ME 120

This page collects information on the three projects for ME 120. Most of this information is presented over the course of several lectures.

The mobile robot project is new for Fall 2019. The goal is to build a two-wheeled robot and control its motion via Arduino programs.

Mobile Robot Page

The goal of the breathing LED project is to develop your skills with algorithmic thinking. We begin with a problem specification, “Make an LED circuit and Arduino program that causes the LED to pulse with the rhythm of a human breathing”. To achieve that goal, we first have to come up with a mathematical model of how the brightness of the LED will vary with time. Once we have the model, we then need to implement it in an Arduino program.

• Lecture slides (PDF) and long form notes (PDF) on equations for the breathing LED model.
• Lecture slides (PDF) and long form notes (PDF) on implementing the breathing LED model in Arduino code.

The goal of the desktop fan project is to design, fabricate, assemble and demonstrate a small oscillating fan using the parts from the Sparkfun Inventors Kit. Students also need to design the structural support for a small servo motor that causes the fan to oscillate, and the DC motor that turns a small propellor. The structure is made from acrylic that is cut with a laser cutter and bent with an acrylic bender. Students are free to develop their own design for the structure. The two-dimensional outlines of the acrylic parts are specified with Solidworks drawings.

The pump project is the culminating exercise for ME 120. Students use milling machines to fabricate the pump body from pieces of ABS plastic supplied by the instructor. The pump impellers are created from ABS with a 3D printer from 3D solid models created by the students. The pump is assembled and tested, so that students obtain the pump curves for the pumps they have created.

The pumps are used in the next class – ME 121 – to circulate water in the temperature and salinity-controlled fish tank.

• Pump Fabrication
• Pump Testing