STEP 01

- Basic Design Techniques [drawings and prototypes]

To start your design, first you need all the dimensions of your components: motors, worm drives, bearings and switches. Basically, you have to design two gearboxes that are attached to each other. Try to design them both as small as possible to make it more challenging.

note: For any robotic project, it is always a good idea to build your mechanism to scale with cardboard first before making it with your chosen materials. It’s a fast and cheap way to test your design and make changes if needed. Also, I highly recommend sketching each part and marking down their dimensions as well as the location of each hole. If you have some experience with 3D modeling, you could draw the complete Pan Tilt in Rhinoceros at the Dxarts Fremont Lab but hand sketches are fine too, since you won't use 3D drawings to machine your parts on the CNC Mill.

Upper gearbox (6 parts to draw)

Two holes to insert the #1ZEL1 bearings, one hole for the bottom shaft as well as one for the motor.

1 x (2.25" x 2.25" x 0.25") motor plate
2 x (1.875" x 2" x 0.25") side plates

2 x (1.875" x 2.25" x 0.125") top and bottom plates
1 x (2.25" x 2.25" x 0.125") front plate

Bottom gearbox (6 parts to draw)

For the bottom box, you will need one hole for the #1ZEX4 bearing and one for the motor.

1 x (3.5" x 2.25" x 0.25") motor plate
2 x (2" x 2.25" x 0.25") side plates
2 x (3" x 1.875" x 0.25") top and bottom plates
1 x (3" x 2.25" x 0.125") front plate

Mounting arm (3 parts to draw)

One hole to mount the camera/sensors, two for the shaft and two for the 6-32 setscrews.

2 x (2" x 1.5" x 0.25") side plates
1 x (3.25" x 1.5" x 0.25") top plate

Coupling, small arms and bearing mount (4 parts to draw)

You need to design two small arms to activate the switches (one per gearbox) as well as a bearing mount for the bottom gearbox and one coupling to attach the bottom shaft to the upper box.

1 x (1.25" x 1.5" x 0.3") #1ZEX4 bearing mount
1 x (1.25" x 1.5" x 0.4") coupling
1 x (0.64" x 0.5" x 0.25") upper box small arm
1 x (0.874" x 0.5" x 0.25") bottom box small arm

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note: You should also mark the location of all the holes needed to assemble the boxes. In order to get a nice smooth motion, you will need a lot of precision, especially with shafts and gears. If this step takes longer than you expect, don’t worry, the longer you spend designing, the easier and faster it will be to build later on.

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- Basic Design Techniques [drawings and prototypes]