This week we did more testing!

When testing the spooler, we realized that the plastic is not hot enough to extrude. Any temperature at which the plastic melted showed that the PLA was stretching and thinning out. Tried to add a base between extruder and spooler, but plastic would stick to surface. We also tested different types of shreds: finer grains, bigger chunks, and pellet-like pieces cut from extruded plastic. Shape and density of plastic definitely change extrusion pace. We also installed a PC fan into the arduino for gap testing and cooling. We also looking into hydrolysis and realized that one issue is that hydrolysis is a big issue with PLA, a big plastic source our project is revolved around. We are looking more into this process and how to solve it such as using an oven, if not we are going to go back and successfully complete an ABS system. We also researched companies for set screw collars, but we were unsuccessful. We ended up redesigning the wheels so the wheels can fit perfectly onto the rod. We then looked into the mesh and saw that pieces were continuing to get stuck in our mesh system, so we are redesigning and retesting to find an optimal design. Continuing into the week, we went and visited Industrial Metal Supply Co. in Irvine in hopes to find a sheet of steel thick enough so we can manufacture new wheels. We were unsuccessful and realized that this process is way to pricey. We are going to look in other metal shops around the area, if not we came up with companies that would manufacture our blades for as low as $230. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are trying to focus on solving one variable at a time, instead of tackling everything at once.