Project 2

Project Statement

For this project, I started with an image of flowy, natural movements like the ocean. I wanted to emulate a soft robotics feel, since that's an area I don't have any experience in but find really cool. Alyssa suggested making a nautilus and using fabric, which I really liked. I planned to make a ceramic pot decorated to look like a shell, with tentacles reaching in and out of the mouth. I also wanted to experiment with different materials. I thought it would be cool to have the shell overflowing with tentacles of different materials, some of fabric, some of rubber, some of foam, some of plastic. Finally, I wanted to experiment with creating different motion profiles using cams. I had planned to do a few experiments with different shapes and actuators, like string vs sticks.

Unfortunately, I got sick so I didn't have the time to execute this idea to the fullest extent like I would have liked to do. In order to simplify my goals I shifted to making a wooden box with the materials we were given. Then, I pared down my goals to only make three 3D printed tentacles, instead of several tentacles of different materials that I am unfamiliar with. I still wanted to try using fabric, though, so I decided to try and implement it as moving waves. My new idea was to make a box wrapped in fabric so that it looks like a chunk of ocean in a box. I wanted the three cams to drive shafts in and out of three faces of the box, so it would be a 3 dimensional piece. 

My eyes really were too big for my stomach, as I did not achieve most of the cool parts of my original ideas. The handmade cams gave me a lot more issues than I anticipated, and creating a repeated curling motion with cams was a lot harder than I initially thought. Still, I’m glad that I got all three cams moving smoothly and fairly reliably. I’m quite happy with my gears, as I designed them myself and they fit and worked perfectly on the first try. Finally, I like the paint on the tentacles and the color and shine of the fabric. Had I been able to execute my full idea, I think it would have looked really cool.

Inspiration Sources

Post 1

Brainstorming ideas

Post 2

Nautilus with different types of materials for the tentacles, different motion profiles from different cams.

Exploring the winding idea for tentacle curl idea

Post 3

After I came back from being sick, I realized I would not have enough time for my original idea. So I pivoted to doing a simple wooden box, and only 3 cams. This is me trying to visualize how it would fit together

Post 4

Overcomplicated cam + shaft ideas

Post 5

Trying to figure out how to make a 3D printed tentacle still look flowy

Post 6

Sizing my gears

Post 7

Production finally gets underway! These are the cams. A little rough, but mostly round

Post 8

Cams fit in the box, axle hole is drilled. I painted the tentacles over the weekend

Post 9

First time trying the cam. Motion is choppy and the cardboard is not thick or rigid enough to keep the shaft upright.

Post 10

It finally works 😭😭😭😭😭😭 It took so so so so so long to get this working. I wrapped the cam in cardboard to smooth out the surface, glued a piece of cardboard to the shaft to make a larger contact surface, and taped screws to the top to weigh it down.

Post 11

Got the cam working with a tentacle! The other two cams wouldn't work at this point, but I thought the effect from the one working was nice

Post 12

Final product! I'm glad I got all three cams working eventually. The motion is much more subtle than I originally wanted, and the presentation is not where I want it to be. However I'm glad I got something that moves smoothly. I think this is nice as a proof of concept for a larger project.