Dasher's Dinner: Fiberboard Automaton
February 2020
Mechanical Prototyping project to build a fiberboard automaton that uses simple mechanical mechanisms to translate the rotation of a hand crank to another motion.
This project was my first true introduction to using gears and cams to create something that moves. The goal of this project was to create a simple automaton: my dog (Dasher) lowering his head to eat out of his bowl and then looking up again after a few seconds.
Though I was successful in many areas of this project, such as using the cam tool in SOLIDWORKS, designing a piece for 3D printing, and making gears out of fiberboard, the biggest lessons that I learned were as a result of my failures.
At this point, I was unused to building things that needed to be both beautiful and functional. I spent a lot of time at the beginning of this project focusing on the aesthetic presentation of my automaton--how it would look, rather than how it would work.
Despite this, the CAD design of my automata went smoothly. I learned how to use complex mechanical mates and the animation tool and, except for a finicky cam mate, the SOLIDWORKS model worked perfectly.
My mistake was neglecting to consider the physical restrictions on fabricating this automaton. I did not plan how I would assemble it ahead of time, which lead to some last-minute quick thinking in order to put it all together. I also toleranced my parts incorrectly, leading to gaps between pieces and more setbacks during assembly.
Worse, I underestimated friction, a mistake that I will take every precaution not to make again. Though my gears meshed smoothly, when I turned the crank handle the cam follower jammed against the cam and the entire automaton locked up.
Though this project was not as successful as I would have liked, I still consider it to have been an incredibly valuable experience that I will look back on next time I am tempted to focus on form alone and ignore function.
