Goal: Design a proof-of-concept prototype for a device that improves accessibility by automating a common task
Figure 1: Final prototype of the Meal Mate.
Modelling Sub-Team:
Figure 4: Fully constrained assembly of the Meal Mate.
Figure 2: 3D model of half of the spoon handle.
Solution: The Meal Mate
Figure 3: 3D model of the spoon head.
When the Meal Mate’s handle is rotated, the motor rotates the spoon head to a flat position to accommodate for the change in angle.
Figure 5: 3D model of the gear mount.
<aside> 🛠 The main thing I learned about Autodesk Inventor while on the modelling sub-team is how to create various gear types using the design accelerator. Since I was already mostly proficient in Inventor, I was able to assist the other sub-team members through the assembly and printing processes, and I feel that I learned a lot about how I should (or shouldn’t) go about explaining a CAD design. I think that the creation of the assembly was my favorite part of the project, since it was very satisfying to constrain the design fairly quickly, and it was a great way to learn how to constrain specific gear types, like bevel/worm gears.
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<aside> 💡 During the project, I thought about how we could increase the speed and range of motion of the spoon, and what other materials could have helped to accomplished this. This gets me thinking about what next steps such as increasing the range of motion, easing into and out of the corrective motion, or even adding another axis of rotation, allowing for a more efficient time keeping food on the spoon.
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<aside> ⛔ There were some stumbling blocks for this project. One of these was keeping everyone informed and in the loop when people can’t make it to certain meetings*.* Another stumbling block was that there was a lack of synergy between the 2 sub-teams, since if the CAD wasn’t printed and ready, the coding sub-team wouldn’t be able to accurately test the device, resulting in a bit of a busy ending to the project. Through this I started to keep up with the coding sub-team despite not being a part of it myself, and learned how important that could be, especially to learn about any limitations that are in place on the coding side of things. Despite improving communication it is still very much something to work on.
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<aside> 🚧 I believe that my biggest shortcoming in the project was my perception of how much I was contributing to the group. During the creation of the CAD models and assembly, I felt that I was not doing a lot, so I feel I overcompensated and started taking the lead a little too much, and not asking teammates for help, even if I did end up needing it. I think this resulted in my teammates feeling left out (similar to how I initially thought). It seemed to get better closer to the design expo once I realized what I was doing, so the project still ended smoothly.
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