Progress on Crush Frame
We’ve been hard at work to get Crush ready for testing and electronics integration! Some major components of Crush are the two side plates enclosing the two capsules and the back plate, which the capsules mount to. Strewn across the two side plates are mounting bars with a pattern of hexagons and bolt holes for any component to easily mount to a known location. Crush has already been tested for buoyancy, and we are hoping to finalize the electronics this month to get the mini ready to complete tasks. We had a brief setback in a recent pool test, and one capsule flooded due to improper sealing of a wire passthrough. Luckily, the capsules were filled only with mass simulators and no electronics.
Case + Fluid Simulations for Crush
To optimize Crush for forward movement, we’ve been using Ansys CFD software to simulate fluid flow on the robot and optimize for areas of high drag. Now that the frame of Crush is finalized and manufactured, we are working on a case for the Crush to further optimize its hydrodynamics by enclosing the two capsules.
