Monday

Now that we finally have all the parts, we continued construction on the XY plotter system. This system will move the computer's chess pieces by positioning the magnet below the board. Once the magnet is in position, the magnet can be raised or lowered, thereby either attracting or disengaging the above chess piece. 

With no fans or air conditioner and 85 degree weather, Brian in his jeans made a tremendous effort to cut the wood.

To mount the motors we decided to have them embed into the beams of wood, as shown above. The height of the cut-out needed to be exact; too high and the gear would not reach the linear gear set, too low and the board would not be able to attach to the sliding draws. Glue was layered around the insert to adhere the motor in place.  

As well as mounting the motor, we also mounted the support beams that attach to the two sliding rails. Later the cross beam with an additional sliding rail and motor system will sit on top of these beams. We are hopeful that by Wednesday we will have finished construction.