Gurnee, IL - November 4th, 2008 -Tech-show fans will delight in knowing the Discovery Channel is airing a new weekly television series called Prototype This!, in which four techies of varying backgrounds and degrees put their heads together to solve a variety of prototyping product challenges. The show is produced by the company Beyond Productions (the same group that produces the popular MythBusters). With mechanical gadgets and technical wizardry galore, Prototype This! is sure to be a hit. It doesn’t hurt that the show’s hosts are easy-going guys and aren’t camera-shy, either.
When the team needed encoders for upcoming episodes including designing a waterslide simulator and 6x6 all-terrain robot, they turned to Dynapar. According to Joe Grand, the electronics guru of the group, “Dynapar's encoders have been paramount in our projects where precise shaft angle position feedback is necessary. Dynapar was able to quickly provide us with optical encoders that met our specific design requirements and were rugged and reliable, perfect for use in our wacky prototype builds.”
As every engineer knows, designs that work on paper don’t always work as well in practical application, and only real-world testing will prove it. Sometimes that testing can be pretty punishing, too. Dr. Zoz Brooks, the show’s robotics and computer expert, summed it up this way; “I would just say that we were very fortunate to have been partnered with Dynapar, because the ruggedness of the encoders ended up being critical to the success of both the 6x6 and Waterslide Simulator. In both cases the encoder-shaft assemblies suffered severe impact forces and vibrations, and a lesser encoder just wouldn't have stood up to the punishment. We went through both of those without a single encoder failure, and if we'd gone with more generic encoders I don't think we'd be able to say that. The drive shaft slippage on the Waterslide Simulator was enough to completely mangle the flexible tether, but the encoder kept performing flawlessly in what proved to be a very challenging control environment.”
Punished & tortured encoders aside, Dynapar is delighted to have partnered with Prototype This! and is grateful to the cast and crew for the opportunity. To learn more about the show and programming schedule, go to http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/prototype-this/prototype-this.html. The episodes using Dynapar encoders are currently scheduled for November 5th and November 12th at 10PM EST.