# The Big Lebowski: visual reconstruction

This is a source-grounded visual reconstruction for this project showcase. It is **not engineering-accurate CAD** and must not be used to manufacture or certify parts. The drawings ground the visible design and key dimensions; some connections, curves, internal details, and surrounding geometry are simplified or inferred.

## Files and sources

- [Editable Blender assembly](/models/lebowski-robot.blend): task-only scene, named objects, materials, lights and camera.
- [Browser model](/models/lebowski-robot.glb): seven subsystem groups — Lane, Aiming, Ramp, Gate, Vision, Electronics and Pins.
- [Studio render](/media/robot-render.png): 2000 × 1450 transparent image.

The reconstruction follows the dimensioned drawings in [Lab Report 4](/resources/lab-report-4.docx), Figures 4–8, and the final assembly photograph in Figure 12. The [original team mockups](https://sites.google.com/g.clemson.edu/team19-thebiglebowski/mockups), final MATLAB application and published bill of materials provide supporting context. Blender Z-up becomes glTF Y-up; the lane runs along X toward the pins.

## Dimensioned anchors

| Part | Drawing or source dimensions used |
| --- | --- |
| Ramp | 182.17 mm high, 129.78 mm run, 50.8 mm wide |
| Rack | 156.43 mm long, 17.1 mm depth, 9.25 mm tooth section |
| Pinion | 16 teeth, module 1, 18 mm outer diameter, 16 mm pitch diameter, 10 mm thick |
| Guide shafts | 8 mm diameter × 250 mm long, stacked with 50 mm center separation |
| Stand | 110 mm high; guide centers 39.29 and 89.29 mm above base |
| Steel ball | 5/8 inch diameter |
| PVC | Nominal 3/4 inch; outside radius modeled at 13.335 mm |

The report's “if the lane is 6 inches wide” derivation is illustrative and conflicts with the final code's `laneWidth_in = 3.85`. This reconstruction uses 3.85 inches for the lane surface. That is a software configuration, **not an independent physical measurement**.

## Inferred and simplified details

- Whole base (830 × 310 mm), lane length, PVC pipe lengths and arch height, ring diameter, exact webcam housing and orientation, pin silhouettes, and cable routes are estimated from photographs.
- The ramp curve is an approximation between drawing extents, including a V groove and tapered exit. Guide sleeves are visibly represented; boolean bores, exact spline curves, tolerances, fit, and internal structure are not modeled.
- The rack/pinion teeth suggest the documented mechanism; their tooth geometry is not a manufacturing involute.
- Wooden dowel gate and MG92B linkage are simplified. The report describes about 35 degrees; final runtime code commands 32 degrees. No rigid-body simulation or control behavior is encoded into the asset.
- Electronics are placed neatly alongside the lane for legibility, using the documented board types. Exact PCB traces, pinout, wiring/netlist, and as-built electronics placement are not claimed.
- Clear side rails use a lightly tinted material for broad browser compatibility; they do not reproduce exact optical properties.