It has been quite a week for team ‘Started From The Bottom’. With this being our last week to prototype, we frantically rushed to finish our device for the presentation on Wednesday.
On Monday, our gears arrived and we worked on revising all of the mounts for the new dimensions. We had Jeremy lathe the new pieces and started assembling the crank. We also put the finishing touches on our chair in the form of hinges, metal reinforcements, and straps. By Wednesday morning, we had about 60% of the device complete. The chair could hold Kalen’s weight (just barely), but the crank mechanism still needed some adjustment.
Bruno and I worked through lunch so that 10 minutes before the presentation we were able to test the device completely with Kalen. With the crank never having been tested with significant weight before, I was nervous. And my gut-feeling was right. After about three rotations of the crank, the bearing popped out of the front mount sending Kalen crashing to the floor. She thankfully emerged unharmed, but I was sad to see the prototype break right before the presentation.
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| Kalen sitting on the 1st final chair | Kalen “using” the sliding board |
Despite this letdown, the presentation went well. It was also interesting to hear what all the other SEED teams had been working on over the course of the internship. Though we have daily morning meetings for team updates, it was refreshing to see the full projects in a more formal setting.
SEED 2017 Interns ( + instructors and Jeremy PalmerTM )
After seeing the successes of the other teams, our team was definitely more motivated to fix the prototype. At the end of the day, the chair had been fixed and we invited the instructors over to take a look. We demonstrated the scissor lift with Kalen on it and we could already see some problems. The bracket that pushes the scissor back was extremely hot. Also, the screw appeared to be buckling underneath the weight. Although these problems were very alarming, Dr. Wettergreen decided he wanted to try the device. Knowing the scissor lift could barely support Kalen, I knew this was not going to end well.
Just as expected, when Dr. Wettergreen sat on the device a giant explosion occurred. The entire crank mechanism fell out of place sending Dr. Wettergreen to the ground with a huge noise that resonated throughout the OEDK. Thankfully, he also was not harmed. But I (and probably my other teammates) went home that day feeling disappointed and a bit hopeless.
The following morning, we came up with a plan to finish the device by lunch time. We decided to spend another hour troubleshooting the crank mechanism before replacing it with the scissor lift’s original hydraulic pump. Though we had eliminated the pump for many reasons, we wanted to prove that we at least had a functional chair prototype (even though the crank mechanism failed). Thus, we finished our 2nd final prototype before lunch break and were able to test it with a bunch of people from around the OEDK. It wasn’t what we had envisioned or planned, but it worked well and proved our concept of a scissor lift wheelchair transfer.
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| 2nd final chair with sliding board extended | Collapsed chair without cushion for storage |
All in all, I’m very proud of what my team has accomplished. We hit many roadblocks this summer (especially in this past week), but we never let it destroy our enthusiasm. We continually brainstormed solutions to all of the crazy challenges we faced, then worked together to see them through. It’ll be sad to see the team disband (back to Rice, back to Brazil, and back to high school), but I’m happy I had the chance to work with these people if even for a little while.
Working at the OEDK this summer has been one of the most valuable experiences of my life. I’ve learned how to work on cross-cultural teams and dive deeply into the engineering design process. I learned Solidworks and 3D printing, became more proficient at Adobe Illustrator and laser cutting, and cut, sanded, and bolted more wood together than I ever wanted to in my life. I learned that I can actually work an 8-5 job, contributing 300+ hours a week to one project.
Above all, I made so many memories this summer that are irreplaceable. Through all the laughter, frustration, and sleep deprivation, I made some unforgettable friends and discovered a new home at the OEDK. It has been a wild journey, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
For the last time, live from the OEDK upstairs computer lab,
Christina Rincon
Team Started From The Bottom
p.s. Critical Mass 2.0 is happening tonight. We’re ready.