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06.2 Design Process

06.2 Design Process

Prototype

Prototyping ides and design changes include:

  • Multiple conveyor belt prototypes have been built, evolving from basic frames to iterations that addressed misalignment and vegetable drop issues. 

  • Originally, a number of links would run into each other. They have been developed to have countersunk holes (preventing collisions with bolts), and connection points have been moved around so no two links are in the same plane, and can no longer collide. 

  • Material iterations included shifting from wood and glue to build components to refined 3d prints and mounts, using bolts and bearings to reduce any unwanted motion.

The image below shows the first iteration of our project. The link lengths were double the ones of the kinematic analysis.

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Figure 1: First prototype of the system

Final Design

Several changes were made between the first prototype and the final design. The following images show the main changes including the integration of motors to control the conveyor and the four bar mechanism for the blade.

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Figure 2: Motor Conveyor
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Figure 3: Conveyor
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Figure 4: Motor for controlling the four bar to move the blade
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Figure 5: Blade
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Figure 6: Full mechanism

 

Test: cutting a banana

For safety reasons we didn't sharpened the blade enough to cut vegetables like carrots or cucumbers. We tested our system with a banana. The results are show in the followings pictures.

MicrosoftTeams-video.mp4
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Figure 7: Some nice slices of the banana during demo day

 

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