The idea to automate simple tasks is very common today. We decided to design a mechanism for dealing cards based on concepts learned in class. This mechanism allows the user to turn a crank and automatically deal cards to four multiple different people. For our design, we used the following guidelines:
- Only one input drives the motion
- The mechanism deals to four people
- Only one card leaves with every forward movement of the prong, meaning no clusters of cards come out of the holder
- The mechanism needs to compensate for a diminishing stack of cards (i.e. mechanism doesn't fail once half the deck has been dealt)
Kinematic Challenge and Mechanism Description:
The main kinematic challenge we faced was how to translate the rotating motion of the crank to the releasing of the cards on the tip of the crank rocking mechanism. This was especially challenging because the rocker is on constant motion. We tackled this challenege by adding on a gear train and a slider crank to this mechanism.
The primary movement of the mechanism will stem from a four bar crank-rocker. We plan to rotate the crank in a full 360 motion which will allow for the rocker-coupler joint to create tracer a specific profile. The cards will be released along this profile.
The dealing of the cards is achieved with a slider-crank. The cranking motion is provided by a gear train that connects the rotation of the crank-rocker crank shaft to the slider crank shaft; this means that both shafts rotate with only one input and this is what drives the mechanism. Attached to the slider is a custom 3D printed piece that pushes the cards, one at a time, out of the card holder.
Figure 1: Final CAD assembly
Video 1: A MATLAB simulation of the rocking mechanism with the used link lengths