September 2, 2015 Meeting

The meeting on September 2, 2015 was spent to introduce ourselves and give a brief presentation of what we have learned from reading the previous Spartan Superway reports. Afterwards, time was spent to observe and study the full scale model of the ATN to get an idea of how the system as a whole functions. While observing the full scale model, I thought of several shortcomings the current model had and what possible improvements need to be made. The component that stood out the most to me was the Bogie mechanism because it was one of the most critical components of the whole model which involves switching the direction that the podcar will be heading. Due to the many forces, stresses, and deformations that will act on the system in the real world, the Bogie mechanism must be supported safely and efficiently by the guideway.

After demonstration of the full scale model, students were broken up into sub-teams which have their own focus on one specific part of the ATN. I decided to be part of the team that will work on the Bogie mechanism and fail & safe system. During our group meeting, we have decided to modify the Bogie mechanism by simplifying it to reduce cost and make it more reliable. Furthermore, due to the slow and sluggish operation of the current Bogie mechanism, we plan to redesign the Bogie mechanism so that it operates more smoothly and faster.

This week I have delved further into reading the Spartan Superway reports from the last 2 years to get an idea of what work was put in by other students to design various components of the ATN.