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Red for complete criterion failure.
| Criterion | Status |
|---|---|
| automatically launches and reloads a projectile (preferably a marble) in repeatable cycles (at least 6 per minute or 1 in 10 seconds) | The motorized system cannot fire a shot. Manually with 5 trials, an average firing rate of 11 rpm was achieved. Lazy Susan prototype fails to prevent misreloading and thus cycles are not identically repeatable with consistency. |
| We can plot the motion of the walking-beam in MATLAB to an accurate resemblance. Ideally, a letter D or semicircle is traced and is confirmed by the swept path. | Semicircular like path plotted by links, visualized on Solidworks animation, & validated with linkage motion. |
| Track the housing chamber with a linear traversal of at least 100mm. This should ideally be a sinusoidal shape, but some delay is expected. | Not exactly sinusoidal, but very close. An amplitude of about 68mm (peak to peak height of 136). |
Marbles successfully hit target from the specified range above (6 to 10 ft), with consistent probability (3 out of 5 shots at a time, binomial distribution profile). | Maximum range of 3-4 ft, V chute isn't streamlined so a marble occasionally veers off to the left or right, or even flies out of the ramped side when firing occurs too quickly. Hit probability of 17 in 20 tries ( 85% success) |
| Complete restoration to equilibrium state per cycle; we can visually check that machine is in the same starting position after firing | Walking beam mechanism can easily return to starting equilibrium. Lazy Susan has no restorative element. |
The primary concern seems to be with the motorized system and setup failing to generate a mechanical advantage high enough to pull back the chute and conduct work on the load. The load must be reduced, but the mechanical system needs to be built to be more robust and capable of supporting higher loads. In addition, the lazy Susan being is a far too simple system that solely relies on the movement of the chute knocking into a lever and pushing it.
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