This week we were tasked with have two complete mechanisms, one that worked with a 3-D printed handle, and the other that is autonomous and ran by an Arduino motor.

This mechanism project has been rather difficult for me, I have utilized meeting with Brian and Kelly for some help on it, but I struggled to come up with a solution to my autonomous mechanism. My Rack and Pinion is reciprocating so finding a way to get it to move in a loop has proven to be very difficult.

Below is my iteration with the 3-D printed handle as well as a video on how it operates. I am very pleased with how this came out. I had laser cut a hole in the right side of my slider in order to get it to slide. I had initially hope to have it on the wheel, but it was no connected to my slider, therefore it did not move how I had anticipated.

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Overall, I know I did not have my autonomous mechanism working, but overall I am very pleased with the progress I have made throughout the semester. I am trying to not be too hard on myself as this process has been rather frustrating for me, I have had no prior knowledge on these mechanisms so the progress I had seen myself make has been positive. I have made over 15 different iterations on this mechanism, so it is all about the process!

 

I hope to meet with Kelly with this week and ask for some more advice on my Arduino model and will have an update this week!

This week, I had met with Brian to get some help with my mechanism. Watching and working with Brian on Fusion 360 and CAD was very helpful and he showed me a lot of tips to use moving forward. I wanted to have a functional mechanism on chipboard before I went on and started with the acrylic. After my meeting with Brian, I went to the lab and cut out my chipboard.

Putting together the mechanism went a lot better than my previous iteration last week. My measurements were all correct, and every component worked well together. I found some quarter inch screws in the work bench and used them for my gears. Below was my final iteration using the chip board.

 

I was happy my mechanism came out well. However, there were a few things I would have to change when I started with the acrylic. After class I took a trip over to Lowe’s and found quarter-inch screws that were a little smaller. The screws I used in my chipboard iteration, the heads were overlapping and catching on each other. I found screws that looked more fitting for my mechanism.

Monday in class we will be showing our mechanisms, I hope mine is operable on the acrylic. The next iteration of our mechanism will be using Arduinos to power the mechanism. I am excited to progress with this project, and I hope to have a fully functional mechanism at the conclusion !

Below is my iteration using acrylic for the first time. Brian and I had cut out some spacers to ensure the fit was correct. After I laser cut the mechanism, it was time to assemble it. Assembly did not go as smooth as I had initially thought it would, but once it was all put together it operated well. There a few things I would like to go back and take a look at. My mechanism does not do a full rotation and only uses up the bottom rack, this is something that should be relatively easy to fix.

Front of Mechanism:

Back of Mechanism:

 

Mechanism Project Update

This week we have been tasked with creating our mechanism’s using acrylic. My first iteration, which I used chip-board for did not come out the way I had hoped it would. During our meetings with Kelly with and Brian, Brian was able to provide me with a lot of help designing my mechanism on Fusion 360. Below is the outcome from our session together.

My initial design on the chipboard did not operate the way I had hoped, because of this, I would like to do a second iteration on chipboard to ensure my mechanism operates correctly with little to no error. I had began to look on various sites for screws and bolts to implement into my acrylic design, and believe I found just the right screw I was looking for.

These shoulder screws should help make my mechanism function properly and I decided I would like them sized at a 1/4″. I will now be able to account for the size of my mechanism in Fusion and make sure everything it set at the right size. I hope to meet with Brian again this week to go over any questions I have left, and finally get a finished, more polished iteration on my chipboard. After the completion of my chipboard, it will be time to cut my acrylic and start piecing together my final product!

 

I am excited to finish up this mechanism, as it has been pretty difficult for me so far. Meetings with faculty have helped me drastically, and I am excited to have a finished product for class next Monday!