Rubik's Cube Solver
Aim: Over the years I became quite quick at solving the cube. I was keen to see if I could create a mechanical system that would do it in a similar time. Because of financial limitations and equipment I thought it impossible to achieve my usual times of around 1 minute and so settled on a target of 10 minutes. So my aim became; “To create a mechanical system that could solve the cube 100% reliably in less than 10 minutes” What I did: I started from the view that I wanted to get it to find a solution using the process that I usually use. The downside of this approach was that this approach meant that most internet research was irrelevant to my project. Also some methods I found were very sophisticated and expensive eg. the university professor who created a system to solve it in 6 seconds. I wrote software capable of solving the cube, printed out its results then testing the instruction steps by manually manipulating the cube. This was improved until 100% reliable. I then developed the user interface to input the colours on each face. The building of the hardware to manipulate the cube proved my most difficult challenge. To get the cube flipped and rotated accurately using the 5 servos. I modeled this using lego and popsicle sticks until the movements met the accuracy and reliability outcomes I needed. Surprisingly these materials held up to the challenge. Integrating the software and hardware functional models took a lot longer than anticipated to get the software instructions executed and coordinated. A great deal of fine tuning was required. Outcome: The system solves the cube 100% of the time. I was exceptionally pleased with this result in view of the lego and popsicle stick model. On reflection I have achieved a successful working model that university students have aspired to and this gives me great satisfaction. Conclusion: While the outcome is pleasing I envisaged achieving a much faster system with easier data input using camera and colour recognition software. Unfortunately time and my budget restrictions prevented this from being developed. However this is a step I am interested in implementing in the future. The speed could be improved by designing more efficient cube solving algorithms, implementing a camera with colour recognition, and possibly rethinking and redesigning my mechanical design. I would also like to Figure 1 illustrates how the air would flow through a fan, and get pushed underground in several short HDPE pipes. This tempered air would then be fed into a small, insulated air chamber built against the home that contains an air-sourced heat pump. The walls of this chamber would have small vents to balance air pressure, and an exit near the top for cooled exhaust air. When the temperature outdoors is in the coldest stage of winter (daily average of -3.0ºC), the tempered air being brought into the chamber would simulate an outdoor ambient temperature of about 10.0ºC, allowing a heat pump to operate with a COP of ~3.79 (based on data from Goodman Air Conditioning and Heating).² This means that for every unit of energy put into the heat pump, 3.79 units of energy are extracted. 4. Conclusions: In building an enclosed air chamber for around an air-sourced heat pump, it was found that it is possible to simulate a 10.0ºC climate in the coldest parts of winter through air tempering. This will allow the heat pump to run substantially more efficiently throughout the year. This system could be used effectively to heat a home in the winter, as well as cool a home in the summer.
Transformer Robot
Nicholas’s project is a transforming robot, who he has named Reggie. He's about a foot tall and can transform from a biped into a vehicle and vice versa?\r Reggie has been Nick’s project for just under a year now, mainly working on him in technology classes. He operates without physical connection to anything else, so everything he needs from micro controllers to power is stored somewhere on Reggie’s body?\r Reggie is controlled through a programmable Arduino board (programmed in C++) that is connected up to a motor driver, for controlling the two driving motors and an SSC-32 servo controller for controlling the 14 servos via serial port. The Arduino uses the SSC-32 to coordinate the servos movements using pre-programmed sets of movements stored in procedures in order to complete all actions.\r All the parts were produced on a 3D CAD system to begin with, as well as the robot as a whole, although the design did change drastically over the course of its construction and now is considerably different from the original design as there were many problems and complications ranging from space to torque issues that called for a change in design.\r Most of the parts were from the servo erector set from lynx motion, although some of them were used in the way they were intended to and most of them were modified slightly. Some parts Nick manufactured himself either on a rapid prototyping machine, a lathe or milling machine and sometimes a combination of them or even high temperature soldiering?\r Currently Reggie is capable of driving and standing up and is currently radio controlled. He will eventually be capable of walking and modifications to allow him to (such as stronger leg servos) have been made to facilitate that, but it is possible more may have to be made.
Vitamin C in Cold and Flu Drinks
This chemistry project was designed to measure the vitamin C levels within liquid cold and flu remedies, and see if they had been accurately stated on the package. A range of Cold and flu drinks was selected, including one made with only cold water (Lemsip Original, Lemsip Max, Effer-C-Cold Water, Relief and Lemting) .The procedure used to carry out the experiment was a redox titration, each trial required two titrations, with the first being a blank titration to determine a sodium thiosulfate concentration in the absence of vitamin C. The following Drinks had more Vitamin C than stated on the packaging – Lemsip Original (19.4%), Lemsip Max (22.1%), Effer-C (17%) and Relief (8.8%). Lemting was the only drink made to directions that had less Vitamin C than stated by 31.8%. Two conclusions can be drawn from these results, the first being that Lemting has the most inaccurately recorded mass of vitamin C and is also the only drink with less vitamin C than stated. The other interesting result is that Effer-C (the only drink made with cold water) had 170mg of extra vitamin C. Of the other drinks that had more vitamin C, Lemsip Max was next with an extra 22.8mg. Early research had showed that Vitamin C was affected by high temperatures (above approximately 70oC) and, as cold and flu drinks are commonly made with hot water the Vitamin C levels might change when they were made up. This poses a further possible research question which is, in making cold and flu remedies with hot water is some of the available Vitamin C being destroyed?
Wind Power
My school requires year 13 students to complete a year long project of a topic of their choice, culminating in the presentation of a thesis, a display and speech to a public audience. Many different topics appealed, but in the end I decided to build a micro wind-turbine. I have always been fascinated with mechanics, mathematics, engineering, aerodynamics and electricity. A wind turbine is a mixture of these technologies, with the overall goal of electricity production. In a world that is starting to see the true costs of fossil fuels, renewable energy seems to be increasingly popular and the demand for electricity is always growing.\r I was aware that building a wind-turbine from the foundations up wouldn’t be easy. Many of the experts I contacted in the early days cautioned me against trying such a complex thing in one year, at the same time as completing a full Year 13 course. There were, however, people prepared to support me. Michael Lawley, who builds micro wind turbines in New Plymouth was very helpful, just full of priceless knowledge and gave me a few basic parts to start with. The knowledge gained from Doug Clark, who also builds his own 11 kW wind turbines, was such an inspiration. Later I had practical help from Wilson Springford and Darron Matthews.\r I investigated and documented the history of and current state of wind technology, as well as my own experience and learning in the design, construction and testing process. I thought it would be interesting to find out how the electrical and mechanical side works.\r The generator, a washing machine motor, needed to be completely rewired, and converted to DC (direct current) from AC (alternating current). I built my own 3-phase AC to DC converter.\r Other parts like the disc brakes and bearings had to be found. The rest was hand-made and every part, to a certain extent, had to be modified. Probably more than twenty braking system design attempts led to the final decision to incorporate the wind-activated hydraulic disc brake where the wind paddle starts to ease the brake on over a certain wind speed.\r I studied the dynamics of wind turbine blades, their shape, the material they were made from and how this affected their performance. The decision to make my own blades helped me gain a great sense of achievement and knowledge of blade design. I found some New Zealand made 100% recycled plastic pipe, an added bonus because I wanted to have minimal environmental impact. I designed the turbine with three blades to give better starting torque along with a lower top speed, perfect for how I wired the generator.\r I designed the swivel, the part of the wind turbine that enables the power cables to get from the turbine down the tower without twisting up and has the job of carrying the whole turbine, which is mostly made from recycled aluminium. The steel and bearings used to create the swivel were all second-hand parts and materials. The power from the turbine passes through the swivel into the cables and down the tower. The main mast of the tower is a little over 4.7 metres and pivots on two shorter supporting poles which go down around 2.6 metres to the bottom of the reinforced concrete foundation.\r I managed to, design and construct an operational prototype micro wind-turbine, incorporating recycled and recyclable materials as much as possible, with the end result surpassing all expectations.