Testing

In development, there has been several rounds of prototyping and testing. There have been several challenges. I will note some of these, and how they were dealt with.

Housing

In making the housing, aligning all the pieces has been a challenge, while concurrently making sure there is space for all the components. For example, the designs have needed to accommodate space for the PCB and the motors. This was solved with iterative designs, and test fitting.

Various tested 3D printed designs for dealing and housing

Distributing cards

Finding a suitable mechanism to distribute cards was a particular challenge. For this, different roller sizes and positions were tested with a small table. In early testing, it was apparant that the roller wanted to move the entire deck, and a way to hold back cards was needed. This was accomplished by making the upper cards held back.

Without resistance, rotor moves all cards

Holding back cards limits movement to bottom cards

Motor testing

Getting the movement correct was a challenge in both hardware and software. In various steps, the motors and control software were tested.

Testing motor movement