October was a very busy month for the Portable Mounting Ramp Project. This month, we finally got our hands dirty and made some major physical progress. We spent most of the month assembling the trailer base and delivering our semester presentation. We also further discussed mount railing holder solutions, although we did not dedicate as much time to that aspect of the ramp.
One of the biggest problems we ran into during assembly of the trailer base was interpreting the instruction manual. We spent quite a few attempts trying to properly line up the components of the front frame of the trailer base.
We also needed to learn how to use a ratchet and socket and also how to properly use the tool when the bolt is not secured. The solution was to have one of our teammates hold the bolt in place on the outer surface with a different socket/wrench while another teammate tightened the nut on the inner surface using the ratchet and socket.
**We limited our time in close proximity to 15 minutes per day as specified in the UTDesign Studio safety requirements. We made sure to wear a face mask at ALL times, and applied a face shield BEFORE coming in close proximity for long durations.**
We completed about 1/3 of the trailer base this month, but we also learned and developed our knowledge of manual tool usage and interpreting instruction manuals. This month was our learning curve in regards to trailer assembly and hand tool usage. The knowledge we gained by studying the trailer base instruction manual will help us when we begin making our own manual for the Portable Mounting Ramp. Our goal for November is to finally finish the trailer base.
