CAD Assignment
I have just completed my first render of the ELEGO CAD model. Remote pc has taken some getting used to as I am working remotely from home, the smaller screen and connection issues have presented another challenge in completing this assignment. The purchase of a bluetooth mouse really helped and from playing about with solid works I soon felt as though I was back on campus.
My assignment began with lots of planning. Drawings and calculations before creating each part individually. I still don’t have the ELEGO robot meaning I don’t have the correct measurements and dimensions, how ever from videos sourced online of the robot I have made good estimations and have created an accurately sized model.
I assessed each individual part and decided the best place to start was the three level plates that compose the main body of the robot. The 3 levels are all very similar in original dimensions, with all differing slightly. I created the initial level with estimated dimensions and used the hole wizard function to cut the necessary holes. After developing the first level I made two copies and made the minor adjustments to finish the levels and tick that component off the list.
Next I decided to work from the bottom of the robot and up. The next step was to create the motors, wheels, tyres, right angled joints and a sleeve to attach the motor to the wheels. In this first attempt, I made a simple motor using extruded bases and positioned holes again using hole wizard and created a circular pattern to give equally spaced holes. Using the measurements from the level part and the motors, I created the right angled joint to connect the motors to the level.
The wheel and tyre was the most advanced part at this point in the design. The possibility of designs for a wheel are endless but i tried my best to follow the ELEGO’s look. My initial sketch made a full wheel with no spokes but a solid face, created using the base revolve feature. i created a plane on the front of wheel and sketched two horizontal lines from the centre to the edge of the rim. I created an extruded cut into the wheel and revolved this cut around the centre of the wheel to create spokes.
I based the measurements of my tyre off my wheel and added a tyre material to create grooves and give the tyre a realistic look. I created an assembly between the wheel and tyre and saved for later. Next to connect the wheel and the motor i created a sleeve that would slide onto the motor with a hexagonal end that could slide into the wheel and turn it through friction.
Adding the components of the first level was the next step. Components included the motherboard, a sensor and a dish. The clear dish and mother board were easily made and filleted to enhance the design. I tried to make the sensor as accurate to the real life model as I could, the uses of different materials and filleting helped this step. The motherboard and dish were attached to the level using copper rods that Can clearly be seen in the real-life model between the levels. To create these rods I extruded a hexagonal sketch and created two copies, allowing me to make three different types of rods with 3 different lengths.
Once all the rods were in place and the sensor attached to the motherboard, I could further my assembly and the ELEGO really started to take shape.
The final level of the model only contained the power supply for the robot. In this first render i made a simple battery case that could be screwed into the level. I plan on adding more advanced features before my final submission. I added in mates to attach this battery pack before adding the final level, creating my first model as seen below.
This first model has accurate dimensions and shows a good basic understanding of the ELEGO’s components and building steps, further advances have to be made on the motors and motherboard before the final render, but it’s nice to have a good feel for what I will be building in the future weeks
