Email Chain about the Lamp Poles

As long as the aluminum isn't too much cheaper than steel, that sounds good.  For the base we currently have some square steel tubing that should work nicely.  We currently have casters that we can put on the base, but they don't have locks, so they might not be worth while (plus on Thursday I was looking at them and the ball bearings are exposed so I'm worried that alot of dirt/dust/grime will get in there and gunk it up).  Currently as a battery we're just going to use AAA's from the flashlights.  They should easily last through the testing phase and are easy to deal with electrically.  Since they're pretty light they'll probably be in the counter-weight.  Since you and Chris are working on the lowest piece it would make sense for you to work on the base, if another group finishes their part first they might work on it (although it's obviously pretty tied in with your joint since you interface with the vertical pole).

Let me know if you have any more questions.

-Steve

Michael H wrote:

Aluminum's a little bit more expensive than steel I think but it should be sturdy enough and it's a lot lighter.  It also doesn't rust as easily.  So I think aluminum is our best bet now?  That's good, I'll start looking for some cheep alum.

Also, what are we doing for the base?  Is the first prototype going to have wheels?  Is the battery going down there?  In some of the drawings I saw the battery as the counter weight but that might be a bit too heavy.  I don't know, I guess we need to know the weight of the head before we can do any torque calculations, but a bowl plus a couple led's aren't going to weigh too much.  I was just wondering because the subteams need to work together at the points of connection.  If no one is working on the base I suppose me and Chris could.

Anyways, just throwing things out there.  Trying to get the whole picture of this lamp.



Quoting Stephen DeWitt :

I don't think it necessarily needs to be made of stainless steel.  Won't a good coat of paint be enough to prevent rust and whatnot?  As for what to use for it, I don't think we had a specific plan, just something lightweight, sturdy, cheap, and non-porous.  We have some steel piping in the project room (I think you've seen it, but I'm not sure), but its pretty heavy.  Do you have any ideas?

Michael H wrote:

Do the tubes for the lamp frame have to be made out of stainless steel to be used in an operating room?  If not, what material were we thinking of using?

Thanks,
Mike