Most of the major steering components, including 4 upper control arms and 2 lower control arms, are finished already. We carried out most of the cutting in the Tech Shop San Jose using the water jet cutter. We come across problems with fitting the cut parts onto the main structure since the material is thicker than initially planned. Since we reduce the size of the upper steering arms to 95% of the original size. The rest of the parts stay the same.
We also discover problems with assembling the parts together since the tab on the parts are too shallow to fit properly onto the slot of the other parts, making them every unstable when being assembled. So We use a metal file to make the depth of the slot to 0.25 inches deep. And for the rest of the parts, we change the design so the water jet cutter can make precise tab and slot.
I took both the MIG/TIG welding class in Tech Shop but we reckon that we will use MIG welding in assembling the parts together because 1.) MIG welding is relatively easier and less time-consuming 2.) MIG can make stronger welding. We actually experiment with both method before we came out with that decision. All the parts can be assembled without major problems except when occasionally the material is too thin and they are burnt through when the 2 pieces have different thickness.
We have chosen to use NEMA 34 stepper motors for our actuator and we are in the process for seeking sponsorship from a stepper motor in Santa Clara. They agree they can donate 2 stepper motors in return for their company name to be mentioned in the project.
Our current schedule is to fit our control arms onto the main structure to inspect the fitment before full welding is carried out on the main structure. On the coming Thursday and Friday we will eb fabricating the linkage system consisting of ball joints, threaded rods and some of the pieces we cut from 1/4 inch thick steel plate. We will also build the mounting bracket for the stepper motor.
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