Week 5 Outside Meeting

On April 29th, We met up to further discuss the design of the mechanical and electrical systems. The main decision to  be made was whether we were going to use belts or gears for the system. 

First we had to research the basics of gears and belts, putting together a simple pros-and-cons chart:

Most of the research comprised simple Google searches, including more in-depth looks at the following links:

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/State_the_advantages_and_disadvantages_of_gears_system_and_belt system?#slide=1

This site provided us with a quick slide show that detailed several advantages and disadvantages of both gears and belts used within mechanical system. 

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Belt_(mechanical)

This site, from a scholarly source, described the different types of belts, their usefulness, and their common shortcomings. Most of the pros and cons for belts came from this site.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_(mechanical)#Flat_belts

Once we decided we wanted to use a flat belt, we wanted to research more about flat belts in particular. This site was helpful in determining the specific shortcomings and advantages of these types of belts.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=node%3D16412081&field-keywords=gears+plastic&rh=n%3A16310091%2Cn%3A16310181%2Cn%3A16412081%2Ck%3Agears+plastic

For a feasible comparison, we went on amazon to find some listings for gears to see what the price range would be.

http://www.flatdrivebelts-anysize.com/Belt-Pricing.html

For the same reason as the gears, we looked up some price ranges for flat belts (we also looked on amazon).

After a lot of deliberation and a vote, we decided to proceed with our design using flat belts. On amazon we found a feasible option for our purchase that works with our budget.