8.6 - Conclusions & Future Work

Home Page

Contents:

• Conclusions
• Lessons Learned
• Future Work
• Tips for Future Groups
• Acknowledgements

Conclusions

Overall, the project did not completely accomplish its intended purpose. Though we were able to lift the cup using the four bar mechanism, the movement did not have enough control. It was also unable to lift from the table or with water in the cup due to not having enough torque. This project requires future work to fulfill its goal.

Lessons Learned

Our team learned that having a cohesive CAD assembly of our design was a big help for making manufacturing simple. This allowed us to prototype fast and make changes easily, since we can easily see how parts interact. We also learned that choosing the right electrical components is important. For example, we burned a resistor by using one that had too high of a current draw. Lastly, time management is important. Our project was pressed for time to diagnose problems due to testing with electronics too late.

Future Work

This design could overcome the main issue of not having enough motor torque, by using a gear ratio. This would also slow down the movement and give it more control. Another improvement would be to implement the Geneva mechanism we prototyped (Section 8.2). This would tip the cup only at the end of the motion and would make the path of motion more natural and easier to use.

Tips for Future Groups

We suggest future groups take into consideration real forces not discussed in class, such as friction and weight of linkages. These can greatly impact the analysis and design considerations for the project.

Acknowledgements

Our team would like to thank Connor Henning for his advice and dedication to helping the students of this class.