For the past two week, I made substantial revision to the CAD design of our actuator. The motor no is placed in the middle of the two sliders, which drastically reduces the footprint of the device. The gear and rack configuration is relocated to the side of the slider, instead of up of down.
I also 3D printed and tested the integration of the system, as well as some preliminary test on the motor integration, which is shown here
We are on track to complete the project on time. Next we will perforce more verification test, and optimize for motor actuation speed and torque.
- As you’ve designed, implemented and debugged your project, what new tools or new knowledge did you find it necessary to learn to be able to accomplish these tasks? What learning strategies did you use to acquire this new knowledge?
I am mostly in charge of designing the CAD model for our actuators, and fabricating the product using 3D printing and laser cutting. I found myself having to engage with every detail of the softwares tools I used before more, especially because we are trying to build something that is both small and precise. I have to rapidly prototype with different 3D printing parameters to find the one the give the best result. I also had to relearn gear design to make sure the actuation is fast and smooth.