Blog Post 26: Concept 3 - Initial Motion Studies

Here are a few motion studies I made for Concept 3.

Bevel Gears:

- This animation demonstrates how the two bevel gears interact to bring about the anti-clockwise rotation in the middle section when the handle is pressed.

Gripper:

• This animation demonstrates how compression springs work to pull the gripper inward, allowing it to clamp onto a jar lid.

Bottle Opening Tool:

• This animation demonstrates how the moving section of the bottle-opening tool is pushed against the stopper (washer) by a compression spring to prevent it from coming free when not in use.

To do:

• Calculate the inward force needed to allow the gripper to clamp onto a jar lid and create enough traction so that the rotating middle section can produce the 5Nm of torque required to unscrew a jar lid without slipping.

• At present the handle could stand to bring about more rotation in the middle section, positioning the bevel gears closer to the centre of the middle section would solve this problem. The gear train hood would also have to be modified to accommodate this.

• For easier accessibility, it might be worth replacing the two torsional springs located at both ends of the gear dowel with curved compression springs. These would be considerably easier to get to for maintenance purposes as they would be attached to the outside of the bearing mounts rather than tucked up inside (only the gear hood would have to be removed).