Week 7 Update

Natalie: This weekend I did some more reading for my ethics paper and worked on the draft. 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mechatronics.2019.102272

While we research to determine what motor we should order for our project, I decided to look back at the original journal that I found at the start of the semester and took note that they used bi-directional brushless DC motors for their exoskeleton joints. When looking up more about brushless DC motors, I noticed that there are potential ways to specify/ adapt torque which is a crucial part of our project. If we end up going with a DC motor of some kind this would be something to take into consideration over other motor types.

Chris: Much of my time this week was spent split between he Ethics paper draft, researching parts for acquisition for the project, and going through the cost sheet in an attempt to rectify some issues identified by our team as well as by Dr. Gordon. Some of the information I found was:

-Ratcheting adjustable plastic components, such as those found in welding helmets in order to optimize the fit of the device to the skull, could be used for the back portion of the exoskeleton. 

-Sliding components that give up little stability when fully extended are available online for the adjustable portions of the legs

(below are examples of things i found on the web)

https://www.mcmaster.com/aluminum-telescoping-tubing/

https://www.amazon.com/DOGIPOT-1301-P-Galvanized-Telescopic-Square/dp/B010VBM794/ref=sr_1_14?dchild=1&keywords=telescoping+tube+locking+button&qid=1635364490&qsid=147-5739791-2575521&sr=8-14&sres=B00M417MOU%2CB078V4C74W%2CB07B4Z2QQN%2CB083YZ23JG%2CB07NYVMTBP%2CB08C5C68PX%2CB00N01CLW6%2CB078XDRVMC%2CB07SJCPZ5T%2CB079Q293P1%2CB07CWVGW9Y%2CB08DRNHRQM%2CB071R8W8GZ%2CB010VBM794%2CB07BK3ZX2C%2CB07T9HFKBN%2CB075VBV4QH%2CB082K8964L%2CB004Y76LJ4%2CB08DQXR345

https://www.steelsupplylp.com/sku/152497?gclid=Cj0KCQjw8eOLBhC1ARIsAOzx5cHwbdbMEGWOnOn0NBbBCCxvO4j4GOiPcOBIB4PAc_3ITRK8V_0xkZMaAgxgEALw_wcB

Brad: Much of my time this week had gone to looking into various types of stepper motors as well as finding out what the joint torque is on the joints for the hip, knee, and ankle. After meeting with kim before class on Tuesday, he had directed as a team to look into the use of brushless DC motors, along with finding various journals on existing exoskeleton and their construction. 

Motor links 
https://www.maxongroup.us/maxon/view/product/gear/spur/gs16/201466

https://www.mcmaster.com/stepper-motors/

Torque reference links 

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Joint-torque-and-power-for-human-hip-knee-and-ankle-in-treadmill-walking-Joint-torques_fig1_263814767

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0966636299000326

Mohammed: Committed time in the ethics paper, also looking into improving the options with stepper motors as the range of motors were limited at the time of search do to the blindsiding of budget limitations. Most of the research changed in direction after a meeting with Professor Kim as he advised the group in targeting a Brushless motors instead of steppers. Thankfully we were given a direction in which we could commit to by researching other groups in their motor choices. With confirmation in what the budget we are looking at in the future we can access what limits we have in motor choices as well.