GREAT NEWS! We received our Myostat CoolMuscle Motors a few days ago and boy are we excited! These motors were donated by Myostat Motion Control, Inc. and will be responsible for the lateral motion of the foosmen across the table. Here is how they came in the box from Myostat Motion Control:
All of the motors have a male and a female RS-232 connection port. This port will be used to communicate the position of the ball from the ARM processor. An up-close image of the 9-pin D-SUB connectors are pictured below.
The theory of operation for these motors is as follows: Once the processor has determined the position of the ball from the sensor array along the parameter of the table, the processor will send this position to the "master" motor via RS-232. The master motor then relays that position to the "slaves". The other end of the motor is what will be responsible for moving the foosmen. On that end of the motor is the shaft, pictured below:
This shaft will be connected to the slides donated by Macron Dynamics (which we have yet to receive). On top of each slide will sit a smaller motor responsible for kicking the ball. As the Myostat motors move the slides back and forth to position the foosmen in the desired location, the "kicking" motors also move, as they are directly coupled to the rods moving the foosmen. We should have our slides from Macron Dynamics within a week. I'll post an article with video link to the functioning motor set in case my explanation for the theory of operation is unclear.
In other news, we just finished setting up one side of the sensor grid and connected the IR LEDs and phototransistors to the sensing boards to locate the position of the ball. I will post photos of that sensor arrangement for clarity of the concept. Stay tuned for updates and don't forget to like us on Facebook so you don't miss any of the action as we progress toward a completed Foosbot!
