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Today our subteam split up and part of us worked on creating a plywood prototype of our design, and part of us worked on CAD with Jay. 

Neil worked with subteam members to connect the pneumatic system to our prototype, and give a crash course on pneumatics to new members. They had to test the gauges and fix all the leaks in the system that they built, and then started on the plywood. They used the clevis that came with the pistons that we had and attached it to the wood that they found for the clamps. The wood was cut and attached to the pistons. Right now we have two pistons each connected to a clamp and a working pneumatics system hooked up to each piston.

On the CAD side, we downloaded the files for the piston we want to use, and the clevis stuff, also the sliders, and began modeling the clamp plate, and the back and front brace plates. We have the front brace plate, the clamp, the pistons, and the clevis stuff, and are working on creating an assembly of all of this stuff.

We encountered a couple huge problems with our design. 

We became worried about the size of our pistons (bore size), and wondered if they would output enough force. We found a force table on the bimba website that made us scared (on the Additional Specs tab of the piston we are looking at, http://www.bimba.com/Products-and-Cad/Actuators/Inch/Compact/Low-Profile/Flat-One/). We don't know whether we are going to change the bore size yet, more deliberation is needed.

Another issue we are becoming scared about is the fact that the pistons are supporting the weight of what we're carrying. This means there is shear force on the shafts of the piston, and this shouldn't be the case. We were brainstorming designs for how to do this, such as adding supports connected to the clamp on either side of the pistons, or possibly springs on either side of the piston that are at rest when the clamp is retracted, and the piston is not connected to the clamp, so the piston pushes the clamp without being screwed into the clamp and the springs pull back on the clamp. Drawings can be found in the drawer. 

We need to solve the issue of our shear problem, decide whether we need one piston or two on either clamp, and complete the design of our apparatus, taking into account design constraints that have been highlighted previously.

yeah