Manufacturing & Assembly:
The laser cutters and 3D printers at Texas Inventionworks were used to create the 32 individual parts that the final mechanism consisted of. These parts consisted of 10 pieces of laser-cut acrylic used for the box, platform, and linkages and 22 3D printed pieces for various connections and components. This high number of 3D printed components was primarily needed for the manufacturability of our design. Without the use of bearings, many pins required end-caps or retaining rings to constrain the motion of the linkages that they were connecting while still allowing us to slide the pin through a smaller-diameter hole during assembly.
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