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  • Week 1 (Principles and Practices, Project Management)
  • Week 2 (Computer-Aided Design)
  • Week 3 (Computer-Controlled Cutting)
  • Week 4 (Electronics Production)
  • Week 5 (3D Scanning and Printing)
  • Week 6 (Electronic Design)
  • Week 7 (Computer-Controlled Machining)
  • Week 8 (Embedded Programming)
  • Week 9 (Mechanical Design)
  • Week 10 (Output Devices)
  • Week 11 (Machine Building)
  • Week 12 (Molding and Casting)
  • Week 13 (Input Device)
  • Week 14 (Composites)
  • Week 15 (Networking and Communications)
  • Week 16 (Interface and Application Programming)
  • Week 17 (Applications and Implications)
  • Week 18 (Invention, Intellectual Property, and Business Model)
  • Week 19 (Project Development)
• Final Project

WEEK 9 – MECHANICAL DESIGN

Weekly assignment

This week we had a group assignment wich consisted in making a machine, building its passive parts and operate it manually.

Me and Nicola decided to make a tool dispenser wich picks boxes from a chest of drawers and release contents outside trhough a ramp. It can be used for small electronic components or tools (or any kind of stuff you want).

You can see the group project here

My contribution to the project:

Before starting I had a rough idea of what I wanted to make, but nothing about how to do it...

So I thought a lot and inspected other machines in the lab and on the internet.

To make my prototype I was very inspired by the Ultimaker2 we have in our lab. For the positioning mechanism on X/Y axis I simply shifted the noozel frame system from horizontal to vertical.

For the Z axis movement I want to use two shafts (one on the top and the other on the bottom) as guides and a threaded stud to drive all the X/Y frame.

I also designed a frame building in wich store boxes.

Through the frontside door you can pull out boxes, fill them with the needed stuff and easily replace.

I wanted to keep the whole machine as small as possible so there are only nine slots.

The picker has a plate to hold the box and extract it from the slot.

Once pulled the box out, the picker moves on the top above the ramp. Here it rotate towards the bottom. I think to make this mechanism using a servomotor.

To let contents come out without involving other mechanism I designed the box including a self-stabilizing side.

I also would give to the machine an appearance, and was thinking at a robot shape, so I designed a shape just as a demonstration.

For the moment it's all. I had some problems with dynamic assembly in Solidworks, so the 3D model is not totally complete. I will go on adding other components in the model before starting the machine building.

You can view my original design file here