelle on January 29, 2009
"4) Complain that SolidWorks should run on Linux and then right some crazy code to make it work (also not advised/necessarily possible)."
You mean 'write', right?
Posted by: anonymous on January 29, 2009
Posted by: akhila on January 29, 2009
Dual boot Vista and XP (dear god don't get a mac)
Posted by: 0 on January 29, 2009
a) Suck it up and run Solidworks in Vista (I do it, have been for about a year... then again, I haven't updated my 2007-2008 copy to the 2008-2009 one yet, so maybe this option doesn't work)
b) Suck it up and run Solidworks in Linux (with a VM, sure, but it's better than running it in OS X or Vista. I've had virtualbox recommended to me for this purpose by somebody who does it successfully)
Speaking of sucking (yes this whole thing was one giant to medium-size lead-in pun), Snively, your robot might be better if it blew
Posted by: Cam on January 29, 2009
Posted by: Cam on January 29, 2009
I didn't specify which OS to run the VM from for exactly that reason :D
Posted by: Michelle on January 29, 2009
Posted by: Harrison on January 29, 2009
Posted by: Yan on January 29, 2009
How you had bilt dat robot?
Readin yo blogs maks me fuhl ghetto cuz I don't bild robots. I can barely even read.
So,
Shoot...
Posted by: LEquita on January 29, 2009
Posted by: Cam on January 29, 2009
Posted by: Matt A. on January 29, 2009
Posted by: MIT '12 on January 29, 2009
I love you liitle spastic robot!
It's so cute!
Posted by: anonymous on January 29, 2009
Posted by: another 12 on January 29, 2009
Yo!
Thanks for answering my question, Snively. I thought about the Boot Camp option for Mac. Decisions...decisions.
Posted by: Steph on January 30, 2009
It's right here
Posted by: Snively on January 30, 2009
Posted by: 0 on January 30, 2009
Posted by: Angelina on January 30, 2009
What's that double wire hooked up on the side of the big bin (2nd photo)? Or maybe it's just a visual effect?
Posted by: Kam '13 on January 30, 2009
What do you think about course 16? How famous is it at MIT?
Does it require SolidWorks as well?
Posted by: Sudhanshu on January 30, 2009
The summer before school starts there will be an application to be a blogger. You will have to submit your current blog and write a few essays. Then the admissions staff goes through and tries to pick a diverse group of bloggers.
@Kam '13
Those are the electronics for moving the piece on the mill around. It just looks like it's attached to the trash can.
@Sudhanshu
16 is pretty big here, it's got a following. As for SolidWorks, I can see how you would, but I don't know for sure. They may focus more on some specialized aero/astro software. I know MatLab is a biggie, but that's not actually modeling so I couldn't say for sure. I can ask around though.
Posted by: Snively on January 30, 2009
Posted by: Aditya on January 30, 2009
Posted by: Aditya on January 30, 2009
Why spider though?
Posted by: Ashwin on January 30, 2009
Posted by: Angelina on January 30, 2009
Also, I have a question. I've been wondering for a while about laser tag at MIT. Are there any clubs or teams devoted to it? Also, are there any really good arenas nearby? I figured you'd be the person to ask since you do pistol, which is kind of like laser tag except not really.
I'd really appreciate it if you can report back about MIT's laser tag status!
Posted by: Rebeca '13? on January 30, 2009
Posted by: 0 on January 30, 2009
I am international applicant and I wanted to know
approx. in which month will MIT declare its results for regular applicants..............
help me guys..........
waiting for reply..........
Posted by: Mak on January 31, 2009
Posted by: DOS on January 31, 2009
Regular applicants find out at the end of March/beginning of April. It should be the same for international students.
Good luck!
Posted by: abc on January 31, 2009
What?
Posted by: 0 on January 31, 2009
Posted by: 0 on February 1, 2009
Posted by: raforther on February 1, 2009
As far as I know, MIT sends the application for blogging by post to admitted students, along with the other admission documents. One of it's requirements is having your own blog.
Posted by: Sudhanshu on February 1, 2009
Suck it up a dual boot with XP, it works great!
Posted by: 0 on February 1, 2009
...Can non-U.S citizens join that? I was pretty wicked with an M-16 during my military service
Posted by: Michelle from Israel on February 2, 2009
Posted by: Michelle from Israel on February 2, 2009
Posted by: angelina on February 2, 2009
Posted by: marcus on February 4, 2009
Posted by: marcus on February 4, 2009
Posted by: yuvutu on February 5, 2009
Posted by: xvideos on February 5, 2009
Posted by: tiava on February 5, 2009
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