Hello Everyone! Our team is back from winter break and looking forward to continue working on the LVIT! During our break we each spent time advancing in our respective areas.

Phil, our design specialist, had spent time working on the model and finalizing the SolidWorks drawings. Below is the model of our final design, which is much more open and features a motorized drop feed powered by an Arduino. Furthermore, he has also begun the process of ordering parts and we look forward to their arrival.

As the imaging specialist, I have spent the break re-working the code to allow greater flexibility, easier reading, more descriptive comments for next years team, and many more adjustments, updates, and additions. Most importantly, I have begun working on incorporating a 3-Dimensional analysis into the code. Initially, I will be assuming the Z-Deformation is uniform throughout each row. However I will be working on an alternative method which should result in greater accuracy. This method will be using perspective to determine the Z deformation by keeping track of the change in diameter of each dot.

Lastly, Melissa, our Simulations Analyst has been doing research into LS-DYNA, a software that is a part of ANSYS which is designed to calculate low velocity impacts. This should provide higher accuracy in the simulations when compared to Explicit Dynamics, the previous software. Melissa has been running simulations in both programs to determine how the two differ, and to confirm if LS-DYNA is sufficient for our research.

As this semester continues, we will be working hard to incorporate all of our individual work into one cohesive package. A heavy emphasis will be initially put on manufacturing before shifting into a focus on testing.

Please stay tuned for more updates soon to come!