Week 8 – Shipping and Sketching

Platon B -

Hello Mighty Mustangs!

This week is more of a transitionary week as I’m waiting on the copper wiring, resin, and circuitry to arrive before.

Since then, I’ve been making smaller and smaller iterations of the initial prototype of my braille cell. I’ve since made 3 different models, each with their own problems and advantages. The problem I’m encountering is that there is friction between the rotating CAMs and its respective housing. Due to the layer lines in the print, the two pieces of plastic end up rubbing against each other and creating too much friction for the CAMs to rotate when activated. In order to solve this, I can either try some sort of lubricant (A.K.A plastic safe oil) or find a more reliable way of printing. Of course, resin will help a lot with this issue, but there is still a notable amount of friction I expect, even with printing.

Another alternative to this problem of friction would be having some sort of bearings at each braille dot, but I imagine this would be much too costly and impossible to upkeep. Of course, I’m open to any other suggestions in the comments, and I’d love to hear an alternative on how to have tiny parts spin more freely in the braille display.

As for now, I will keep making new models in CAD and waiting on the shipment of products for my final prototype. If anyone’s curious, here’s my current modeling setup in my room (trust me I know it’s messy!):

 

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Comments:

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    Nitish Koukuntla
    Hi Tosha, how are you going to test the functionality of your final prototype.
    Nitish Koukuntla
    Hi Tosha, you should try lightly sanding the areas that contact. This could help provide a smoother surface for rotation.
    Alistair_H
    Hi Tosha, have you thought about experimenting with different materials for just the CAMs themselves, maybe a low-friction filament like nylon or PTFE if you're able to print with those?
    Dnyanesha
    Hey Tosha, how are you progressing in answering your research question?
    platon_b
    Hello Nitish, To answer your questions, I will try sanding the contact. That's a great idea, however it's worth noting that that will remove material, which can make the component less structurally stable. The functionality will simply be tested by going through each braille character several times and ensuring the device is working effectively.
    platon_b
    Hello Dnyanesha, So far, I've created a couple proof of concepts, so it's safe to say I have answered my research question to some extent. However, I'd like to make a fully functional cell, so that's still left on the table to finish. Thanks for the questions!
    platon_b
    Hello Alistair, Great question! The only problem with filaments that have less friction is that they are very difficult to keep rigid. Nylon for example will have lots of stretchiness and flex that makes the component itself perform abnormally. It's definitely possible to look into though!

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