Blog Post 7: Plan C || Hot Glue and Hope

Hello, hello!

This week, I’ve been working on Plan C, the third prototype! I’m a bit tight on time, having spent too long prototyping, so this post might be a bit short!

As mentioned last week, I wanted to incorporate a permanent magnet into my designs to simultaneously improve energy efficiency and create more suction. Sounds a bit paradoxical for sure, but it might make more sense if you take a look at this planning diagram here:

Actually, did that help? Probably not….it’s still pretty confusing.

Essentially, the magnet is attached to a pole that can slide freely up and down a vertical z-axis and spin in the xy plane, thanks to a bead I sculpted out of polymer clay. A 3D-printed shell can control the movement of the magnet using two servos to power the two degrees of freedom the magnet has, moving it into or out of the water. Finally, a continuous servo attached at a 90-degree angle to the shell can spin with a cut-up toothbrush to thoroughly agitate the water sample, eliminating the issue of dead zones, like those in the previous prototype.

Here’s what it looks like right now:

I’m aware that it looks quite messy, but it is operational. Here’s a video of the prototype in a dry run: https://youtu.be/nblCfA6Swl4.

There are still some hiccups to be straightened out with the position of the water sample and the the coordination of the prototype, but I’m sure I’ll get it figured out by next week!

If you’re around next week, we’ll do a wet run and see if Prototype 3 lives up to expectations!

Bye!