NRL

[webby2]

I have been busy with other stuff and told myself that I would not start on the build until next week, well I could not resist the temptation to play a little more with my finger toy test-bed and am printing off a few parts already.

It is kind of exciting when the test-bed does what I think it should do.
I used a few other parts and setup a loaded test of sorts to run a crude check of force paths and stuff so the test is not how it will work, per-say, but does represent the path of forces and motions.

I did this as a basic test of one part that should behave one way but I was not sure that it would behave that way until today and it does behave the way I was hoping it would.

I also learned that printing plastic pivots might be a problem without lube, they are a little sticky.  I was thinking that if I designed everything to be printed then it would be easy for anyone to reproduce my test-bed who has a 3d-printer.

One issue that this setup has is that the output work is not constant, the force and distance relationships change and would require something to convert that into a constant which I do not think I will bother with for now.  It starts out with a weaker force but a longer rate of distance change and then migrates to a stronger force and a slower rate of distance change.  I could set it up to go the other way,, I will wait and see what works best with the test-bed.

[webby2]

Just a note,
since I am still using my finger-toy test-bed,, trying to make the parts correctly and not turning off the effect is harder to design to than I thought.

A torque is not exactly the same as a leverage and the two have some advantages over each other and some dis-advantages,,

[webby2]

I am putting this out here as a reminder for myself.

Something that can move but doesn't is not the same as something that can not move.

[webby2]

I keep ending back at having a small angular interaction and not a full freedom with interaction so maybe I should just take what I have and make it work that way???

[webby2]

I have most of the parts for the output system printed.
I am working on the input system and have gotten a little sidetracked.

I decided that for ease of everything I would take my input system and make it rotary, only using a partial cycle but then being able to use a simple motor to run it.

I messed up with the design a little bit and ran into an issue, then when playing with it I noticed an interesting behavior from the systems interactions and have been following where that, all on its own, may lead.

It did raise an interesting question, that is: Does a torque do work if it does not rotate?  If I place 1N-m of torque on a shaft but do not allow it to rotate can work be done by the torque that would cost me energy?