Category Archives: Achievements

Journal 11/11/2015 presentation model

I completed the proof of concept and I have constructed a cleaner model for presentation purposes.

Capture cutlist pic

The unevenness of lumber is still an issue that caused the track to get narrower towards the back of the track and minor modifications were needed to get the model to work consistently. The legs should be offset from the edge enough to account for the most extreme angles of the transition.

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In the future I will try a using an absolute  reference point to minimize the impact of the cumulative inaccuracies in relative measurements

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Starting from the left model: prototype, proof of concept, and the presentation model.

 

journal 10-28-2015 track and model

I finished a track and ramp for my model. The mock up the stud wall and triskets deck that simulates the parameters in the Voorhees theater floor. The ramp and track are fixed relative to the opening in the deck. The track has some rough corners that bind the platform but should be fixed with some smoothing.

I have moved the track wheels from the edges of the platform to the base of a center leg positioned in the middle, much like an R2D2 leg. This improved stability by supporting the center of gravity and use a ground level ramp instead of ones that would have to be suspended.

This design version does remove the redundant support from the track and wheels and rest the load solely on the legs of the platform.

Because of the sharp angle of the ramp, the track causes the platform to lift off of its front wheels before the legs begin to elevate the platform that could pose an issue binding with the deck.

I would want to see if a shallower ramp with a smaller angle or a smaller center leg could give me more room to clear thicker deck material for more structural integrity.

 

Journal 10/22/2015 paper work

I continued to update my Auto CAD model and I started to document and capture the past versions of the model for my journal.

This is my first design, it utilizes the sunroof and cartage design. the piston that pushed the carnage forward, up a ramp would also compress a set of arms that would lift the back of the platform to be flush with the deck. The issue with this design is that it would rely solely on the strength and integrity of the piston for structural support, meaning a single point of failure could compromise the stage.

 

 

Old sunroof cap

This is the dissection of the 4 steel bar window hinge that I found in a catalog. The arms of the hinge are each have 3 points of constraint to create 1 compound axis of movement.

I wanted to extend an bar to be perpendicular and flush to the bottom of my platform. A leg extending from the  foundation to the hatch would provide significant support vertical compression and not rely on the piston for structural support when in position.

hinge cap

4 bar hinge wire frame

4 bar hinge

The next draft used the scissor lift idea but got rid of the ramp because it would not work with a single point hinge and kept inverting the platform. This design has four legs and would use cross bars to move the legs simultaneously.

scissor lift cap

This was reformed into the current design that uses a 2 part ramp to lift the stage to a preset level and then a vertical lift that moves the platform level with the deck as the legs are set into a vertical position.

axel placement cap

New slide lift track

track and frame

Fighting with open lab to publish scans is challenging.

PDF’s do not show up as images so I need to save them as images, reformat them to 16bit color, then convert them into jpeg files because bitmap and XPS are insecure formats.

 

 

 

Poster Section Text

Automated trapdoor: Avoiding Pitfalls 

 

Introduction

I am Andrew Ng, I am an entertainment technology student specializing in technical directions and lighting design. I have created and Automated trapdoor that can operated in a shallow deck and be safe resilient enough for the theater.

 

Materials and Methods 

The trapdoor will be designed for a stress skin trisket and stud-wall deck. I will have a autoCAD model, a one to one proof of concept and several prototypes.

A four step design approach is used to test a hypothesis or design to progress the project to new milestones.  It cycles begins with researching, then incubating and developing the approach or hypothesis, executing or building a model to test the hypothesis, they reflecting on the results and returning back to the research step to start the process over again with a new idea.

 

Results

The project gradually evolved from a theoretical sketches and a brainstorm of unrefined ideas into a computer drafted assembly and physical model that incorporates several existing ideas and patents to solve an novel problem with spacial constraints.

 

Conclusions 

The trapdoor project taught me how to adapt, modify, and revise both my own designs and designs of other people. I learned how to reverse engineer structures into elements the I can use in future projects with drafting and modeling tools.

 

Literature Cited 

US Patent Office R736001R

McMaster Catalog 4 bar steel hinge

Stud wall and Trisket platforms Yale theater PDF

 

Acknowledgements 

John McCullough, Rudy, Remmy, Cortly Dennis, and Angelo

 

For Further Information  

Contact Andrew Ng at Andrewj.ng@outlook.com

Leave a message at # (518)-712-9466

Visit the project website at https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/andrewng-eportfolio/

PDF available here:

Poster Sections.pdf

Journal 10/14/2015 prototyping

I used the 4 steel bar sliding hinge to draft a model that would lift and support a platform on a ramp.

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In AutoCAD, I had trouble defining the limitations of movement a multi-axis arm would have. In a meeting with my adviser, I learned that such properties and constrained can be designed in AutoCAD Inventor but learning an entirely new CAD program would be outside of the scope of my project, but it would still be interesting to learn.

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The track had too much friction to function like I imagined it and it failed to move the platform into position without more points of constraint. What it did accomplish was creating a leg for vertical compression that would at least ensure that the platform rested in a fail safe arrangement should the pneumatic lose pressure.

 

 

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The new track and platform builds upon the vertical legs and angled track design. The track has 2 parts, an incline that raises the platform just under the deck and a vertical lift that moves the platform to the level of the deck and places the arms into vertical compression.

I would like to have the arms set in such a way that it would lift the truck of the platform off of the bottom track when the arms swing into vertical, kind of like stilts.

Journal 9/18 test model

This is a model based on the sunroof cassette. The end of the track is level with the stage deck while the other end is lifted up with a set of levers.

Like the patents, this design uses the the same force that moves it forward to prop the arms up and change the angel  of the platform when it reaches the end of its track.

I still want to find a way to have a physical lock that can be done and undone by the same cylinder that move the platform. I want to have a structure that can remain safe should the pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder loses pressure.

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