18.1 Initial Proposal
Introduction:
Maraschino Machine was inspired by our team’s love for fun and flavorful drinks, whether it’s a playful Dirty Shirley or a classy Martini. A big part of the appeal of these drinks is the garnish—a cherry or olive—that adds a burst of flavor and a touch of excitement. We wanted to enhance this experience by designing a mechanism that seamlessly drops a cherry or olive into your drink, eliminating the hassle of opening a jar while keeping your garnishes fresh and ready to enjoy.
Problem Statement:
Our mechanism must repeatably stab the cherry/olive from the front of a queue and deposit it into a glass placed by the user. Of note is the stabbing portion that has a force and precision requirement, as well a the cherry depositing portion where the stabber will pass between a set of static prongs (pictured in orange) that can be used to pull the fruit off of the stabber.
Mechanism:
Given the degree of complexity of our path we will require at least a double four bar. Depending on whether we are able to get the motion profile we would prefer, we may also need actuation on the part of the mechanism that drops the garnish. In that case we would need a form of intermittent motion, likely using a Geneva drive connected to our original drive shaft.
Project Scope:
Our goal for this project is to design a mechanism capable of picking up a garnish with a toothpick, transporting it to a drink, and then dropping it in. This design includes an additional position profile, than currently shown, to bring the toothpick between static prongs; translate up and push the garnish into the drink.
The development process will follow these 4 steps:
Establish a simple motion profile using a static prong for garnish release.
Refine and finalize the stabbing and translational motion to ensure reliable garnish pickup.
Integrate prongs for an alternative release mechanism and adapt the motion profile accordingly.
Iterate and optimize the final design for efficiency and reliability.
Prior to fabrication, we will conduct analyses to ensure the feasibility of our design, including:
Position and velocity analysis to determine kinematic accuracy.
Grashof and Gruebler conditions evaluation for linkage feasibility.
Mechanical advantage calculations to optimize force requirements for puncturing the cherry.
Through these steps, we aim to develop a functional and refined mechanism that effectively automates the garnish-dropping process while ensuring smooth and reliable operation.
Preliminary Design: