Motor-Powered Gripper
SKU:
Static analysis, material selection, prototyping
For this class project, each team designed a gripper that:
My four fantastic teammates and I achieved the lightest successful gripper in the class. The strength of our design, after multiple prototypes, was due to:
Watch it work here.
September - November 2015
For this class project, each team designed a gripper that:
- attached to a provided swinging arm with a motor on the end
- gripped and ungripped a 1.45kg mini Thor's hammer replica as the motor is turned on and off
- with the motor on, swung the hammer across a 180 degree arc and replaced it to the original position within a tight tolerance
- minimized the mass of the gripper
My four fantastic teammates and I achieved the lightest successful gripper in the class. The strength of our design, after multiple prototypes, was due to:
- Geometry that reflected loading conditions, minimizing necessary material
- Embracing 3D printing (new to all but one member of our team) in order to achieve precise geometry
- Simple spindle and fishing line gripping mechanism, much lighter than other options involving lever arms, pulleys, or gears
- Building on each other's ideas and openness to unexpected ideas (like training a puppy or modeling an octopus tentacle)
Watch it work here.
September - November 2015