4. Manufacturing & Assembly (GC)

In order to save time in prototyping our project, we decided to laser cut the links, linkage mechanism wall and motor stand out of acrylic, as the material is inexpensive and cuts very quickly. Additionally, using acrylic allowed us to trial and error the tolerancing needed for the bearings we would be using. In order to ensure fluid motion of the links, we decided to use 6mm ID bearings as they were readily available as part of our class supplies. We also decided to use the class supplied motor and Arduino as they were readily available and compatible due to a project earlier in the course. The remainder of the parts, except for an ordered flexible shaft coupler and a wooden dowel set for base, were 3D printed. 

Through the iterative design process, we made several key improvements to the linkage system. Initially, we encountered issues with the links’ bolt fasteners catching on each other. We addressed this by adjusting the spacing between the links using nuts as spacers to ensure a smooth rotation.

From there, we designed a base for the glasses, a spacer for the linkage mechanism wall and glasses base to sit in, and a mount for the motor. Additionally, we experimented with the angle of the linkage system to ensure that it would fit an average pair of glasses. Because the linkage pattern was slightly angled, instead of adjusting the links themselves, we decided to angle the base that the glasses sat on using wooden dowels cut to size.

The last step of our manufacturing process was to create the cleaning portion of the glasses cleaner. We achieved this by gluing part of a foam sponge to the end of our output link arm. This was then iterated until we reached desirable resistance between the sponge and our test glasses to allow for maximum cleaning contact.