A Small Update

This is only a small update, things are going a bit slower right now. I'm working on a few things, the image transformation for the virtual reality, finding the best way to mount the projector, finding a good solution for the reward system and working out the perfect Mojito recipe. And I refined the treadmill a little bit more:

To reduce the noise further I replaced the 1.2mm diameter tubing (20m) by a 1.6mm diameter tube.It is reasonably quiet now (by that I mean a noise level they would experience every day in their cages), but it can be further improved if necessary.

The 1.6mm tube however turns out to be much less flexible than the thinner ones and some measures had to be taken to keep it in place. For that end, Autodesk Inventor was fired up once more to model a bridge that could hold down the tube and can be easily screwed down on the airtable with 25mm M6 hole spacing. I realise, cheaper solutions for this could be found but since I've got a heart for our struggling economy, I contacted the 3D printing company once more. Also, the airtable is getting quite crowded now, so some neatness has its benefits. For £5.- a piece I ordered 5 clamps.

Tube clamps. On the right you see a clamp I screwed down too much.

An L-joint under the treadmill is absolutely necessary now as the tube is much to rigid to just bend it. Heating up the tube could help to bend it, but for now, this solution works well.

The head fixation system is ready too, unfortunately I can't post details about it as it has been constructed by our local workshop and I'm not holding the copyrights. With a bit of luck however I'll be able to post pictures of the projector and running virtual reality soon.