Week 3 Post 2

Visit to Machine Lab

     We figured out a time when everyone could meet up to go to the machine lab with all our supplies for 2 hours. It was difficult since we all didn't have much experience with the power tools and machines that were there so we asked for a lot of help from the person in charge of the lab. 

     We started off trying to figure out a way to cut off the bottom portion of the water gallon but due to the thickness of the plastic, it was very difficult and we never found a way to do so. We later decided to cut down the PVC pipe to a smaller size. We placed the pipe inside clamps and used this huge saw that slowly cuts downwards into the pipe. 

    Then we had to make an opening in the pipe so we can put our gate that will open or close when food is needed. We used this machine that placed this drill down at very precise measurements to file through the   PVC pipe to get our hole. 

When we were done cutting down and making our hole in the PVC pipe, it looked like this.

Now that we were done with our PVC, we had to make sure that it fits with the water gallon. So we used a saw and slowly worked our way through the plastic of the opening of the gallon. After the tip was cut off, our PVC fitted perfectly with the gallon. 

Finally, before we left we wood glued two wooden pieces into a larger wood platform. That concludes our day at the machine lab.