final project -- about me -- weekly assignments -- fab academy

I'm still here

Contrary to popular belief, I still do exist. I'm still doing electronics development, and I still do prototypes. I still don't have a suitable placer.

My last work project included stuffing 5 boards, with 300 components each. Trust me, it is absolutely no fun to do that by hand, with tweezers.

I'm still building a placer

After thinking long and hard about my final project, I'm still at it. While it will be a whole lot more work than the absolute minimum, it is something I can actually use afterwards. I don't want to build something just to show that I can.

I've been doing some work on the servo drives I mentioned, and I need those for another project. So, I will use them - Or at least a simple version of them, driving DC geared motors. Not as cool and not as large as the Tuco Flyer's winchbots, and with less sensors, but roughly similar. Also, I still want to use string instead of the more common timing belts - String is a lot lighter, smaller and can be bent in all directions. I don't need sub-micron precision when moving blind, as I will not be moving blind.

I will take simpler approaches to some problems, though. One that immediately comes to mind is the rotation of parts when placing them. The easiest-to-use version would be one that can freely rotate as far as you want, in any direction. Getting vaccuum onto a structure like that is complex, though (to be polite). So... Having a limited range of movement of, say, 400 degrees would still be enough to reach any orientation, and allow me to just put in a flexible tube. Software can even take over and just do the necessary "flips" automagically.

Also, I just received a little package...

Five new geared motors, still in their packs

final project -- about me -- weekly assignments -- fab academy

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