Fig 3 Fig 4
Fig 5
I needed a way of regulating speed by applying pressure to the drills trigger so I needed a mechanism that can apply pressure and be manually adjusted. So I thought of a bike helmet. How does that mechanism apply pressure and not move? I couldn’t get hold of a bike helmet but I did have a face shield that I took apart. (Fig 1 and 5)
It consists of 4 major parts: the knob with 4 pins on the back (Fig 2), the front piece with ratchet teeth (Fig 3), 2 arms with teeth (Fig 4) and a clip that sits inside the front piece. (Fig 6 and 7)
Fig 6 Fig 7
Fig 8: Showing the inside of the mechanism
Fig 9 Showing the mechanism working
Fig 10
Improvements to be made
- On the 3d printed version of the knobs the four pegs on the back kept on breaking so I have to use the actual version of the knob for model. So I need to improve the the strength of the pegs or a new way of attaching them like small pieces of down poking through. (Fig 10)
- Experiment with just one side of the mechanism.
Other Mechanisms:
U Joint
The joint that was meant to be on the pottery wheel was the U joint that would sit over the top of the drill and allow for on the fly adjustments.
Fig 11 Assembly Fig 12 In context
The pieces were printed but I forgot to apply a tolerance meaning the pieces didn’t fit together so I wasn’t able to test it. (Fig 13)
Linear actuator
I tried using a linear actuator which works by having a screw thread locked in place so when it spins it pulls down the top piece. It worked but because of where the grip had to be it would have to be attached to the side of the wheel or machine. (Fig 14) This meant that the user would have to stretch really far to use it, as well as the top pieces arm being very long to engage the trigger being more area for it to break
Fig 14