mechanical design

may 02 - may 09
● The goal for this week is to make a mechanical design for the xy plotter machine that our group will be building in the span of 2 weeks.

● Selecting a motion for the x and y axis and also the material to be used for each of the components.

● Follow the LINK to the group page to know more in detail on Machines that Make.



test prototype

getting started

my Roles & responsibilties


● Project Management and planning of the MTM Assignment.

● Testing Different Materials for machine body and Modular Motion box.

● Working on Laser Cutters for slot and kerf test.

● Assembly of the integral machine parts.

● Clicking pictures and documenting work in progress for the group page.



● Using different thickness of transparent Acrylic for the main body. I experimented a bit with MDF as well but as it has been recommended by Wendy from week 2 itself, that it's better to stay away from MDF, so after a couple of test, I shifted to Acrylic.







● Working on the servo motor box for z-axis along with the pen holder. The idea was to make the movable box in the x-axis movement which could carry the servo and the end effector which was the pen. My role was to test the fit and come up with the solution of making sure that the end effector is well placed for better operation.





● Testing the slot sizes for the guide rods for the X and Y axis. I invested most of the time on Day 3 testing the slots for the rods, because it was essential to get the right fit as these rods are the actual support for the axis movement.





● Using the Laser Cutter for cutting the main body parts of the machine. Also cutting the boxes for the stepper motor motion movement based on MTM kit. Again an interesting time on the laser cutter cutting some parts for testing the final body outlook.






● Analyzing the placement of the stepper motor for the movement of the x and y axis motion box. One of my responsibility was to make sure of the perfect fitting of the stepper motor screw through the movable box.





● First prototype using MDF Material for the main body and getting to know the overall dimensions and look of the plotter machine. This prototype helped me and the team to work more hard at the the final body, to understand the overall looks and specifications for the movements.





● Working on documentation for the group page and this particular page as well. I clicked like tons of pictures for this week and I am really looking forward to see this machine work the way our team has imagined for it to do. The upcoming week is going to super interesting as we get the opportunity to integrate all the components and digitize the machine for operation.