Back in the States

Time flies when you're having fun and don't have a laptop. Last week was both busy and slim on laptops, but now that I've returned to the States, it seems my Lenovo is back from the dead somehow.

Monday we spent at the hotel, as much of Ghana observes the end of Ramadan.  On Tuesday, myself, Aimee, Benjamin, and Edward Antwi journeyed to Suamee magazine with a hastily assembled machine #2 and extra coin mechanism. Our mission was to find, interview, and contract with local businessmen to produce the design in quantity. Benjamin's acquaintance with a local fabrication shop yielded us metalworkers, who were happy to assemble the sheet metal components. After some back of the blueprints math and amortization considerations, Edward arranged for the construction of up to six cases. We then traveled to another shop, this one a machinist, hoping to find someone capable of duplicating the Beaver coin mechanism. He was intrigued by the device, but agreed that any replication would be difficult if not impossible with subtraction techniques. While he offered sand casting as a possibility, we shared a concern that the accuracy afforded by sand casting simply would not suffice. This was confirmed later in the evening by phone after our machinist consulted other specialized sand casters.

Thursday, we returned to the shop for our final day of assembly. As we would be leaving the remaining components for seven additional machines with Edward and the universities, it was essential that we complete machines #2 and #3 to a state where they could be used as prototypes for a new generation of devices. To this end, we assembled and tested the two over the mid-week, discovering a new issue or two along the way -- Particularly, both machines had to be disassembled multiple times for issues with the coin mechanism, as well as issues with the axle mounting locations.

Beaver Coin Corporation holds a special place in my heart. While the ratcheting sound of the one-way gear is soothing and has grown melodic to my ears over the past year, I have a particular hatred for whoever designed the hole pattern which holds the device together. In short, two cast halves are mated about a rotating assembly, with four screws about the perimeter. If any of the screws are loose, the thing sits funky and eats coins or itself. Confused? here.

 Let me take a moment to talk about the feature labelled "Evil Bolt of Doom." This particular bolt is just like its friends, a short little machine screw. With a Robertson head and a steel alloy, though, he doesn't have much to worry about. His partner, however, wouldn't turn out quite the same.

See, all four bolts thread into tapped threads in cast "sleeves," threading about 6 or 7 threads of contact. All except the Evil Bolt of Doom, which threads into a sleeve calmly only threaded at the bottom half. This leads to anywhere from 0 to about 4 threads of engagement, which meant that if the spacers were slightly too thick (which they were) or if the case was slightly bent (which also happens) this screw wouldn't catch, and often would happily a few miserable threads out of its sleeve and promptly strip the hole entirely. I quickly learned to install all the other screws first to appropriate torque, and then install the Evil Bolt of Doom to a much lower and cautious torque.

Somebody should really fix that, it's annoying and wasted hours of assembly.

We also encountered problems with vending in these two machines, which we addressed but didn't meet our standards set with the first machine. Most of the issues stemmed from a loose and inaccurate drilling of the mounting holes for the axle. With these holes off-location, the axle would sit at a noticeable angle to the inventory chutes, leading to starkly different results from each. To rectify this, we drilled the holes oversized but centered, and then created a "shim" of Gorilla Tape, which we added in a one-layer-thick wrap to the axle, to match the oversized diameter.

Our unresolved consistency concerns with machines #2 and #3 stem from their lack of consistent quantity of condoms vended. Neither machine jams, nor steals your money, but neither consistently vended a steady number from both chutes. We left the "proof to the readers," so to speak -- in hopes that rising to solve the problem will lead Edward's team to engineer better designs for these problem areas.

Friday's flight back was largely uneventful, though the tedium of airport security was a bit more than I'm used to -- the Accra airport leads one through three security checkpoints and at least as many passport inspections, finally dumping you in a securities--off glass boarding gate, where you sit quite helpless wondering what's on the departure signs behind you, and where exactly is this aircraft anyway, weren't we supposed to board a few minutes ago? Once in the air, however, we made excellent time and caught New York sleepy and unaware -- like a grumpy bear not quite awake -- and made our way quickly through the American side of the security show. By mid-morning, we were all safely headed back to Albany.

Friday, and Thursday, and Wednesday, and stuff

The midweek was productive, but a bit slow. We've gotten quite a bit done on the other two demonstration models, and brainstormed more solutions for Helena's unit. Scheduling conflicts prevented her from meeting yesterday as planned, so Aimee and I went back out this afternoon. The end results are stunning -- apart from major usability improvements for the vendor, the external design looks a thousand times better with Kente cloth. Gabriel, of solar project (Atonso) fame, prepared the cloths yesterday, and the end result is nothing short of fantastic.

Vending machine!

Flattering photograph of Aimee

The internet is too slow here to upload much more, it took twenty minutes to get those two up. More to come next week!

Tuesday the Second, Machine installation

Today we put some finishing touches on our first machine, and travelled back to the Suntreso hospital to install the machine at Helena's HIV clinic. Installation went without a hitch, and Helena identified a few minor tweaks she'd like us to make over the next few days --

*Adding more color to the machine, perhaps in the form of images or paint.
*Improving the side instructions and matching them to the vend slot design
*Improving the condom vend slot, smoothing the edges and increasing the size slightly to ease access
*Improving the inventory chute, to ease filling the machine
*Incorporating the Red Ribbon symbol in the exterior design of the machine in some manner

To address these, Aimee and I have decided to

*Increase the size and modify the design of the front image, adding a large colored Red Ribbon symbol
*Modify the side instruction dialog to match the vending slot, and add information for if the machine will not take the coin (i.e. is empty and interlock is engaged)
*Filing and duct taping the edges of the vend slot, as well as bending back a tab at the top surface (simultaneously heightening the slot and removing the sharp edge)
*Modifying the inventory chute faceplate design to allow removal of inventory followers, and ease filling from the top section of the inventory -- more on that later

Overall, Helena was very happy with the device, and looks forward to installations at more clinics soon.

Monday again!

Well, we finished up the final touches on the first machine -- designing and folding a coin tray, while Phillip welded inventory followers. With the machine all set to go, we went to lunch, looking forward to visiting Helena at the HIV clinic to show off our product.

After lunch, Aimee and I realized that we'd (of course) left the machine at the shop, which was now locked.

Unfortunately, there's no way to type a facepalm.

Nevertheless, we had an extremely productive visit with Helena. We were able to explain the rough dimensions and specifications of the new machine, and discussed the future possibilities for installation sites -- Helena is an extremely bright and quick mind, and she's very optimistic about our new model. She sees opportunities at every HIV/ART clinic in the Kumasi area -- but more importantly, she views these sites as proving and improving grounds for our design, which she believes the Ghanaian government itself may well be interested in for application across the country. I asked Helena how many clinics she was proposing, and she named nine in the Kumasi municipal area, with dozens more in the outskirts -- and close to 150 across the country. I'm hopeful the project will continue humming along, particularly with Jorge Appiah's aid after our departure. It seems that the sky's the limit, so to speak.

We also picked up 1,440 condoms (!), which Helena, it seems, can sell to anyone from her clinics for 5 Cedis/144 -- a massive profit margin for the vendor if vended at 50peswa/ea, and a ready and available source of condoms at HIV clinics across the area. Tomorrow morning, we'll use a package to evaluate and test the first machine. Assuming any issues are correctable in the morning, and we can achieve a >98% vend rate, we'll return to the clinic tomorrow and install the first machine!

Thursday & Friday, First machine completed

Thursday was a fairly uneventful day. We arrived in the morning and discovered the planer tech was on vacation out of the district, and wouldn't be available. However, Ato, the shop foreman, suggested we take our blueprints and raw stock to the campus carpentry shop -- which normally concerns themselves with the day-to-day carpentry needs of the school, such as cabinets, bed-frames, and the like. While communication was a challenge, we were able to meet it, and the craftsmen there were willing to take a few minutes to help the confused white folk. Not wishing to ask too much, we had them mill one set of components, enough to complete one machine. By the time we'd finished all this, Aimee's infallible Lunch Break Tummy Clock indicated that it was indeed closing time at the shop, and we wrapped things up for the day.

This morning, emboldened by what passes for a Spanish Omelette here at the Guest House, we returned to the machine shop to assemble a machine. While I was too busy worrying and working to take many photographs, Aimee carefully documented the entire assembly process, and is in the midst of doing important things with those pictures. Apart from a few minor snags, the machine went together without a hitch. Jorge Appiah, whose name I've been misspelling for a few days now, stopped by around noon to critique our design -- as management must always descend upon engineers during the critical stage of any project.

Fortunately, by closing/lunch time, Aimee, Phillip, an Oxford Comma, and I had finished the first machine, and addressed many of Jorge's concerns -- most of which had to do with security and the risks of Ghana, which he does understand far better than we do. Some of his notes we've incorporated into our future revisions list, and others we enacted directly on this first model, which we understand will be mounted in a safe and secure location inside Helena Afriyie-Siaw's HIV clinic here in Kumasi.

The reaction from Jorge and our Ghanaian cohorts to the completed system was nothing short of jubilation, everyone is quite pleased -- dare I say astounded -- by the device. Phillip is keenly interested in continuing development of the system after our departure, and I gave him a set of blueprints today that I think will go to great use. Jorge believes that local technicians can reverse-engineer, simplify, and replicate the Beaver Coin Mechanism we're currently using, and intends to take a coin mechanism to show a few acquaintances on Monday. We've contacted Helena to arrange purchase of condoms in bulk (144 for 5 Cedis, at an exchange rate of $0.29 to the Cedi -- it's a rough economy here). Our current plan is to pick up 1,440 condoms on Monday, and test this machine extensively then. Assuming all doesn't go well and we can fix it within a day or so, we'll have this machine installed in the Clinic early next week, and the remaining two machines completed around the same time. I'm very much  looking forward to demonstrating this, ahem, fully operational battle station to everyone; albeit a bit less so to explaining the inevitable malfunction upon demonstration.

Here's to the first Ghanaian coin-operated vending machine!

Wednesday

Today wasn't quite as great as one would hope, but everything can't be roses. It's the rainy season here, and today is the first of a predicted four or five days of rain, which put a dreary tone to the morning. However, we got a few little things done, installing the coin mechanisms in the three cases we've completed, and riveting hinges to the lids. After measuring the wood that was available at the shop, it turned out to be both too thick and too narrow -- and while there's a planer here, there isn't a board stretcher. (that's a joke). The wood was also second-use, and had been exposed to weather for quite some time, leading to warping and saturation. I opted to head to 'Wood Village' with Felix, our driver for the duration of our stay, as well as Aimee, Papa, Michael, and Phillip. We were able to purchase twenty board feet of 1x12 roughcut (pine?) there, for only 50 Cedis -- or about 15USD. Try getting that price in the states. The proprietors of the massive wood yard, which was essentially the back side of an even more massive sawmill, offered to plane the boards to thickness for a few extra Cedis -- great! less work for us -- but alas, the entire district's power had been knocked out by the storm. We'd forgotten about that, as KNUST has auxiliary generators to power the machine shop -- this is a pretty common occurrence here.

Phillip mentioned that there's a planer here at KNUST, but the technician who's trained to operate it was on leave for the summer. Pish posh, I'll do it myself, how hard can a planer be?

Apparently quite hard when it's fifty years old, and while I think I could use the machine if it came down to it, I'll feel much more comfortable with someone familiar with this particular model using it. The shop foreman was able to contact the technician, who offered to come in tomorrow morning and assist for a few Cedis. Hopefully we'll be able to plane and cut the boards then, and assemble all three machines by the weekend.

This afternoon, Aimee and I dismantled a printer which Ron had acquired and hoped to use as a case. I was initially optimistic, as the external layout looks fairly conducive to the geometry of the devices. Upon opening it up, however, it became clear that the internal mechanisms are far too structural, as we'd feared. Desktop computer cases may be more applicable, as they're designed to be self-contained -- we also thought of muffler cans or auxiliary fluid tanks from trucks, which could be about the right size and shape. Time will tell if the Ghanaians can recycle these into cases -- there's a limit to how crude and simple a device can be made while maintaining functionality, and we're quickly approaching it with ideas like this.

A number of new faces joined us at lunch today, including two students of George's (Ron's entrepenauer and mechanical engineering professor friend). Apparently word's spread about this vending machine idea, and these students are very interested in getting on board. I find that I spend the most time explaining the coin mechanism itself: It seems that Ghana really doesn't have such devices, indeed George himself was confused initially that the device would only vend if a coin was inserted. As such, I think this is a definite area of development for next year -- designing and implementing a truly open source coin mechanism would remove the sole proprietary part from the design, and make the entire system truly Ghana-capable from the ground up.

Tuesdays...

Now that yesterday's published.

We arrived at the machine shop at eight this morning, with sheet metal haphazardly strapped to the roof of our ancient shuttlebus. Papa and Michael again met us there, and brought with them a few more students from KNUST -- Phillip, a welder and son of a welder, and a few of his friends whose names I'll remember as soon as this publishes. Aimee and I were able to jigsaw-puzzle three units onto our single half-sheet of stainless, which cut incredibly easily with the aviation shears I brought. Papa and I set to cutting parts, which Aimee then hauled over to the drill press.



Phillip and I were able to set up a jigsaw station and he took over cutting the interior cuts -- such as the vending area in the lid, and the coin mechanism location in the case. Before I realized it, we had an entire machine shop humming out vending machine cases.

Phillip hard at work.

All these hands made light work, and I found myself wandering aimlessly a few times -- So I took pictures of big shiny machinery. Some of the equipment in the KNUST shop is truly impressive, obviously the biggest ones are the coolest.

Massive German drill press --  Aimee for scale. The main column is 12" diameter solid steel.

Partially uncovered 12 foot bed lathe. For scale, the 4-jaw chuck mounted is 18" diameter. The workpiece is near eye level for me at 6 foot.

A truly massive vertical mill -- both tables are 2'x4'. I estimated the capacity around 5 foot cubic. The top of the head towers around 12 feet off the ground.

By mid morning, we'd cut and drilled all three sets of components, and were faced with our largest challenge yet -- how to fold the cases without a sheet metal brake. As I pantomined the device I wished we had here in Ghana, Phillip realized that there was a fifty year old brake in the shop next door.

First case cut in Ghana -- this was a good moment.

Fruits of our labors -- a bunch of finished parts

Sheet Brake!

Whoa, those actually look like cases.

With the sheet brake and the number of hands on the project, we went from sheet of steel to three cases in about four hours. I assembled a coin mechanism in the case to demonstrate, and asked Phillip to run a 50 Peswa through. I think this was the moment that the KNUST students suddenly realized how this all works, and they ate it up -- they were incredibly excited to work the mechanism, the ratcheting click of a coin going through is quite satisfying.

Somewhere during the morning, an unidentified entrepreneur contact of Ron's who I know only as "George" stopped by the shop. He was equally, if not even more excited as Ron described the purpose of the project. He's very interested in continuing the experiment after we leave, and I'm sure Ron knows more about that, as will I in the future.

After how well everything has gone, I'm convinced there's a nightmare somewhere up ahead -- Murphy works on this side of the Atlantic as well. Tomorrow we'll be hunting for and cutting wooden components, so there'll be plenty of opportunities to knock on wood, as the saying goes.