The idea behind our Final Project was to create an automatic pizza cutter. To achieve this, we wanted to design a robotic mechanism that would mimic a cutting stroke, and also be able to rotate the pizza so that the next slice could be cut. We did some background research on existing mechanisms we could implement in our design after we came up with an idea. To perform the cutting motion, we chose to base our design off of the Chebyshev Lambda Linkage, which is a four bar mechanism that for a continuous rotary input produces a “D-shape” output motion. This mechanism made sense to incorporate into our design concept because there would be a linear motion to slice through a pizza and a reset stroke that would provide time for the platform to rotate to the next slice. We decided to pair the Chebyshev Lambda mechanism with a Geneva Mechanism to achieve intermittent rotation of the platform from a continuous motor input. Read more about these mechanisms below.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_drive
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chebyshev_lambda_linkage