G9 DT Automata Project Term 1 2017

In this unit, we learned dozens of useful mechanism and how they work and provide mechanical advantages. We were tested on applying few of these mechanisms to our own design for a toy. My own product “The Cat & Mice” is operated by a crankshaft along with one snail cam and bevel gear. The snail cam is used to create a repeating linear motion in the cat’s arm and the bevel gear allows the mice to run in a circle. Although this product seems simple, the process of making it was quite challenging and often frustrating. The wood pieces had to be in the right shapes in order to fit into each other, and any slight error would lead to a misfit, which reduces the product’s overall quality. Nonetheless, the gears had to be sanded well enough so that they are able to rotate smoothly while fixed on the axel. It was also time-consuming to shape the cat using wood, and a few prototypes had to be made first.

Below is a page summary of this project. It included the blueprint of the model, Fusion 360 models, cam graph, information of gears used and the making.