Useless Box

The Italian artist Bruno Munari began building "useless machines" (macchine inutili) in the 1930s. He was a "third generation" Futurist and did not share the first generation's boundless enthusiasm for technology, but sought to counter the threats of a world under machine rule by building machines that were artistic and unproductive.[1]

Advanced Design

Advanced Design Techniques

Suppose that you want to design a hinge assembly that you can modify easily to make similar assemblies. You need an efficient way to create two matching hinge pieces and a pin for a variety of hinge assembly sizes.

Some analysis and planning can help you develop a design that is flexible, efficient, and well defined. You can then adjust the size as needed, and the hinge assembly still satisfies the design intent.

This tutorial discusses:

Using a layout sketch
Suppressing features to create part configurations
Creating a new part in the context of the assembly
Detecting collisions in assemblies

This tutorial assumes that you know how to perform basic assembly operations, such as moving and rotating components, and adding mates.

This is the base sketch.

This is the sweep.

The is the extrude cut in the sweep.

These are the holes for the screws

This mirrors the screws onto the other side creating 4 screw holes.

This is the sketch for the holes as seen below.

This is the base of the hinge prior to creating the holes.

This is the hinge with 3 cuts.

This is the hinge with 2 cuts.

This is the final product.

SolidWorks Motion

SOLIDWORKS Motion Tutorial

SOLIDWORKS Motion uses complete kinematic modeling to compute component motion. You can use SOLIDWORKS Motion to analyze forces in models that include springs, dampers, motors, and friction.

In this tutorial, you learn how to:

Run a SOLIDWORKS Motion study for a model that includes a spring and a motor.
Plot the results.
Duplicate the motion study with modified simulation parameters.
Use the results to redesign the model.

This is a graph of the 1200 tab.

This is a graph of the 2000 tab.

This is a gif of the object moving for the 1200 tab

This is a gif of the object moving for the 2000 tab

This is a picture of the entire screen on the 1200 tab.

This is a picture of the entire screen on the 2000 tab.

Designing the Box

This is the switch that turns the useless box on and off. It was made by Noah Schlais. The long rod is the switch that will move to turn the box on and off.

This is the clicker that sends a signal to the motor to stop the hook when it hits the switch to turn the box off. It was made by Noah Schlais.

This is the battery component. It was designed by Eli Robinson. It will hold the batteries to transfer the energy into the motor and other components so that the box will be able to work.

This is the servo motor that moves the hook using the ends that stick out on the sides. It was made by Eli Robinson.

Design Outer Box

These are the dimensions of the box.

This is showing the inside of the box.

This is part of the top cover of the box

This is a wall to help hold up the servo motor.

This is the hole where the on off switch will go.

This is a hole in the wall inside the box that will help hold up the servo motor.

This is a part that was designed to help hold up the clicker for the hook.

These are holes to help hold up the servo motor where screws/heat set inserts will go.

This is the lock in mechanism that pieces the two parts of the box together allowing for easy accessibility to the internal components of the box.

This is an extruded boss/base to add to the baseball theme of the box. It displays the bases that are used in baseball.

This is a gif displaying the entirety of the useless box design.

Hinge

This is the base sketch of part of the hinge.

This is the extruded boss/base for where the holes will go to hold the pin.

These are fillets to allow for smoother rotations when the hinge is in use.

This is the hole to hold the pin.

This is a gif of the final hinge part

Back Piece

This is the base sketch of the second piece of the box

These are the extruded boss/base to help the piece snap onto the main part of the box.

This is the extruded cut to start the hinge portion.

This is the hole for where the pin will go.

These are fillets to help allow for smoother rotation when in use.

These are extruded cuts so the hinge will fully close and open correctly without issue.

This is an image of the final product.

This is a gif of the final product.

The Hook

This is the base shape of the hook.

This is the extruded cut that will allow the hook to go on the servo motor.

This is an extruded cut to allow for the hook to hit the switch.

This is an extruded boss/base that is the knob at the end of the baseball bat.

This is an extruded boss/base for the handle of the baseball bat.

This is an extruded boss/base for the end of the baseball bat.

This is a fillet to make the transitions between sections smoother.

The Baseball

This is an extruded boss/base for the base of the baseball.

This is a dome to make the baseball look round

This is an extruded cut in the bottom of the baseball to allow it go around the switch.

This is a gif of the finished baseball.

Hinge Pin

This is an extruded boss/base of the base of the hinge pin.

This is a dome at the end of the hinge pin to prevent it from coming out of the hinges.

This is a gif of the final product of the hinge pin,

The Final Product

This is a gif of the final box and how it will work.

Test Print(s)

Hook Test Print

The following are images of the test print. A test print was done to ensure the bat would stay attached to hook so that it could hit the switch to turn the box back off.

This is a gif of the test print.

The Hinge

This is an image of the two hinges and the pin. It is showing the base outline of it to display each piece.

Unfortunately this test print was unsuccessful as the pin was too large as while it was printed it got connected to the two hinge pieces.

Switch Hole ("Home Plate")

This is an image of the hole where the switch will go it was tested to see if the switch would be able to inside the hole and be able to hold itself up.

This is another image of the hole. Unfortunately the test failed so the thickness of the box on the top was changed to be thinner.

This is an image of the switch inside of the hole.

Prusa Slicer Images and Printing Videos

This is a sliced image of the hinge and switch hole test print.

This is an image of the hook test print.

This is a gif of the test prints being printed.

Test Print 2

This is an image of the second test print of the hinge and the switch hole as they both had failed their respective test. This image is of the test print in the prusa slicer.

This is a video of the test print being printed.

These are images of the hinge after being printed

This is a gif of the hinge in use.

This is an image of the switch hole and how it will be used.

This is a gif of the switch hole while the switch is being used.

Electrical

These are images of the soldering done to the internal components of the box.

This is an image of me soldering the internal components of the box.

Drawing Package

This is the index of the drawing package

This is a drawing of the full box

This is a drawing of full box in a translucent state so the internal compenents are visible.

This is a drawing of the outer shell of the box.

This is a drawing of the second piece of the box.

This is a drawing of the third piece of the box that will act as the lid.

This is a drawing of the hook.

This is a drawing of the switch cover, the baseball of the box.

This is a drawing of the hinge pin.

This is a drawing of the clicker.

This is a drawing of the servo motor.

This is a drawing of the battery.

This is a drawing of the switch.

This is the electrical diagram of how the wires needed to be formatted and soldered for the usesless box to work.

Useless Box Demonstration

This is what the final box looks like. The top in the bottom right was to help hold up the motor as it didn't have enough hold to keep itself from moving, as when it would move the hook would not be able to hit the limit switch to stop the hook. Similarly the hook was on the wrong side of the motor so I had switch it to the other side to see if it would work better, unfortunately it did not. The batteries were changed to help combat this issue and it also was unable to change the outcome. All in all the only real issue with the box was that it would not hit the switch to turn itself back off, everything else worked great.

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