Snow Plow Project

My latest 3D scanning and reverse engineering project. I bought this snow plow to adapt to my robot and the best way to save time and materials is to make modifications and fit it in CAD before doing any cutting and welding on the actual part.

I am always impressed by how accurate parts look in the 3D scanning software with color and texture details. This model looks a little mottled due to scanning it in multiple parts under various lighting conditions. Overall this probably took 3 hours to go from starting the scan to having a model ready to export as a STL file.

More Research, More Development, More Capabilities

I have been continuing to develop capabilities and find new ways to test and use my robot. One suggestion I have received was to add a ball hitch so the robot could be used to move or tow a trailer. After a couple hours of fabrication and welding I had a ball hitch that could attach to the track system and today I got to try it out.

There is definitely room for improvement but being able to move and park a trailer in gravel was very impressive.

Introducing The Wheel Barrow Accessory

A wheel barrow attachment has been on my ‘to do’ list for some time and today was a great day to complete the prototype. Some work was being done around the house in challenging muddy conditions and it was great to not just test out the robot and the wheel barrow but also get some feedback from people who have to move material every day.

The wheel barrow attaches to the L-Track using 4 studs and for the moment allows manual dumping of loads. I left some material hanging over the sides to allow for linear actuator or two to be attached so the load can be dumped remotely.

The robot performed very well and the work crew was very impressed. They were using conventional wheel barrows and could immediately see the advantages of having a remote control or autonomous wheel barrow that was more stable and more importantly, saved their backs.

Still Loving My 3D Scanner

Six months on and I’m still loving my Einstar 3D scanner. Its particularly helpful when starting a new design from scratch and trying to figure out where the best place to start is. With the 3D scan data its easy to pick a feature and then begin there and start progressively building out the model one part at a time. No need to run off to go measure something, just measure it in CAD and tweak the dimensions for easy manufacturability.

The biggest down side of designing from 3D scan data is it also captures and shows the imperfections in my fabrication skills. If something is 1/8th of an inch off, it will be painfully obvious when I overlay a CAD version of the same part. Conversely this can also be used to cross check the quality and accuracy of a manufactured part so its both good and bad.

Why Shovel Snow When Your Robot Can Do It For You!

With the latest dusting of snow and ice in Portland came a new opportunity to test the capabilities and functionality of my robotics project.

I had already created a plow blade for pushing materials around so I figured if it worked for leaves before, it should work for snow and ice as well. Turns out it worked very well indeed! I was able to clear the sidewalks in front of my house with just a few passes and also was able to clear some of the street. It worked so well in fact that I decided to move forward with building a proper plow blade that will have the ability to raise and lower to follow terrain or to allow the robot to move without dragging the plow around.

Corsa R&D Robotics makes Load Handling Easy

One of the primary markets for my Robot has been load handling. With the low flat top, multiple tiedown points and zero turn capability, it is perfect for any instance where heavy, cumbersome loads need to be moved from one point to another. The robot also easily fits through standard doorways allowing it to navigate within buildings.

This latest challenge both took advantage of not just the ability for the robot to handle large cumbersome loads but also its ability to cross the most challenging terrain and inclines. As with most challenges I learned a lot and two areas that seem to be continue pain points are a lack of grip due to the poor quality tires and due to the lack of mass of the robot. At present the robot is just over 100 pounds making it easy to transport but this becomes a problem when trying to move large heavy objects. Fortunately these two issues are easy to correct with better quality parts and the addition of mass down low.

Corsa Research & Development Robotics

The more I use my robot around the house the more applications I come up with.

While collecting wet leaves around the house I thought "you know, it would be nice if I could just have my robot push the leaves into a collection pile for me..." One hour later and I have a highly effective plow attachment that made this task quick and easy.

I can envision several other electric attachments powered by the robots internal battery I could create. These might include things such as a sweeper, vacuum or even snow plow/blower that would make cleaning and clearing heavy materials easier and safer than doing it by hand. It would be great to be able to turn this prototype into a low cost, highly flexible and easy/fun to use platform that can both reduce potential injuries and increase the speed that chores can be completed so people have more free time to do what they love.

Robotics; A New Adventure

I recently became involved in robotics projects and in order to push my own knowledge and understanding of robotics hardware and software I designed and built my own development platform.

This platform is based on a skid steer four wheel drive system capable of being operated by remote control or autonomously following preplanned waypoint routes.

The chassis is designed to be incredibly versatile allowing any sensor suite to be quickly and easily integrated as well as allowing the ability to integrate accessories and tools for different missions. The lower chassis is made of steel for strength and durability while the upper is TIG welded aluminum to prevent interference with magnetometers and other sensors.

If you have an interest in a custom robotics platform for your project don’t hesitate to reach out.

Back to Business!

Corsa Research & Development is back!

Its hard to believe that its been about six years since the last update. In recent years I have been working in other industries and with other companies but in the past few months I have been rapidly building new skills. This has resulted in a steep increase in the number of projects that fall under Corsa R&D.

Over the next few weeks I will be updating my website and adding new projects and information. I also have a lot of new skills and capabilities that can be offered as services should you need help with a project.

More Design

I sat down to do some more design this morning.  I originally created a support bracket for the hoses for my water cooling systems to help take loads off the hose fittings and minimize the chance of something breaking during rapid movements of the print head.  The bracket also has the dual function of being a holder for my dial gauge that I use to level the print bed.  This new design turned out to be very organic and interesting looking.  Sometimes I sit down with a vague idea of what I need to do with a part but the end result can surprise me. 

I feel like there are times where design can blur the line between art and simply creating a part to do a job.  There also seems to be a sort of odd beauty about intentionally creating asymmetries in parts.  Asymmetry makes a strong statement of intent but when executed properly can be interesting and have a beauty all its own.