Cup Dispenser

grabcad

This entry may very well be the ugliest entry of the group. There, I said it! In fact, if one of the challenge rules had stated “Entry must be in a form that is ugly and unpleasant to the eye” I believe this would be the hands down winner. Appearances aside, I took this challenge as an opportunity to “push the envelope” and examine the possibility of designing a functional mechanism for a real world application. Often, in the arena of machine design, appearance takes a back seat to function. I do attempt to incorporate aesthetics into my design however I may not always succeed. Part of designing a functional object or system is coping with physical constraints. In the case of this challenge the most obvious constraint is the build envelope. Numerous additional constraints and consideration enter the picture when designing for functional interaction and interfacing with other machine elements. What I am trying to do with this design is to potentially replace an existing assembly that is part of a machine. The current design is composed of a drive sprocket and chain which drives a set of feed cams, dispensing flanged cups. One revolution of the drive sprocket results in a full revolution of the four (or eight) cams, stripping one cup from a stack and dropping the cup into a receiver. The mechanism used to accomplish the feat includes a number of bearings, pins, sprockets and the like as well as significant machining of close tolerance bores. The pictured exploded view of this mechanism shows a double dispenser and due to the centerline distances this requires asymmetric placement of the cams. The 3D print envelope for the challenge prevents replicating the double dispense configuration. I have sized the unit such that once a final design has been created for the actual application a second printed item will mate with the first thereby forming the dual configuration. It has been incredibly fun to enter this challenge. Following the conclusion of the competition a greater challenge remains for this design. The unique characteristics of 3D printing creates obstacles that need to be overcome. In this case two concerns are surfaced. One being the clearances required for proper gear meshing and shaft to bore printing. Secondly, longevity of the mechanism while operated continuously. If it is found to be a viable replacement, a cost saving is anticipated.