This week I started by trying to install the flat thruster guards. I realized that my previous mentality of having large tolerances and not worrying about centering the mesh, would not work.
In order to fix this, I Tightened the center tolerances and increased the outer diameter. This increase in outer diameter allowed the guard to rest on the outside of the thruster. This increased the rigidity of the guards.
In order to center the guard, I used the Make software to add a center point to the cut file. To make this the starting point, I had to manually add the traces.
When cutting, I used the vector tool in the layout software to center the nozzle of the water jet on a corner of the mesh. This worked great when I installed the test guard, so i continued to cut the other 7.
On Wednesday I first neatened the strain relief, then I went to the pool with Miles and Jonas to help with testing. While testing Jonas realized that a fork manipulator with a smaller width would be beneficial. I realized that one of the tasks Jonas was struggling with would be much easier if the fork manipulator had a bar spanning across the middle of it. That night I designed and printed a prototype of it.
On Thursday I assembled the prototype and tested it. Jonas approved of it, but he had a suggestion. He suggested adding a divot into the center of the bar to seat the hook it is used for grabbing. He also decided that the smaller fork should replace the gripper.
I then tried adding a highlight to the edge of the claws. Jonas liked this so I started stripping the paint off of the claws and re-painting them.
