M-HEAL Life Lamp Project

Tonight we had a really productive meeting. Here's a summary:

Design Changes:
Main Joint - We fleshed out the idea from last week and are now planning to remove the hinge and instead move the pin in and out directly perpendicular to the hole. We'll try to get as much of the mechanism inside the horizontal pole as possible. We'll be using primarily parts we already have. Phil will post some sketches of the design soon; please look it over and make sure that it matches your mental picture of how things work.

Base - We'll be getting new steel L-brackets to keep the vertical pole steady and we'll replace the brackets underneath the junction with a square plate. This allows the vertical pole to rest on a flat surface instead of on bolt heads. It also simplifies the connections since the square plate can be connected using the same holes as the L-brackets.

Rotation at the Main Joint - We'll follow through with the suggestion that Mike made a bit ago and use a slotted tube on top and a tube on bottom.

Arm Length - We decided to shorten the lamp arm length to 3 ft to make it less ungainly. This will allow us to shorten the counterweight arm considerably.

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I talked to the MBA students who won the Net Impact case competition. They are planning to work with us and are at least some of them are coming to next week's meeting.

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Assignments:
Carl: Eqns for the counterweight and base
Phil: Draw up the base and main joint changes from today's meeting and post it on the blog
Elliot and Mike: Buy parts before Sunday
Ling: Weigh the lamp head
Steve: Write meeting summary, get us 24 hr access to Wilson, find out where our shelves are at Wilson

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Shopping List:
Steel L-brackets, 4"x4"
Square Piece, 8"x8", 1/8"-1/4" thick (check Wilson scrap first)
Various Bolts, 3/4"-1.5"
Eyelets for keeping the noodle in place?
Ferrule

Steve