5. Prototype Development

After finalizing the mechanism design, we started thinking about the prototype.

Since Acrylic is available and easy to cut in Maker Studio, we decided to use acrylic as the main material for our prototype. For the other parts we decided to use 3D printer, which is also convenient to use in Maker Studio.

According to our mechanism, there is large friction in the mechanism because we have too many joints. To solve the problem, we chose to use shafts and bearings for the joints.

The following figure shows the x-axis movement mechanism implementation. According to test in prototype, the linear motion is quite satisfying.Meanwhile, we used the 3D printer and printed the base for the whole mechanism, as is shown in Figure 5.1. 

Figure 5.1

For the lift(y-axis movement) part, the mechanism is small, the shafts and bearings are no longer suitable. We considered using screws for that part. Figure 5.2 shows the first prototype for the life mechanism, in which the holes for screws are too big. We were able to fix the problem by adjusting the diameter of the holes (many many tests).

Figure 5.2

With all the mechanical part finished, we turned to the control part. To control the motor, we use Arduino Uno R3 mounted with a Pololu Dual MC33926 Motor Driver Shield. The Arduino is installed beside the motor. Two push buttons are used to control the mechanism move forward and backward. The details of the control part is in Figure 5.3.

Figure 5.3

The prototype (Figure 5.4) is finished after we manufactured a wood base for the prototype and engraved a Longhorn logo on it. 

Figure 5.4