IMechE Design Challenge
Design of a robot that climbs inside a vertical pipe and lifting increasingly heavy loads as per competition-specified constraints, in a group of 5.
£30 budget
Small pipe diameter
Motor limit of 2W and 6V
Increasing load in the form of a chain
Constraints
4 driving wheels
Springs pushing against the walls producing friction to make it climb
Gears reverse direction of the motor so robot powers back down
Cons: too many gears created considerable efficiency losses
Initial design
2 free wheels attached to strut and spring system
1 driving wheel on an axle connected to the motor
Another other free wheel to support climber and avoid tilting
Less springs than first design so easier to build
Cons: unbalanced weight as battery and motor are on the same side
Secondary design
Strut-spring system keeps climber inside the tube & maximises friction
No belt used they could be prone to slipping
Switch at the top of the device to reverse gears and power the way down
Within £30 budget
Final design
Device was slowing down at the end of ascension as chain was increasingly heavy
Lighter material should have been used
Better weight optimisation had to be done as device was tilting at critical stages of climb
Observations
Device took 19 seconds to go up and down the 2m pipe
Ranked 3rd amongst our peers and achieved a 1st class honours grade
Exposure to iterative, trial-and-error design methods