This is a semi-satirical final project for ME3222, Design and Manufacturing II which focuses on mechanism design and component selection for manufacturing. We were put in groups of four for the project, and with an odd number in the class I ended up in a group of three. Then, for the first time in the history of the class (according to the professor who had taught it for many years) our third member dropped the class (well, the school) and that left us with just two people. This didn't stop us from winning two of the three "student choice awards" (Best Poster and Most Creative) and getting an A on the project. I made the prototype and poster, while my friend Omead hammered out our report. I designed the mechanism in Solidworks and printed each of the parts, assembling them with bronze bushings and solvent welding the necessary pieces together with acetone. I had an old 127.7:1 gearmotor that I attached to the baseplate, powered by a battery pack held on to the back with a printed housing. I wanted an opportunity to utilize my surface modeling skills so I created the strange bucket shape mostly for fun, but also because allowing the leading edge to dip into the water. My project partner didn't believe that it would hold the water without breaking, so I filled it with coins and waved it around. By smoothing out the shaft of the bucket with acetone and letting it "cure" for a day or two I was able to get rid of all the layer lines and therefore all of the weak points. It's far from perfect, but with two weeks and half of the manpower I'm pretty satisfied with the outcome. The theme came from the fact that I had only Red, White, and Blue filament, and we just decided to run with it. It would have also been neat to see it actually hooked up to a waterfall, but between the noisy 1960s gearmotor and the impracticality of indoor water fixtures, I decided to devote my time elsewhere. |