Design Refinements

DESIGN REFINEMENTS:

Recently, the team tried to simplify the rotational crosshead assembly, so that there would be fewer parts, less overall dimensions, and and easier limit switch activation method. This resulted in a new rotational axis design, which looks as follows:

The result of this attempt was an unstable and ineffective system. The team concluded that the reduced weight of the assembly was not great enough to actuate the safety mechanism, when coupled with the down force of the linear actuator. The other conclusion that the team reached was that the large dimensions of the bearing surfaces on the linear slide were necessary to ensure that the slides motion was restrained in the x and y directions.

RESULTS THROUGH COMPROMISE: