Tips
There are several things that the
Product Development Team learned while creating the 3-D Tic Tac D'oh! Some of
them are offered here as a way for future development teams to learn from what
has occured in the past.
Mechanical
Never underestimate the effect of friction on your
mechanical components. One of our major components was a chain-driven
positioning device. The stepper was very strong, but the chain just had too much
friction (even though the plate was machined accurately). We had to give up on
that major component only two days before the final design review.
If your battery is not fully charged, a servo motor
may not give you the desired results even if the rest of the components are
okay. Check the battery often and recharge whenever you have a
chance.
Electrical
It is worth it to take the time to solder all your
leads when you know what your circuits will look like. Try to tie your different
wires together as the project progesses because it is harder to do so when there
are many, many wires.
The HandyBoard may
not give exaclty the voltage you think it will. This may sound obvious, but we
were surprised several times when we found out our circuits weren't
working.
