6.2.6 Soldering

Yay! no paperwork for this one - just a printed circuit board which you get to take home with you when you are done.  Please be careful not to lose any pieces - they are small and tend to disappear when they hit the carpet.

Please watch the following video on soldering basics and safety - glasses on at all times

For the lesson today, you are going to strip and solder the ends of two wire, flip it around and help your partner strip and solder the other side.

Step 1) Strip 7-10 mm of insulation to expose the bare metal wire underneath. 

Step 2) Twist the ends together and secure the wires using needle nose pliers or carefully with the diagonal cutters.

Step 3) Use the soldering iron to heat the wires, then apply the solder.  It should be the wires melting the solder, not the soldering iron.

Now it's time to pick your project.


Please watch the following video on soldering printed circuit boards - glasses on at all times

6.1.6 VEX Generators

For the lesson today, you are going to use VEX parts to design and test a hand crank generator

Step1) Open the worksheet for 6.1.6 Generators.  Read it all of the way through and make a copy into your GTT Turn in Folder to be turned in before Friday.  

Your prototype will be graded based on this rubric - please read it all of the way through before starting your build. Design Brief for you to fill in, but it does not need to be turned in.

Step 2) Watch the video below for some building tips that may be useful in your build today.

Step 3) Using the VEX parts from your Basic Kit, and working with your group mates, design and build a prototype for a hand crank generator that will provide a near constant power supply to light your LED.

If the video above fails to load, try watching it on YouTube at https://youtu.be/7Zg2C6FoAa0 

VEX Gear Exploration

If you are done with programming your Testbed, it is important that you understand the way gears work inside of your VEX kit.  The best way for you to figure this out is through experimentation.  Try different combinations of 2 and 3 gear, simple gear trains to see what you can find out.

Gears inside a VEX kit

If the video above fails to load, try watching it on YouTube at https://youtu.be/9MAn56AHx3w

Adding Gears to your Testbed

If the video above fails to load, try watching it on YouTube at https://youtu.be/n8Kjaf1tdJc

Principal's Message

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k0alEELcU3bptWcpIvGb01hEvMwm15Zc/view

GTT Testbed Programming Instructions

If you are from outside our district, requesting access does not work.  All of my files are set to "shared" with anyone whom has the link, the videos are being blocked at the district level on both sides.  If you have your teacher email me at cjohnson10@sandi.net, I will gladly share all of my files. PLEASE do not "request access" it does not do any good.

RobotC Intro - Part 1 - Getting Started

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/yVuhOIvt6o4

By the end of this video you should know how to:     

    Set up RobotC to use the VEX 2.0 Cortex using Natural Language PLTW

    Set the Compiler Target and Download the Firmware to your VEX Cortex

RobotC Intro - Part 2 - Motor and Sensor Setup

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/cbQIB2w1UBs

By the end of this video you should know how to:     

    Open a PLTW Template and save it as VEX Tested Practice XX

    Use pseudocode to annotate your programs

    Set up the GTT Testbed Configuration and apply the motor and sensors 

RobotC Intro - Part 3 - Programming Motors

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/PPpqXp4fQ-8

By the end of this video you should know how to:     

    Set up a motor with a start function, wait function and stop function for it to work

On your own, you are challenged to:

     Figure out how to turn on the right motor, left motor and claw motor (forward and reverse)

RobotC Intro - Part 4 - Naming Motors and Turns

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/bEUmfTC_VCA

By the end of this video you should know how to:     

    Rename code in a program so you use the proper name instead of the port number

    Make your robot do a point turn and how to fix your robot from turning 

On your own, you are challenged to:

     Use the untilBump function to start your program

     also not mentioned in the video, use the untilBump function to stop your program

RobotC Intro - Part 5 - Potentiometer and Limit Switch (for summer camps we will skip the potentiometer - but the Limit Switch is very useful)

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/EHToqO9_oNE

By the end of this video you should know how to:     

    The potentiometer works

On your own, you are challenged to:

    Use the untilPotentiometerLessThan function to turn left

    Use the untilPotentiometerGreaterThan function to turn right

    Use the untilTouch function along with the limit switch to make the robot go in reverse

RobotC Intro - Part 6 - Solution to Potentiometer (Again - for summer camps we will skip the potentiometer - but the Limit Switch is very useful)

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/_RJRtavYHuo

By the end of this video you should know how to:     

    What the solution to the potentiometer looks like

On your own, you are challenged to turn on an LED after the limit switch is touched

RobotC Intro - Part 7 - Line Tracker (for summer camps we will skip the line tracker - this is left here as a resource to others out there working with VEX and RobotC)

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/xdB6MYIAt7k

By the end of this video you should know how to:     

    That it is important to always compile the program and download it to the Cortex 

    That unless you tell the LED to turn off, it will stay on until the battery goes dead

On your own, you are challenged to add a line sensor to shut down the program

RobotC Intro - Part 8 - Last

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/Z8rrWEZW7Wg

Yearbook Survey

https://goo.gl/forms/J2TKhkQmpHAjwtWu1 

GTT Testbed Build Instructions

If you are from outside our district, requesting access does not work.  All of my files are set to "shared" with anyone whom has the link, the videos are being blocked at the district level on both sides.  If you have your teacher email me at cjohnson10@sandi.net, I will gladly share all of my files. PLEASE do not "request access" it does not do any good.

For the PDF instructions - Please Click Here

VEX Testbed 01 Cortex

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/0xFXPNxHH1A

By the end of this video you should know how to:     

     Attach the Vex Cortex to your base plate using four 3/4" screws and KEPS nuts

VEX Testbed 02 Bumpswitch

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/N-vioX8O6_U

By the end of this video you should know how to:     

     Attach the bump switch to your base plate using two 1/2" screws and KEPS nuts

     Please keep all twist ties during your build to keep the wires from getting in the way

VEX Testbed 03 Limitswitch 

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/S1FjVZINoq4

By the end of this video you should know how to:     

     Attach the limit switch to your base plate using two 1/2" screws and KEPS nuts

     Tighten up the screws by hand just tight enough so they are still able to be slid back and forth.

VEX Testbed 04 Line Tracker (for summer camps we will skip the line tracker - I left these instructions here for others to use)

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/ecoT8h3MfRk

By the end of this video you should know how to:     

     Attach the line tracker to your base plate using one 1/2" screw and a KEPS nut

VEX Testbed 05 Potentiometer (for summer camps we will skip the potentiometer - I left these instructions here for others to use)

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/QRFJE2Wi53Q

By the end of this video you should know how to:     

     Attach the potentiometer to your base plate using two 3/4" screws and KEPS nuts

VEX Testbed 06 Potentiometer Gear and Axle (for summer camps we will skip the potentiometer - I left these instructions here for others to use)

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/9BwxKC1o7UI

By the end of this video you should know how to:     

     Attach a 2" axle, 36 -tooth gear and a drive collar to your potentiometer

VEX Testbed 07 Battery Strap 
(Please skip this step, it is not needed as your Testbed does not move)

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/lUngQW8ILqg

By the end of this video you should know how to:     

     Attach the battery strap to your base plate using two 1/2" screws and KEPS nuts

VEX Testbed 08 Rail

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/8g3pCIWJSsI

By the end of this video you should know how to:     

     Attach flat bearings to the slotted angle piece using two 3/4" screws and KEPS nuts each

VEX Testbed 09 Motor Assemblies

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/E1hcyZ4dzgY

By the end of this video you should know how to:     

     Attach two motors to the rail you just built using a 1/4" motor screw and a 1/2" motor screw, slide it into the correct position so that it fits under the rail and then tighten everything up with tools.

     *** This uses different screws than those shown in the pdf instructions ***

VEX Testbed 10 Wheels

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/Ato9Z_78AH4

By the end of this video you should know how to:     

     Attach two wheels without using any drive collars 

     *** This is different from the pdf instructions ***

VEX Testbed 11 Clawmotor - (this should already be built for you - please do not disassemble your claw - if your claw has the angled gussets, please leave the angled pieces attached to the claw. We will use that one on the Clawbot later)

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/WC4GUBw69Co

By the end of this video you should know how to:     

     Add a motor to a claw and make your motor open and close.  

     You may need to wiggle open the claw to get the axle to slide into place.

   *** This is a different order of assembly from the pdf instructions ***

VEX Testbed 12 Stand offs

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/0e81QgsZi9Y

By the end of this video you should know how to:     

    Attach two 2" standoffs to the base plate using two 1/2" screws from underneath

VEX Testbed 13 Attach Rail

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/LVN2b4qyTaA

By the end of this video you should know how to:     

    Attach the rail to the two 2" standoffs you just added built using two 1/2" screws. 

    Then go back through the entire build to line up the components and tighten all screws

VEX Testbed 14 Electronics Hookups

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/QpioECHcEXc

By the end of this video you should know:     

    The difference between different components and how to hook up all of the electronics.

VEX Testbed 15 Powering Up

To watch this on YouTube - https://youtu.be/H-w9EQ3YCcU