MECHANICAL

The full assembly was designed in Fusion 360. The frame was made out of 0.125" clear laser-cut acrylic, held together by 8-32 x ½" screws and a 0.015" interference between the teeth for a slight press fit. 

Pulley Sub-System

The idle and driver pulley wheels engage with the ridges on the timing belt to vertically translate the aircraft. ¼" ID bearings are press-fit into the idle pulley wheels for low-friction rotation about the ¼" diameter aluminum rod. Each idle pulley wheel is split into two halves to reduce print time, with the halves fastened together with 8-32 x ⅜" screws. The driver pulley wheels are rigidly attached to the servo hub via M4 screws. The pulley wheels were 3D-printed in white PLA. The aluminum rod, timing belts, and servos were purchased off-the-shelf components.

Flight Yoke

The flight yoke provides pitch and yaw control via a pan-tilt mount. Pitch is enabled via a horizontal ¼" x 2" D-shaft, while yaw is enabled by a vertical ¼" x 6" D-shaft that is press fit into the pan-tilt mount. The body is split into two halves, allowing the laser to be inserted when the front panel is removed. A pass-through hole routes the laser's power and ground wires through the mount toward the breadboard in the final assembly. The flight yoke was 3D-printed with black PLA.

Gear Dispenser

The arm mounted on the servo horn swings out 90 degrees and displaces two laser-cut gears simultaneously. The column that holds the gears in place is a separate component that slots into an opening in the ramp body. All components were 3D-printed in white PLA.

Aircraft Mounts

The 3D-printed mounts align with the grooves in the timing belt, allowing them to simply slide in without the need for adhesives. The laser-cut aircraft were secured to each mount with acrylic cement, and a hole was cut to press-fit the photocell into place.  The mounts were 3D-printed with black PLA. The blimp, hot air balloon, and satellite were laser-cut on neon yellow, neon pink, and neon orange acrylic respectively.

Card Reader

The card reader houses an IR beam-break sensor, which is triggered by a black acrylic card. Note: Transparent or non-black solid-colored cards did not reliably activate the sensor. The card reader was 3D-printed with black PLA.

Engineering Drawings

Interactive View