Every single mechanical engineer has to study a subject called mechanics. Some call it MOM, some call it SOM, some call it EM. But whatever you may call it, it's always there and it's always the same. This subject tells us how to decide whether our design will fail or not. And it is a very complex subject. And the bad news is, we only study this until we get familiar with the concept of Simulation. Once you start doing simulations, there is no going back. I had a glimpse of simulation very early in my college life, way before it would have according to my syllabus. And then I got myself involved in another project that made me understand simulation to a very great extend. This was the design and manufacturing of HAWT. Basically, we were trying to make a hybrid wind turbine that can produce electricity safely inside a crowded city. And the very first step included the Fluent based simulations. Actually, the first step was a literature review, but yeah you got the point. So, my s...
This was quite a famous project last year. Basically, this is meant to be a prank. There is a box with a switch on it. You flick the switch, an arm comes out and flicks the switch back to the original procedure. We thought of making this with some upgrades so that we can use much of our knowledge about Arduino in a single project. So we started designing the same box, but with the added functionality of movement and proximity detection. Not only it could flick the switch, but also detect if someone is approaching to flick the switch and even move back to avoid that. And this all was done inside a small box with an easily manufacturable structure. Here's a render!
Image: Rendered Product on Fusion 360.
The project started with a model on Fusion 360. A cuboid was cut into parts to ensure different motors and microprocessors can be fitted in. Further, the structure was made in such a way that it could be made by laser-cut wood sheets. Laser cutting was chosen due to it's relatively lesser costs. Further, the structure was made to be rigid enough to cope up with accidental forces.
After the structure was made, the Arduino was coded and the components were attached accordingly. The mounting points were also designed to be laser cut. Further, hours of testing was done to ensure smooth functioning. The ultrasound sensor was optimized to get minimum errors in reading. The motors were coded to ensure a smooth start and stop with uniform acceleration in between.
This project does seem very easy, but actually takes quite a lot of time. Making a complex 3D structure using only 2D sheets is a very complex process. Further, the chassis was made to be very small further making it more difficult. Finally, the coding was done with hours of testing making this machine optimized. This project made us realize the importance of testing and modular manufacturing.
Comments
Post a Comment