Introduction
Hand pulling noodles is a form of art that has been around for a long period of time but never been modernized or industrialized. Because of this, hand-pulling remains a technique that is fairly inaccessible to non-professionals, as results can easily be inconsistent and difficult to achieve, as seen by Gordon Ramsey having difficulty achieving it in the linked video below. Additionally, hand-pulling can also cause health problems that arise from constant repetitive motion. Our goal is to help alleviate some of this strain without changing the art.
Noodle Pulling | Gordon Ramsay
Problem Statement
We aim to create a mechanism that can hand-pull noodles. Currently, no such machine exists — the closest are sugar pulling machines. We believe that having this mechanism could provide efficiency, accessibility, and consistency, and thereby allow people to enjoy fresh noodles in their homes.
Mechanism
Since hand-pulled noodles are made using techniques that have very human movement, we are considering a handful of mechanisms that either solve the full motion or parts of it.
Slider Crank
The first concept is a slider crank mechanism along with a servo motor to create the motion necessary to replicate hand-pulling noodles. We will be splitting up the motion into three parts, an up-and-down motion, a twisting motion, and a forward and backward motion. One of the hooks will stay stationary while the other will perform the pulling movements. The moving hook will utilize a slider crank mechanism to advance forward and backward towards the standing hook, and a servo motor to twist back and forth to grab, twist, and drop the noodles. Between the hooks, there will be a noodle stand that will move up and down to push the noodles into the hooks which will also use a slider crank mechanism.
Accordion
Our second idea for the noodle-pulling mechanism was a system of crossed levers, termed “Lazy Tongs.” This mechanism is shown below in figure 1. While this mechanism does not imitate the traditional method, it would still have that efficiency and accessibility. This design was researched over others because the horizontal movement also resulted in a change in the vertical height. This is a feature that would be helpful in pulling the noodles as a concern with mechanizing noodle-pulling is that an inconsistent pull of the dough could result in a tear. For our purposes, there would only be one side moving, with a stationary hook on the other side to hold the noodle in place to be pulled.
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Figure 1: “Lazy Tongs” from https://507movements.com/mm_114.html
Circular to intermittent
Our third proposed mechanism is depicted below in figure 2. This mechanism has the potential to be the closest to the technique used to pull noodles, however it will not be able to twist and pull the increasing number of strands of noodles without human assistance. In general, the twisting of the noodles would have to be done by out-of-planar motion. This mechanism stays planar and the intermittent aspect allows for the easy initial pull and the quick pull around. The movement we are able to get from this mechanism is unique and the path is able to be manipulated to mimic the human movement.
Figure 2: “Continuous circular motion into intermittent circular” from https://507movements.com/mm_398.html
Tchebicheff's Four-Bar Linkage
This modified 4-bar mechanism has the intended movement that we saw in a lot of noodle-pulling videos. Mapping out the movement from an instruction video we can see a partially circular and partially horizontal movement, in figure 3 below.
Figure 3. Tracked hand movement from How to Pull Off Thin Hand-Pulled Lamian Noodles | Serious Eats
When mapping the movement of a point on the smallest linkage in a Tchebicheff four-bar mechanism, we can see a very similar shape. This movement can be seen in the video clip below. The main motivation towards using this mechanism is its movement being the closest to the traditional method, which is the ultimate goal of the project.
Chebyshev Lambda Linkage
Similar to the previous mechanism, this mechanism was researched due to it’s movement mimicking the traditional method. The movement of the end of the large linkage makes the shape of a half-circle, the horizontal pulling the noodle and the half-circle bringing the noodles back to the stationary hand. The video attached below shows the movement.
Proposed Scope
During the semester, our team plans on tackling the noodle-pulling robot by splitting it into three main tasks: pulling, folding the noodles, and preparing the noodles for the next set of pulling. Our aim for the final project is to complete the portion of the noodle-pulling technique that is most difficult to master: the pulling portion.
Analysis that will be needed prior to fabrication include position analysis on how the hook will be moving and how this will lead to the necessary movement to pull the noodles, mimicking the traditional technique. Due to the fact that we are pulling noodles with the chance that the noodle will rip with too much force, we will need to do analysis on the motor control for any mechanism to make sure we are not pulling the noodles to ripping. Overall, the scope of this project is heavily focused on taking a mechanism and creating more intricate and detail-focused movements that can mimic traditional noodle-pulling while maintaining the integrity of the craft and the noodle.