Final Project Journal

Project Ideation

1- Tell us about the idea of your project. Why do you care about this? What were you inspired by? Include images and videos of similar projects

How rig is used in animation

I am making a smart kinetic Rig for stop-motion puppet animation. The animator changes the position of the puppet to the desired position using buttons or graphical user interface. The animator can also select a pre-set cycle that will save time and effort and provide a more consistent motion.

To make sure the shots are taken properly, there rig base can detect any undesired motion and alerts the user so they fix it at the right time.

Project Construction

2- Explain the CAD process of your project. How did you use the software to design your project? (List the softwares/tools/materials...etc that you used)

Software used for CAD process

Autodesk Fusion 360.

My design consists of two main parts, a gearbox and a base.

Gearbox design process

  • I needed to create a rack and a pinion that fit together. I used the GF Gear Generator to create the rack and the spur gear and-in script to generate the pinion to be able to control the hole dimensions to be the same as the motor's shaft. I used the same pressure angle (14.5 degrees) and the same module (1.00 mm).

  • I projected the motor's dimensions and used it to cut a hole in the pinion then connected the three parts together, the rack, the pinion, and the motor.

  • To make the gearbox, I created a cube, then used 3mm shell, then at the bottom of it, I cut for the rack, the motor cable, the motor holder. On the side, I made t-slots and taps and cut for the arm to be fixed with screws and nuts. I created the lid by extruding a sketch after adding all the details. same with the motor holder.

  • I finally assembled all gearbox parts together.

  • After making sure they fit together, I exported all components as STL files to be prepared for printing.

GF gear generator

Hole

Creating gearbox from cube

Lid part

Rack

Pinion with hole

bottom cuts

motor holder part

Pinion

Rack and pinion assembled

side cuts and joints

Assembly

Base Design Process

  • I started by importing Arduino Uno board in the project and creating a breadboard sized cube.

  • At the bottom of the component, I created a sketch for the base part taking into account the holes to fix the Arduino to the base.

  • I then created a sketch for the front of the with openings for the USB cable and the power cable of the Arduino. I also added holes, taps, and t-slots for assembly.

  • The back sketch contained a hole for the power supply (adaptor) terminal.

  • The top sketch contains holes to fix the rack and the gearbox, the motor driver, the buttons, and to pass the motor cables.

  • After extruding and assembling all parts with joints, I removed all extra guide lines and exported all the sketches as DXF files to be prepared for laser cutting.

Components

Front sketch

Back extruded

Top sketch

Base sketch

Front extruded

sides sketch

Top extruded

Base extruded

Back sketch

Sides extruded

Assembly 1

Assembly 2

Assembly 3

Assembly 4

Final Assembly

3- Explain the fabrication process of your project. How did you use the machine to fabricate your project? (List the softwares/tools/materials...etc that you used)

Software used for file preparation

  • RD works which is used to prepare files for laser cutting.

  • Ultimaker Cura to prepare files for 3D printing.

Machines

  • PRUSA i3 MK2 3D Printer.

  • El Malky ML1930 CO2 Laser Cutter.

Materials

  • 3mm wood sheets.

  • Plastic filament.

Laser Cutting

  • I imported and arranged the DXF files inside RD works software.

  • I added a text "up" and "down" to be engraved to show the function of each button.

  • I sat the parameters of black colour to be speed 15 and power 60 for cutting parts.

  • I sat the parameters of red colour to be speed 200 and power 25 for scanning parts.

  • I exported the RD file to a USB drive then copied it to the machines memory, tracked the design on the empty part of the sheet, then started cutting.

laser-cut parts

3D printing

  • I imported the pieces in two different projects, one for the gearbox body and one for the other parts because I needed the rack and the arm to be 100% infill to be solid enough but that wasn't required for the gearbox parts to reduce time.

  • I sat the orientation of the parts for optimum printing conditions.

  • I sat the parameters then sliced and exported the gCode file.

  • I copied the file to the machine's SD card.

Time 3h and 34min

weight 40g

layer thickness 0.2mm

Infill 20%

colour black

Time 1h and 38min

weight 14g

layer thickness 0.2mm

Infill 100%

colour orange

Project Electronics & Power Management

4- Describe your electronic circuit. What are the input and action components? What is the function of each? How do the components integrate together to form your smart system? (List the softwares/tools/components...etc that you used)

Input components

Push buttons to control stepper movement.

Vibration sensor 801S to detect movement of the base.

Output Components

Stepper motor to move the gear and make the arm slide.

Piezo buzzer to alarm user when the base moves.

Brain

Arduino UNO board to control the inputs and outputs of the circuit.

Circuit wiring

  • I started by using a simulation programme.

  • I imported the motor and its driver after downloading them from here and the vibration sensor module from here.

  • I included the rest of the component from fritzing library and connected them as following

Motor driver to pins 8,9,10,11.

Sensor to pin 2.

Buzzer to pin 3.

Push buttons to pins 6,7.

Vin and ground on Arduino to VCC and ground on board to be connected with the adaptor.

  • After that I connected the hardware components to be ready for programming and testing.


Simulation software user is Fritzing. and below is a screenshot from the wiring.

Here's a photo of the hardware connections.

5- What is your power source? How did you select the suitable power source for your project? (List the softwares/tools/components...etc that you used)

I am using a 5V DC adaptor. My choice was based on the functionality of the project. The project is used in a fixed position and often in a filming setting where there are other devices that require electricity to function which means arability of power plugs and extensions so it's better to use adaptor as it's a more sustainable source.

Project Programming

6- Describe the code of your project. How did you program each function of the project?

The code consists of 3 main parts

Initialisation

  • calling libraries used.

  • Defining pins used.

  • Setting public variables and constants.

  • Initialising stepper library.

Setup function

  • Setting input and output pins.

  • Setting stepper speed.

  • initialising serial connection to be used for debugging.

Loop function

  • Checking for input signals from buttons and sensor.

  • moving stepper based on buttons input.

  • activating alarm when the base is moved. Buzzer rings three times then stops.

Project Integration & Testing

7- Demonstrate with text and visuals how did you integrate the project’s modules together? What are the testing results? (Include a Demo video separately, showing a proof of functionality)

  • Adding an insert nut in the arm to attach the puppet to it using a screw.

  • Adding an insert nut to the rack to attach the top part.

Insert the motor holder in its place

Connecting the arm using screws and nuts.

Adding the rack and lid and fixing lid using crews and nuts.

Attach motor and pinion to the motor holder

Fixing the rack top part with screw so it prevents it from leaving the gearbox.

Mount components and connect the sides to the base.

VID_20220928_122137.mp4

Test before closing the enclosure.

Voila !

Final Demo

Sharing & Collaboration

8- Did you ask for feedback? What are the ideas that others have contributed or suggested? What was someone else’s idea that you built upon? How did you help your peers? How did your peers help you?

instructor support

  • Mohanad sent me this link to download the GF gear generator to make it easier for me to design the rack.

Online search

  • I used this project as a guide on how to connect and set the stepper with the driver and control it with Arduino and this project to programme the sensor.

Peers help

  • Yaseen helped me install the insert nuts.


  • Fikry helped me fit some parts together when they were stuck.

Overcoming Challenges

9- When you got stuck, what/who did you turn to? At what point did you have to pause to research or learn more before moving on? What are some mistakes, pitfalls, or challenges that others can avoid if they were doing this project?

Design Problems

  • I used laser cutting to test the initial design of the gearbox and it turned out to be too small that some parts couldn't fit and I increased the dimensions by 5 mm and the final design worked.

Logistic Problems

  • I lost my screw adaptor terminal at the ODC and I had to use the adaptor to supply the motor so i inserted a screw inside to connect with the 5V terminal and a crocodile from outside to connect to the ground terminal.

Technical Problem

  • I used AccelStepper library to control the stepper direction but the motor goes only in the clockwise direction. It vibrates and struggles when it's trying to move in the counter clockwise direction.

VID_20220928_130120.mp4

Future Work

10- If you had more time, what is one thing you would change/ Do next in your project?

  • The smallest design possible for the gearbox in the current approach is very big and heavy and it's not possible to have two of them to make vertical and horizontal motion as it was in the reference design (it's manual and doesn't contain motors so the gearbox is small and light). I'd like to find another approach to perform motion in both coordinates.

  • I'll work on making bluetooth connection to be controlled from laptop.

Final Project Design Files