Design and Control of a High Precision Laser-Cutting Machine

Author(s):  
Mason Van Bibber ◽  
Behnam Bahr

Education in mechanical design and control theory is paramount to anyone interested in engineering and the “Maker” culture. Additionally, integration of concepts normally presented in discrete learning segments enhances technical and intuitive understanding of how systems work individually and together. This project aims to increase students’ understanding of engineering topics while equipping them with the necessary tools and information to recreate a high-precision laser-cutting machine at a minimal cost. These topics include electronic designs, mechanical assemblies, machine calibration, and control theory. Although there is a wide range of laser-cutting machines currently available, most low-cost options are inaccurate and low-quality. Because such systems come preassembled and with little documentation, using them offers no educational value with respect to learning how the system functions. Since pre-assembled systems offer little hands-on learning potential related to their construction and design, the goal of this project is to develop a system that will offer this experience and enhance student understanding as they “Learn by Doing.” Students learning about the aforementioned topics will investigate them by constructing their own low-cost and reproducible laser-cutting machine. This system will enable students to study how to combine the ideas and theories learned throughout their engineering curriculum into a single design.

2021 ◽  
pp. 096100062110165
Author(s):  
Mohammadhiwa Abdekhoda ◽  
Fatemeh Ranjbaran ◽  
Asghar Sattari

This study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the role of information and information resources in the awareness, control, and prevention of COVID-19. This study was a descriptive-analytical survey in which 450 participants were selected for the study. The data collection instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data through SPSS. The findings show that a wide range of mass media has become well known as information resources for COVID-19. Other findings indicate a significant statistical difference in the rate of using information resources during COVID-19 based on age and gender; however, this difference is not significant regarding the reliability of information resources with regard to age and gender. Health information has an undisputable role in the prevention and control of pandemic diseases such as COVID-19. Providing accurate, reliable, and evidence-based information in a timely manner for the use of resources and information channels related to COVID-19 can be a fast and low-cost strategic approach in confronting this disease.


2012 ◽  
Vol 190-191 ◽  
pp. 729-732
Author(s):  
Hong Cheng ◽  
Hong Chao Fan ◽  
Hai Fei Lin ◽  
Cong Li ◽  
Yu Peng Mao ◽  
...  

It becomes the urgent and necessary to the development about wide range of manufacturing a multi-functional and human intelligence rescue robots because of difficulty of rescuing the wounded person in a disaster such as earthquakes and other disasters. A rescue robot prototype has been designed, assembled and commissioned based on the rescue mission and rescue needs of the students in Zhejiang Province mechanical design contest. The rescue robot is able to implement going through the tunnel and the bridge, removing the rescue objectives and other actions tasks. The rescue robot has a structure of four-wheel drive, variable center distance which can improve the ability of walking on the bridge and grabbing the rescue target by suction cups to complete the contest tasks. Experiment verified that the design of actuators and control system is reasonable. It took a total of 1 minute 18 seconds to complete the rescue work in Zhejiang Province mechanical design competition.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haosen Yang ◽  
Guowu Wei ◽  
Lei Ren ◽  
Zhihui Qian ◽  
Kunyang Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract This paper presents the design, analysis, and development of an anthropomorphic robotic hand coined MCR-hand II. This hand takes the advantages of both the tendon-driven and linkage-driven systems, leading to a compact mechanical structure that aims to imitate the mobility of a human hand. Based on the investigation of the human hand anatomical structure and the related existing robotic hands, mechanical design of the MCR-hand II is presented. Then, using D-H convention, kinematics of this hand is formulated and illustrated with numerical simulations. Furthermore, fingertip force is deduced and analyzed, and mechatronic system integration and control strategy are addressed. Subsequently, a prototype of the proposed robotic hand is developed, integrated with low-level control system, and following which empirical study is carried out, which demonstrates that the proposed hand is capable of implementing the grasp and manipulation of most of the objects used in daily life. In addition, the three widely used tools, i.e., the Kapandji score test, Cutkosky taxonomy, and Kamakura taxonomy, are used to evaluate the performance of the hand, which evidences that the MCR-hand II possesses high dexterity and excellent grasping capability; object manipulation performance is also demonstrated. This paper hence presents the design and development of a type of novel tendon–linkage-integrated anthropomorphic robotic hand, laying broader background for the development of low-cost robotic hands for both industrial and prosthetic use.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Guido Valerio ◽  
Simona Mazzocchi ◽  
Alessandro Galli ◽  
Matteo Ciattaglia ◽  
Marco Zucca

A novel class of structures is proposed to realize ultra-wide-band radiating elements for large arrays, providing dual polarization, beam scanning, and compact and inexpensive realization based on suitable rhombic arrangements of dipoles printed on low-cost layered substrates. In a first implementation, four rhombic shapes, orthogonally placed on the same layer, provide two orthogonal polarizations. In a second implementation, the two polarizations are excited by two rhombic shapes printed on two different layers in a stacked-patch-like arrangement. This latter structure leads to a better lateral shielding of the single radiating element, in order to reduce mutual interactions among adjacent elements in array environment. The behavioral features of these antennas have been tested with various parametric analyses. Practical aspects have been addressed such as the choice of appropriate feeding and of commercially available dielectric layers. The resulting antennas are matched at the input ports in an extremely wide range of frequencies (5–25 GHz), covering various microwave applications, such as aircraft surveillance, weather polarimetric radars, and control and communications systems. Good radiating features, in terms of pattern shape and gain, are observed in a large band of frequencies. The basic scanning performance of large and small array configurations is finally investigated.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julio C. Chacón-Torres ◽  
C. Reinoso ◽  
Daniela G. Navas-Leon ◽  
S. Briceño ◽  
G. González

Abstract Ecuador is one of the most affected countries, with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, in Latin America derived from an ongoing economic crisis. One of the most important methods for COVID-19 detection is the use of techniques such as real time RT- PCR based on a previous extraction/purification of RNA procedure from nasopharyngeal cells using functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (MNP). This technique allows the processing of ~10,000 tests per day in private companies and around hundreds per day at local Universities guaranteeing to reach a wide range of the population. However, the main drawback of this method is the need for specialized MNP with a strong negative charge for the viral RNA purification to detect the existence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Here we present a simplified low cost method to produce 10 g of nanoparticles in 100 mL of solution that was scaled to one litter by parallelizing the process 10 times in just two days and allowing for the possibility of making ~50,000 COVID-19 tests. This communication helps in reducing the cost of acquiring MNP for diverse biomolecular applications supporting developing country budgets constraints and chemical availability specially during the COVID-19 International Health Emergency.


Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (22) ◽  
pp. 6663
Author(s):  
Ciro Moreno-Ramírez ◽  
Carmen Iniesta ◽  
Alejandro González ◽  
José Luis Olazagoitia

Existing acoustic test benches are usually costly devices based on proprietary designs, sensors, and acquisition devices. In this paper, a low-cost test bench for acoustic purposes is introduced. The design of the test bench takes into account not only the low-cost mechanical design, but also uses low-cost sensors and control boards. This test bench has been designed for a range of signals compatible with those used by thermoacoustic engines, but it can be useful for applications with similar requirements. Taking advantage of an auxiliary pressure reference, low-cost unidirectional differential pressure sensors can be used to significantly increase the accuracy of the sampling system. The acoustic and mechanical design and development are presented along with the sampling system and the sensors arrangement implemented. Both the sensor and sampling system are evaluated by comparison with a high-fidelity sound acquisition system. An unexpected effect on the time error values distribution of the low-cost acquisition system is found and described. Finally, the errors introduced by the system and the sensors in terms of time and pressure sampling are characterized. As a result, the low-cost system’s accuracy has been satisfactory assessed and validated for the conditions expected in thermoacoustic experiments in terms of frequency and dynamic pressure.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (13) ◽  
pp. 6116
Author(s):  
Vítor H. Pinto ◽  
Inês N. Soares ◽  
Marco Rocha ◽  
José Lima ◽  
José Gonçalves ◽  
...  

This paper presents a legged-wheeled hybrid robotic vehicle that uses a combination of rigid and non-rigid joints, allowing it to be more impact-tolerant. The robot has four legs, each one with three degrees of freedom. Each leg has two non-rigid rotational joints with completely passive components for damping and accumulation of kinetic energy, one rigid rotational joint, and a driving wheel. Each leg uses three independent DC motors—one for each joint, as well as a fourth one for driving the wheel. The four legs have the same position configuration, except for the upper hip joint. The vehicle was designed to be modular, low-cost, and its parts to be interchangeable. Beyond this, the vehicle has multiple operation modes, including a low-power mode. Across this article, the design, modeling, and control stages are presented, as well as the communication strategy. A prototype platform was built to serve as a test bed, which is described throughout the article. The mechanical design and applied hardware for each leg have been improved, and these changes are described. The mechanical and hardware structure of the complete robot is also presented, as well as the software and communication approaches. Moreover, a realistic simulation is introduced, along with the obtained results.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julio C. Chacón-Torres ◽  
C. Reinoso ◽  
Daniela G. Navas-León ◽  
Sarah Briceño ◽  
Gema González

Abstract Ecuador is one of the most affected countries, with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, in Latin America derived from an ongoing economic crisis. One of the most important methods for COVID-19 detection is the use of techniques such as real time RT-PCR based on a previous extraction/purification of RNA procedure from nasopharyngeal cells using functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (MNP). This technique allows the processing of ~ 10,000 tests per day in private companies and around hundreds per day at local Universities guaranteeing to reach a wide range of the population. However, the main drawback of this method is the need for specialized MNP with a strong negative charge for the viral RNA extraction to detect the existence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Here we present a simplified low cost method to produce 10 g of nanoparticles in 100 mL of solution that was scaled to one litter by parallelizing the process 10 times in just two days and allowing for the possibility of making ~ 50,000 COVID-19 tests. This communication helps in reducing the cost of acquiring MNP for diverse biomolecular applications supporting developing country budgets constraints and chemical availability specially during the COVID-19 International Health Emergency.


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