AIMing for Automated Vehicles 
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Process automation
Blueprint of the manual process.
BLUE SMOKE AS FUEL It is the smoke from the incomplete combustion of the wood that is the fuel. Some people at the Robot Club meeting Saturday were under the impression that Andy was somehow creating a liquid fuel when in fact he is creating a combustible gas from wood. Most everyone at the meeting here in northern Michigan has been around wood fires enough to know that blue smoke will burn if lit. The simplest explaination of what Andy has been experimenting with for the past 30 years is that this process produces smoke that can be burned in a gasoline engine. His enthusiasm for this process is based on the fact that the conversion is done onboard the vehicle and is out of the jurisdiction of the building inspector. Any home owner who wants to experiment with alternative energy is usually given a hard time by the building inspector, requires permits, and sometimes licenses. None of that applies to the wood gas generator onboard his pick up truck. There is also something elegant about fuel produced on demand, none of the gas is stored. While many people, especially those who heat with wood, have the experience and skills to use wood as a substitute for $4 gasoline, not everyone can. Automation of the process by ROBOT CLUB members will allow adoption and use by a wider audiance. More info and links are available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_gas
O2 CONTROL
Andy says he hooked up a multi-meter to the O2 sensor on his trucks engine and adjust the fuel-air ratio with a hand cranked valve to maintine 800 mV. He would like Gene to build a controller for the valve that will hold O2 steady as the qualities of the combustable gas change as it burns through the wood in the gasifier. As with many projects, we are starting out with less than complete information. The exact output of the Ford Motor Company O2 sensor has not been made clear. First run through the off-the-shelf prefered option produced a controller for about $1,000 and motor operated valve for another $1,000 (industrial controls). Perhaps looking at what is already available in the automotive market will tell more of the story (car parts). The 3" gate valve controls the combustion air to the (formerly) gasoline engine.
FINDING NEVERLAND
While searching for examples of how to get AIM Team members to loosen up a bit and get the imagination working, this movie came along. The AIM Team members feel a kinship to this story since we named our current vehicle after one of the characters, Wendy Darling, in the 1904 play Peter Pan. Finding Neverland is the story of how the play was inspired and highlights the value of imagination. The movie shows what fun using yor imagination can be. I want the AIM Team members to imagine or visualize what the finished US Army truck will work and what the steps are to get there from where we are now. We are look for new and different ways of making our truck driverless. Many of the elements in the play were departures from the norm of its time. This the first time that actors were flown on a stage. We too should plan to break new ground with the things we do here in the shop. Working at AIM really is magical.
PLAN OF THE DAY
Thursday I will go to my seasonal day job running the maintenance shop at the Crown Golf Course on the other side of town. Along the way, I will pick up one of the other Crown workers, whose car was stolen. Crown is one of the AIM Team's sponsors. They have donated scrap materials and a very nice black and gold mechanics roll around tool box. After work I will meet with the new regional salesman for Keyence, http://www.keyence.com/usa.php the machine vision experts, give him a shop tour and see if I can interest him in becoming a sponsors of my team. Stay tuned, I will let you know what happens.
GO ROBOTS !
Paul F. Grayson - Chief Engineer
AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL MAGIC, LLC
Racing to build technology that saves soldier's lives.
390 4-Mile Rd. S.
Traverse City, MI 49686-8411
(231) 946-0187, (231) 883-4463 Cell
pgrayson@aimagic.org
AIM: http://aimagic.org
Robot Club: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/robotcluboftraversecitymi/
CE Magazine: http://www.controleng.com/blog/1180000318.html
Process automation
April 16, 2008
Blueprint of the manual process.
BLUE SMOKE AS FUEL It is the smoke from the incomplete combustion of the wood that is the fuel. Some people at the Robot Club meeting Saturday were under the impression that Andy was somehow creating a liquid fuel when in fact he is creating a combustible gas from wood. Most everyone at the meeting here in northern Michigan has been around wood fires enough to know that blue smoke will burn if lit. The simplest explaination of what Andy has been experimenting with for the past 30 years is that this process produces smoke that can be burned in a gasoline engine. His enthusiasm for this process is based on the fact that the conversion is done onboard the vehicle and is out of the jurisdiction of the building inspector. Any home owner who wants to experiment with alternative energy is usually given a hard time by the building inspector, requires permits, and sometimes licenses. None of that applies to the wood gas generator onboard his pick up truck. There is also something elegant about fuel produced on demand, none of the gas is stored. While many people, especially those who heat with wood, have the experience and skills to use wood as a substitute for $4 gasoline, not everyone can. Automation of the process by ROBOT CLUB members will allow adoption and use by a wider audiance. More info and links are available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_gas
O2 CONTROL
Andy says he hooked up a multi-meter to the O2 sensor on his trucks engine and adjust the fuel-air ratio with a hand cranked valve to maintine 800 mV. He would like Gene to build a controller for the valve that will hold O2 steady as the qualities of the combustable gas change as it burns through the wood in the gasifier. As with many projects, we are starting out with less than complete information. The exact output of the Ford Motor Company O2 sensor has not been made clear. First run through the off-the-shelf prefered option produced a controller for about $1,000 and motor operated valve for another $1,000 (industrial controls). Perhaps looking at what is already available in the automotive market will tell more of the story (car parts). The 3" gate valve controls the combustion air to the (formerly) gasoline engine.
FINDING NEVERLAND
While searching for examples of how to get AIM Team members to loosen up a bit and get the imagination working, this movie came along. The AIM Team members feel a kinship to this story since we named our current vehicle after one of the characters, Wendy Darling, in the 1904 play Peter Pan. Finding Neverland is the story of how the play was inspired and highlights the value of imagination. The movie shows what fun using yor imagination can be. I want the AIM Team members to imagine or visualize what the finished US Army truck will work and what the steps are to get there from where we are now. We are look for new and different ways of making our truck driverless. Many of the elements in the play were departures from the norm of its time. This the first time that actors were flown on a stage. We too should plan to break new ground with the things we do here in the shop. Working at AIM really is magical.
PLAN OF THE DAY
Thursday I will go to my seasonal day job running the maintenance shop at the Crown Golf Course on the other side of town. Along the way, I will pick up one of the other Crown workers, whose car was stolen. Crown is one of the AIM Team's sponsors. They have donated scrap materials and a very nice black and gold mechanics roll around tool box. After work I will meet with the new regional salesman for Keyence, http://www.keyence.com/usa.php the machine vision experts, give him a shop tour and see if I can interest him in becoming a sponsors of my team. Stay tuned, I will let you know what happens.
GO ROBOTS !
Paul F. Grayson - Chief Engineer
AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL MAGIC, LLC
Racing to build technology that saves soldier's lives.
390 4-Mile Rd. S.
Traverse City, MI 49686-8411
(231) 946-0187, (231) 883-4463 Cell
pgrayson@aimagic.org
AIM: http://aimagic.org
Robot Club: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/robotcluboftraversecitymi/
CE Magazine: http://www.controleng.com/blog/1180000318.html
Posted by Paul Grayson on April 16, 2008 | Comments (0)
Industries: Machine Control
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