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5. Pneumatic Mounting Bracket

CAD Design Final Report Grant Kobes, VRC Team 8926   Combined IQ Introduction: I have served as the lead design engineer and builder for my Vex Robotics Competition team, 8926, Combined IQ, for the past two years.  Our team has utilized Vex pneumatics since the  2015 South Carolina State Championship.  On our Skyrise robot, the pneumatics powered a two-speed transmission that ran our linear slide lift mechanism.  Since Worlds, we have purchased a second pneumatics kit and have utilized it for tasks such as brakes, ball releases, drive transmission, angle changer for the ball launcher, and to power our alliance partner lift.  While utilizing pneumatics and discussing them with other teams that use them, I have discovered a common complaint.  There is no formal method for attaching the air tank reservoir to the robot, causing teams to utilize zip ties to secure the part. The reservoir has a  large  threaded stud on each end that attaches to a large nut which houses to tubing connection.  I have designed a bracket that slips over the neck of the reservoir stud and is secured when the nut is attached.  Then the bracket can be screwed onto the robot metal, securely affixing the tank to the robot.    How the new part would be used and how it fits into a complete robot design: By attaching my bracket to each of the ends of the air tank and securing it to the metal chassis, the pneumatic system will be effectively positioned and locked into place.     How I used Inventor to create my new part: First, I made sketch on paper of the design from several angles and determined all of its dimensions.  Next, I opened a new part file and started a 2-D sketch on Inventor.  I built the body of the bracket using the Create Line tool.  I placed a circle in the center of the body of the bracket using my sketch and dimensions and then extruded to body to the width of Vex metal.   This gave me a 3-D image.  Using the top view, I started a second 2-D sketch to create the mounting edge.   Using the Line tool, I determined the proper spacing of the squares, created the squares, and the deleted all of my guide lines.  I extruded the body of the mounting edge and the mounting squares were extruded in reverse.  I saved the project as Bracket 2.   What I learned from this project: I am the kind of person that can see a design idea very clearly in my mind and can do a very good job of recreating that design with Vex components.  However, I am so impressed with how easy it is to create CAD images of the plans I have been turning over in my head and to test their efficiency prior to breaking out the Dremel!    How I will use Inventor in the future: Because I attend a small school that does not offer any robotics or engineering courses, I have not had the opportunity to learn Autodesk Inventor other than the online tutorials.  I have enjoyed using the software on this project and will certainly utilize it in the future for testing our designs prior to building.   Inventor can help a competitive robotics team: Using a program like Inventor to produce a CAD image of our design will help to minimize purchasing unnecessary parts!  It will also give team members a great source by which to explain our design process to judges.  I can imagine using old CAD designs as "instruction manuals" to teach new team members how to build using Vex parts.    3D design software and my career path: I plan to study mechanical engineering in college.  While working with team mentors and speaking with professionals in this field, I have noticed that engineers use Autodesk and programs like it on a daily basis to develop and test new ideas.  I know that the skills I have learned in Vex Robotics during high school will give me a head start in my chosen career path, automotive engineering.