Week 12 - Mechanical Design, Machine Design

Mechanical Design (part 1 of 2) 

Group assignment: 

• Design a machine that includes mechanism + actuation + automation + application 

• Build the mechanical parts and operate it manually 

• Document the group project 

Individual assignment: 

• Document your individual contribution 

Machine Design (part 2 of 2) 

Group assignment: 

• Actuate and automate your machine 

• Document the group project 

Individual assignment: 

• Document your individual contribution 

Group assignment 

For this week’s Group assignment, I teamed up with my fellow Fab Academy buddy Haw Ren to build a coin sorting machine. 

The documentation for our Group assignment can be found here.  

Group assignment reflection

While the Group Assignment was challenging for a small group of just two people, it felt satisfying to be able to complete this project and get it to work. I was also heartened to learn that other people (such as our interns) would naturally be drawn towards our coin sorting machine and use it. As someone with a design background, I am very happy to see people using my creation. Even with all the challenges, I can say that overall, I had fun building this machine. 

Individual Contribution  

Machine Component	My Contribution
Pegboard Frame	Designed, laser cut and assembled the pegboard frame
Deflectors, Containers, and connecting structures  (e.g. ball and socket joints, pillars etc)	Designed, 3D printed and tested these parts
Coin-Sorting gates	Designed the first prototype for the coin-sorting gate
Documentation	Main person documenting the Group Assignment

 

This concludes this week’s assignment.