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Issue 3: Foot pedal
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Project Member Reported by Jonathan...@googlemail.com, Jul 16, 2008
Foot Pedal
 
- we would be really grateful if you could ask Joe to get us a old foot 
pedal from the dentist department.

 
Aug 5, 2008
Project Member #1 Jonathan...@googlemail.com
One given to Ally on 4 Aug.
Aug 18, 2008
Project Member #3 AllyBar...@gmail.com
As the foot pedal is broken we will need to put our own electronics in it. We have 
changed the design of the boards which are comming from AliceDesignes so that we can 
interface the foot pedal as well as the drill position sensing arm with the 
computers.
Aug 18, 2008
Project Member #4 AllyBar...@gmail.com
I'll hook up a temporary solution using a games foot pedal for a racing simulation 
to control the speed of the drill as I believe once sound is added this will be much 
more important.

It won't feel very realistic but it should be a useful stop gap.
Labels: Milestone-September-2008
Nov 6, 2008
Project Member #5 Jonathan...@googlemail.com
I now have one foot pedal I can collect from David Buckland. I'll give it to Ally on 
our meeting with Jon H.
Cc: AllyBarrow w.s.har...@reading.ac.uk MJ....@kcl.ac.uk briantsedesign
Nov 21, 2008
Project Member #6 Jonathan...@googlemail.com
Sent: 03 October 2008 12:48
Ally, would a pedal with just an on-off switch suit what we need?
Many thanks,
Jonathan

Sent: 03 October 2008 18:29
That's not really our decision; we'll put together whatever's required. If 
controlling the speed of the drill isn't part of what the students need to learn 
then great, it's a little less work for us.
Though if it's just an on/off switch I would question the value of a foot pedal at 
all. As far as I'm aware the advantage of the foot pedal other than speed control is 
safety, when you take you foot off, the drill stops. But to what extent is that a 
necessary part of the learning 'experience', would it matter if the drill was on all 
the time?
Ally

Sent: 06 October 2008 09:29
Dear Ally,
The foot control will require speed control as well as an on/off function.
Best wishes,
Steve.

Sent: 06 October 2008 11:24
Hello all, there appears to be some small but important, for us at least, 
discordance regarding foot pedal requirements.
This is not the technical team's decision so we will need a consensus of opinion 
before proceeding. 
Please see replies below...
In summary:
•       Clearly a foot pedal is required (Mark)
•       An on/off switch may be sufficient
•       Speed control is preferred and possibly necessary (Steve)
•       As far as implementation is concerned the computer interface for a foot 
pedal has already been taken care of so the limitation is acquiring the actual 
physical pedal.
•       It sounds like we have access to four foot pedals in the short term (David)
•       BUT it also sounds like achieving 20 uniform pedals will be difficult/costly 
(Jonathan) which was when the on/off question was raised.
Actions:
•       Speed control NOT required: We can source cheap non dental related foot 
pedals.
•       Speed control IS required: We must either, find a source of cheap/used 
dental pedals (potentially costly), source non dental related pedals with variable 
input (less but probably still a bit pricey), make them ourselves (time consuming, 
definitely not ideal).
It would be most useful if someone makes an executive decision.
Thanks,
Ally
P.S. Jonathan, I have just 'replied all' to you original message, could you forward 
to anyone else who may want to comment?

Sent: 06 October 2008 12:23
Dear All,
As we are replicating the air turbine handpiece in the first instance, it would 
really only need an on/off function.
Slow speed handpiece does need variable control.
There are two handpieces on a conventional dental chair, are we replicating both now?
Foot control adds realism and adds to teaching of safety for patient.
Without a foot control we loose a lot of the realism and this would be a concern for 
me. It only needs an on/off function at present (in my opinion) and so a source of 
cheap foot switches could fairly easily be found.  It would plug straight into the 
box and would be a necessary item for any commercial product.
There is more to this whole process than hand feel!
Regards.
Mark

Sent: 06 October 2008 13:10
Hi Jonathan
I would have thought we should have a foot pedal which can regulate the speed of the 
drill (ie. will also dictate the noise output) as well as providing the on/off 
function.  This is because dentists do control the speed via the footswitch.  
However, it is not essential, more a desired item.  
Hope this helps.
Brian

Sent: 06 October 2008 13:14
Dear Jonathan, 
I never saw this information regarding the need/use of foot pedals.  My opinion is 
that a foot pedal with the ability to control the rotational speed is essential in 
restorative dentistry!
Best wishes
Brett.

Sent: 06 October 2008 14:07
Hi,

This is getting a bit messy. An obvious situation where a forum/wiki would be 
beneficial.
There’s doesn’t seem a lot of point having these comments (below and Mark’s which I 
just forwarded to you) going to one or two people.
I suggest leaving it for today and letting anyone else make their point. Unless 
someone steps up and makes a bottom line decision I’ll compile all the replies into 
one document and circulate one final time with the recommendation that:
As it is straightforward and fairly cheap to make on/off foot switches we can always 
decide to ‘upgrade’ later. 
So initially we will have one proportional pedal and one digital switch for people 
to try. All effort to acquire proportional foot pedals should be made up to 
March/April next year. If that succeeds then great, we’ll implement proportional 
pedals, otherwise we will use digital pedals in bulk and reserve a single 
proportional pedal for the ‘high performance’ workstation.
Ally

Sent: 06 October 2008 14:42
Dear Jonathan,
As I mentioned in the last PHANTOM meeting, I believe that speed control on the foot 
pedal is necessary. Whilst we go to so much trouble in getting the PHANTOM tooth to 
feel real, we should at least do the same for the drill speed which would differ in 
order to cut the two hard tissues, enamel and dentine, and in removing fillings and 
caries. AS Mark mentions safety is essential, so the drill can’t be always on!
As Steve and I suggested, you could buy a foot pedal from on e of the dental 
companies if the ones supplied are only on/off.
Best wishes
Pat

Cc: -AllyBarrow -w.s.har...@reading.ac.uk -MJ....@kcl.ac.uk -briantsedesign
Labels: -Milestone-September-2008 Milestone-December-2008
Dec 2, 2008
Project Member #7 Jonathan...@googlemail.com
Pat tried the foot pedal. She noticed that the sound is 4 seconds delayed.
Owner: AllyBarrow
Cc: briantsedesign P.A.Reyn...@kcl.ac.uk
Jun 25, 2009
Project Member #8 Jonathan...@googlemail.com
How many have we got in total? There is two more awaiting collection.
Cc: -P.A.Reyn...@kcl.ac.uk
Labels: -Type-Task -Priority-Medium -Milestone-December-2008 Type-PartsRequest Priority-Critical Milestone-August2009

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