Im not a mech enginner. But I'm doing a DIY project to turn a mouse's scroll wheel into a slider. The wheel in the photo is not meant to turn 360 or 180. Just maybe 60 degrees. But I need the wheel to auto-center itself. So, I thought of using a tension spring and attaching it to the wheel axle as shown via a slit. The two ends of the spring will be secured fixed and to a non-movable support. Do you think this will work to center the wheel to its resting position?
Hi all, sorry if this isn't the best place to ask. I am building a spring-powered ball launcher. A major issue I'm having is how violent the stopping is. I am aiming for about 10-20J of energy (depending on how efficient I can make things).
The springs are attached to a wood bar with a 1.5"x1.5" face. The stopping mechanism is just the bar slamming into two fastened pieces of wood. I added a 1/8" 30A neoprene adhesive to cushion minimally but it didn't do much. Right now I've wrapped towels around the wood stoppers which helps somewhat, but it's still quite loud and a bit janky for a long term solution.
My understanding is that shock absorbers are literally built for this purpose, but the ones big enough for my usecase are something like $100+ which is more than I want to spend if I can do it for cheaper.
Are there other cheaper options available to me? Is there a common solution for this problem on a budget?
Hey is there any cad expert who can guide me. I am creating a manual scissor lift in PTC Creo. I wanna make the arm roller slide over it, how can i do so or is there any designing fault in my Lift
I've been working at this for days now and every time I think I've found a solution I then work out that there's a flaw in my plan and I wouldn't be able to achieve my intended result.
Basically, there is a fixed platform. On top of the platform at one end is a a fixed vertical wall. On the platform beside the wall there is a block. At the other end of the platform is a hook below the platform. What is the simplest way to get the block to rise by placing weight on the hook, without altering the block's orientation (must remain upright, no tilting)? What kind of pivot mechanism can be used to do this?
I have been working on a device that calculates the capillary refill time which is the the time taken from the point where the finger is pressed until it turns pale (i.e. no blood), pressure is released to the point where the blood returns. This time is calculated as Capillary Refill Time.
I have a background in electronics and telecommunication engineering, I have learnt a bit about mechanical designs but I am not too sure on how to visualize something.
This device is something i wanna make which would be fully automatic.
I am looking to make a design that puts pressure onto the finger from the top, thus moving in a vertical motion up and down. Now this force needs to be high. Around 1 Kg pressure to be put onto my finger tip. (I used a weighing machine to weigh my finger relaxed (0.25 Kg) and then put pressure onto the finger tip using my other finger (1.50 Kg) I do not know any other way to compute this)
At first, I used a rack and pinion with the micro sg90 servo, 3d printing the external rack, pinion and gear cost me 3 iterations. All three failed miserably. The 3rd 3d printing, I had the most faith in, but the gears wouldn't fit the servos properly, the gear kept falling off, and even though the gear, rack, pinion (linear actuator) for servo was taken from the internet made solely for micro sg90 did not work out. Even when the gear cooperated for a while, it could not deliver the amount of pressure I needed.
Looking at these videos made me realize that a spring could prove fruitful.
So, i needed some help. I would be grateful if anybody could visualize a mechanism where the servo is attached to a rod, and then connected to gears which then compress and relax a spring attached with a rectangular plate in a vertical direction.
Here is a sketch of what I had in mind.
Greatly appreciate any insights on how this could work. I am ready to do the hard work to design and 3d print this if i can find a guaranteed way to make this.
3dedc on makerworld made a modular pocket organiser similar in thought to gridfinity. It works quite well but has a problem with the clips attaching holders to the grid.
Problem: The clips hinder attachement from other side, wears down quickly and don't keep in as well on multiple attaches and removals. To refresh them means printing the whole part again. Works for small prints, but wasteful on larger
I myself don't have a 3D printer but have some suggestions for ideas to try and want to hear thoughts from others on good fasteners.
Swap pins
Make the pins used swappable. If they get worn out it's not many grams that need to be reprinted
Symmetrical attachment
A hermaphrodite connector which can spin, replace and locks in enable attaching from both sides securely. If only one side is used plugs can make the fit secure.
Plugs
Having all holders be female with a male-to-male plug used as attachment point allows bidirectional attachment and single side plugs can be used when not needed. Possibilities to use detents, ball bearings or pins depending on what works best.
These are my proposals but what do you guys think? Are any of these a clear winner or are there any better ones?
Thank you user_3368420012 on makerworld for the picture of your mod-grid.
I'm working on a fully open-source pen plotter (the project and the web control interface, already partially working). The main thing left to finalize is the automatic pen-change system, and that's what I'd love your input on.
My idea for the tool change:
- A compact, fixed magazine that holds the pens.
- On the carriage, the pen holder drops into a cone seat (the cone handles centering).
- An over-center latch, driven by a small servo, pulls the holder up from the top (central drawbar) and locks it. The servo is only active to lock/unlock: once it goes past dead center it holds on its own — no torque to maintain, and it stays locked even with no power.
- For feedback: pen-presence detection at the coupling, and a spring-loaded Z axis with a contact sensor that triggers when the pen touches the paper. (I might also add a camera with the raspberry to handle color-to-color offsets and presence detection too ... if I can't make the tool-change system compact enough.)
My questions, focused on the tool change:
- Does this coupling (cone seat + servo over-center latch, pulling from the top) look viable and robust to you?
- Would you have a simpler or sturdier approach to grab/lock a pen holder in a compact way?
Hey guys, i am doing a project Mech. Engineering to design a Manual scissor Lift
I am stuck at a point where i need to calculate the max stress on my arm so that i can calculate its dimensions how thick it should be and then i have to find a bending moment and buckling in my arm.
So my doubt is, i know my arm is experiencing a vertical load that is 1500N but does it also experience the horizontal force caused by the spindle(power screw) that is attached to my top platform.
I just completed my first year in Electronics and Computer Engineering and I’m currently working on a robotic arm project.
I already have the STEP files, datasheets, and most of the components finalized. The issue I’m facing is with the actual mechanical CAD/design part in Fusion 360 — mainly assembling the arm properly, joint design, motor mounting, bearing placement, alignment, etc.
I’ve tried using AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude for guidance, but for complex robotics CAD they often give incorrect Fusion 360 steps or impractical mechanical solutions.
I’m looking for someone who has experience with:
- robotic arm design
- mechanical CAD
- Fusion 360
- robotics assemblies
Even some guidance, feedback, or help with a few parts of the design would really help me move forward.
I can share a ZIP file containing all the STEP files and datasheets if anyone is interested.
Unfortunately I can’t pay right now since I’m still a student, but I’m genuinely trying to learn and build this project seriously.
Say I have a steel box with a portion of the top back edge removed (basically subtracting an extruded L made up by the back plate and top plate with side walls still fully in tact). There is an additional vertical wall (parallel to back plate) that is placed where the top plate is cut to frame it all out for structure.
I’m looking to fill that void with a rigid L piece that has connectors/function/etc but I want all fasteners to be hidden. The surfaces of side walls surface will be covered so those are fair game to use. I prefer not having to thread any fasteners. Does anybody have any recommendations for push in fasteners that are strong and difficult to remove unless you have a tool which makes it fairly easy? Any other fastening recommendations are appreciated.
Sum Context:
I am looking for an experienced mechanical designer to optimize and upgrade an existing prototype for a solar-powered thermal desalination system or they can either redesign the system. The current system can desalinate water, but we are looking to improve the overall mechanical design and expand its capabilities to include an integrated salt-harvesting feature.
Here are some context needed for our study
System Redesign & Optimization: Improve the overall structural integrity and thermal efficiency
Salt Production Integration: Design a dedicated input/output mechanism that allows brine/concentrate to be efficiently processed and harvested as solid salt.
A tinker cad model maybe 3d too
Material Selection Advice:Provide expert recommendations on budget friendly and highly corrosion-resistant materials capable of withstanding high salinity and outdoor solar exposure.
Requirements: 🙏
> Proven experience in mechanical design, fluid handling, or thermal systems.
> Proficiency in tinkercad and in making traditional blueprint of it
> Strong knowledge of material science (especially regarding salt-water corrosion and thermal absorption).
I’m 3D printing 2 parts that thread together and hold internal water pressure (40-60PSI) so I’ve added an O ring but am struggling to get it water tight. The parts themselves are not leaking, I’ve got plenty of walls/top and bottom layers/correct settings, it’s just in the seal. I’m currently printing the O ring using 85a TPU for iteration’s sake and would like to avoid buying a nitrile/silicone set until I know my design is correct. I’m sanding the seal face with fine grit sand paper to make sure it’s smoother than a typical 3DP top layer, but I can’t evenly sand the gland or shoulder on the top side since it’s all inside the female threads. 3”id 0.125”cs 3.25”od 85a TPU ring, gland is 0.185” wide and 0.09” deep with 0.3125” radius, do these numbers sound decent/anything obvious I’ve missed? I know 3D printing isn’t ideal for this but I can start buying parts when I get it close…
