Mechatronics
My Mechatronics Journey
Why Mechatronics?
Engineering and Entertainment have always been my passions; I just recently realized my excitement to mesh the two! Giving a mechanism the ability to appear alive makes me feel alive! Themed engineering means that I never have to grow up!
Eye Mech
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As I was working through the basics of Arduino, I admittedly got too excited to continue working on the small projects and wanted to just jump in to more complex mechatronics. I did some research online and found Will Cogley of Nilheim Mechatronics who has so many exciting projects. Of high interest was the eye mechanism which he does provide an instructables to, but I also did my due diligence and remodeled all of the components in SolidWorks to see how all of the components worked prior to building. I found a lot of value in this since any projects that I would design in the future would most likely start in a modeling environment.
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I learned so much from this project! The unique use of multiple servos and different joints was very "eye" opening for me! Also the complexity of the electronics and programming challenged me and will aid in future servo programming.
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I encourage anyone who wants to start learning about Mechatronics to start with Will!
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Harry Potter Quidditch Set
My first time visiting The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando blew me away. The feeling of truly being transported to a world only seen in a movie was one of a kind and I never want to let that feeling go. I remember looking at each detail that had been meticulously planned, engineered, and constructed and immediately felt a sense of pride as a fellow creative and engineer. Being able to contribute to such an industry that can bring that feeling to others, excites me to no end.
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In an attempt to leave my mark, I came up with the idea of re-creating the scene where Harry learns about Quidditch. To my surprise, no animatronics exist for this scene in the parks or just as a collectors toy. This is my attempt to bring that scene to life.
From the initial concept to the design point that I currently find myself, I have made a lot of changes and have learned a lot. This knowledge and updates will continue even after I have my first working prototype.
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My first goal is to bring the Bludgers to life using what I learned from the eye mechatronic. I will be using servos in an effort to replicate the movement. In the scene they tend to move up and down in an attempt to escape, but I also want to have one of them go through a variety of other movements to create the illusion of two separate entities.
The box itself, will bounce up and down using an actuated arm to appear as though the Bludgers are strong enough to make the box move in an erratic manner. I'd also like to motorize the box lid to "start the show".
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The last bit will be to design in the shielded doors for the Golden Snitch. I'd like the shields to open and have the snitch appear. Then move the wings using vibration motors to create the effect of fast moving wings.
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Cable Mechanisms
4 Way Cable Mech
The project is currently in process! First steps are complete to print the vertebra and collect the pertinent materials. Next step is attaching the cables and printing the manual control arms to test out the motion.
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Soon servos can be hooked up and the tentacle can come to life hands free!
3 - Axis Neck Mechanism
This is my 3-Axis Robot Mechanism that can be used to hold any creatures head or a torso. All that would need to be attached is the head or body to the neck plate! Will be 3-D printing and buying the hardware soon!
