The goal of this senior capstone design project was to design, analyze, optimize, and simulate an autonomous robot that can locate, manipulate, and place randomly located wooden cubes without the use of wheels for mobility (i.e. a walking legged robot). My role in this project was as lead mechanical designer. In this role, I was the primary driver in all CAD modeling, FEM modeling and simulation, kinematic studies and mechanism/component optimization. The main design targets were ease of manufacturing (planar links and 3D printable components), Modular Design (each sub-assembly only interfaces the central platform for ease of design iteration and component replacement), Symmetry and low COM (to maintain stable and repeatable dynamics), Accessibility (for ease of servicing and replacement), Mechanical Robustness (robust material selection, friction reducing elements, secondary retention on critical fasteners).
Here is an overview of the challenge:
Here is an overview of the final design:
Here is a sampling of the kinematic studies:
Here is a sampling of the FEM modeling and simulation with topology optimization:
I would like to acknowledge my teammates as they did an awesome job with providing design feedback and revision ideas.