Who doesn't wish they had more of it... Yet when time opens itself up, we tend to squander it. Why do I delve into philosophy in what should be a technical blog? Who knows, maybe it reveals some repressed emotional programming within me, or maybe I'm overthinking it. Someone get Freud on the line. Anyways, back to the arm. Any serious engineer needs to often consider the fit and function of parts before constructing them. It isn't always feasible to construct prototype after prototype until you can nail dimensions and part design, especially for a mechanical assembly as complex as an analog for the human arm. Enter computer aided design or CAD. I've been using CAD for about 5 years now, starting with simple 2D programs, and progressing through Onshape, Solidworks and finally have arrived at Fusion 360. Now why Fusion you ask? No grand reason, I forgot the Solidworks license information I was given by the school. However Fusion 360 has some very interesting things going for it. For one, it's so much better on the eyes. I mean would you rather stare at this... Or this... For 8+ hours on end? Yeah I thought so.
Fusion also has one other major advantage over it's competitors, that being Autodesk's licensing policy. Whereas Solidworks must be purchased by any individual or corporation regardless of usage, Fusion offers free, full licenses for students and educators. Of particular interest in the included educational license is a full simulation suite. While running cloud simulations costs a fair chunk of change, client-side simulation is always free, providing you have the hardware to run it. Hurray for impulse buying an i7 last year! This is also another late blog post... whoops ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Anyways, for the second half of June, I was familiarizing myself with yet another CAD software. Fusion is a fairly standard parametric modelling program, so it's not too huge a jump, but things like assemblies and component construction is entirely different. Anyways, I'll end by showing you all how pretty a complete and total part failure under 500lbs of force in Fusion looks...
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"It was not in their blood, It came to them very late, with long arrears to make good the English began to ha..." - wait, wrong Beginnings. Sorry.
In the interest of honesty, I will admit, in the midst of working on UAS autopilot development for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, I kind of forgot about writing these blog posts. My bad. Anyways, I'll be recapping what I worked on for the first half of June. Coming into the fellows project, I had a good idea of the course I wanted my project to take. After coming out of it, and having talked to my fellow Severn Fellows, I had a wealth of new ideas and directions to go. After mulling over the specifics of my project, and the potential options and goals to pursue, I set about constructing a requirements list as I do for any major endeavor. The fundamental goal of this project is simple; to make a generic, low-cost myoelectric prosthetic capable of fine and coarse motor control. Practically this means the following: -A complete replacement for the lower arm (below the elbow) being capable of all major joint movements. -A total cost not to exceed $200 per unit (excluding labor). -A mass not to exceed 4kg. -A fast charging, modular and easily maintainable mechanical construction. -Capable of individual finger movements and two axis thumb positioning either through electromyography or motion capture of the opposing hand. -"One size fits all" - i.e. only the socket for mounting the arm to the root of the severed arm should have to be custom fit. Overall, an ambitious project sure. But certainly achievable. In the following posts, more specifics behind my design philosophy and research will follow. |
AuthorMy name is James Falcon Doss. I'm a member of Severn School's class of 2020 and have a passion for all forms of engineering. Archives
May 2020
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