Mechanical
Design
Workshop BY BOB HOWARD (2014)
Scope of Presentation
Focus on Mechanical Aspects
Not getting into Sensors
Not getting into Electrical
Not getting into Programming
Not getting into CAD
Will get into the Robot Design and Process which
crosses all of these
Designing something is only part of the solution, you
must build it so it works.
Process to Building Successful
robots (Robots that work)
Know the Kit-of-parts
Know the game rules
Prototyping
Thinking out of the box
Time and commitment
Know the Kit-of-Parts Mechanical
Lego, Tetrix, Matrix
Structure, brackets, fasteners, gears,
wheels etc.
Know the Kit-of-Parts
Mechanical (New This Year)
New Parts:
AndyMark Motor Includes Enchoder
AndyMark Wheels
High Traction Wheels NOT Allowed
Many Brackets
And more
Know the Kit-of-Parts
Mechanical (New This Year)
NeveRest 40 is a gearmotor with an attached encoder
5X harder to break gears than Tetrix V2 Motor
AndyMark AM-2964
Know the Kit-of-Parts
Mechanical (New This Year)
COTS Parts and Assemblies with Single Degree of
Freedom
Hinges
Sprockets
Gears of any type, including rack and pinion gears
Simple and compound gear trains
Planetary great trains
Lazy Susan
Know the Kit-of-Parts
Mechanical (New This Year)
Know the Kit-of-Parts
Mechanical (New This Year)
Know the Kit-of-Parts
Mechanical (Modified This Year)
Post-Processed Materials
3D Printed Parts
Perforated Sheet
Diamond Plate
Injection Molded Parts
Know the Kit-of-Parts
Mechanical (New This Year)
3D Printed
Know the Kit-of-Parts
Mechanical (New This Year)
Perforated Sheet & Diamond Plate
Know the Kit-of-Parts
Mechanical (New This Year)
Injected Molded Parts
Know the Kit-of-Parts
Mechanical (New Last Year)
The most versatile motor mount
Know the Kit-of-Parts
Mechanical (New Last Year) Timing Belts
Gears of any size or pitch including non-circular such as worm or bevel gears
Sprockets of any size or pitch
Pulleys including sheaves and timing belts
Springs of any type and material (coil, extension, compression, leaf, etc.)
Wheels of any type up to 4”
Know the Kit-of-Parts
Mechanical (New Last Year)
Know the Kit-of-Parts
Mechanical (New Last Year)
Know the Kit-of-Parts
Mechanical (New Last Year)
Know the Kit-of-Parts
Mechanical (New Last Year)
Know the Kit-of-Parts
Mechanical (New Last Year)
Know the Kit-of-Parts
Mechanical (New Last Year)
Know the Kit-of-Parts
Electrical
Motors, servos, wiring, battery
Anderson power poles *should consider this a
standard
Hand tools
Wrenches, screw drivers, ratchets, sockets, files
Power tools Hand saw, hand drill, skill saw, hack saw
Drill press, table saw
3D printer, CNC machine
Know the Kit-of-Parts
Build stuff
You can look at the parts till you are blue in the face but the only way to learn the parts is to build robots
The better you know the kits and the tools the faster you can build
The faster you can build the more time you have
Kit parts can be modified
Practice, practice, practice
Leverage ideas from previous years game
Independent suspension
Forklift
Adjustable drive train height
Know the Game Rules
Many items are allowed that you purchase at your local hardware store
Raw materials (plastic, wood, aluminum, steel, etc.)
Fasteners (screws, nuts, string, rope etc.)
Linear slides (drawer slides, 80/20 system, etc.)
COTS items are not allowed
Know what these are
Know the exceptions
Read the Forum, the rules change
Prototyping
“You don’t have to prototype anything, just what you want to work” Andrew Rudolf
Why prototype
Make sure it works
Keep is simple
What to prototype
Drive train
Manipulators
Sub-assemblies of any kind
Manipulators
Weighted Rings
Linear Slide 80/20
Linear Slide 80/20
Linear Slide 80/20
Linear Slide 80/20
Sub-Assembly
Sub-Assembly
Sub-Assembly
Thinking Out-of-the-box
Know the characteristics of what you are building
Leverage others ideas
Build prototypes
Thinking Out-of-the-box
Know the characteristics (aka
requirements) of what your are building
Thinking Out-of-the-box
Leverage others ideas
Research on web for ideas (YouTube,
Google)
Get ideas from others with experience
Get ideas from other engineers that are
not involved in robotics.
Thinking Out-of-the-box
Then try to build it yourself
Does no have to be perfect.
Remember It’s a prototype!
Most prototypes don’t work
Learn what you don’t like or don’t want to
do when you build the final assembly
Key Principles to Success
Know your materials
Know your tools
Know the rules
Research
Build
Build some more
And then build some more
There is no substitute for time
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