Construction

The project solution was conceived, analyzed, and designed at CWU in conjunction with H.F. Hauff. The resources available to the project for the construction phase were provided by CWU and H.F. Hauff Company.

​

In accordance with the scope of the project, it was determined that a proof of concept 1/4 scale model would be constructed in lieu of the full outrigger system. While the full system would have had an overall length of nearly 16 feet and would have been too heavy to efficiently construct, the scale model was approximately 4 feet in overall length and feasible to construct.

​

To construct the scale model, steel tubing, wear pads, pins, and wire rope were purchased and/or machined. Pin holes and pulley slots were machined out of the square tubing. Wear pads were 3D-printed and attached to the larger square tube booms.

One manufacturing issue that was dealt with was the process of constructing and assembling the extension/retraction system for the 1/4 scale proof of concept model. The design for the full-scale device utilized a chain and sprocket system to extend and retract the booms and vertical leg/foot. Due to the limited size of the scale model, however, appropriately sized chain was not available. A wire rope and pulley system was implemented as a substitute. For manufacturing purposes, this meant machining pulleys out of the leftover steel dowel stock from the pins, modifying the sprocket slots in the boom tubes to be appropriately sized for the pulleys and wire rope, and affixing the pulleys to their corresponding slots using glue.

​

The video above provides an example for the manufacturing completed for the project. This specific part being worked on was the 1.25" pin which was used to connect the 1.25" vertical leg and the foot. All additional manufacturing processes are outlined in the project report, which is linked at the top of the page.