[6] make hand mechanical controller


(This week assigment: 3D Scanning and Printing)


For this assignment we had to [A] use a 3D scanner to create a digital model of something physical from the world, and [B] use a 3D printer to make a physical model of something from the digital world. I am still working on the development of my final project and therefore I scanned my hand and design a mechanical system to control finger movements and transform rotation into liner motion to be later sensed.

We used a zcorp 3D scanner. It is very straightforward and scanning my hand (with the help of Josh Ingram) worked pretty well.


Kelly Shaw send me some very interesting referents for my final project. There is one that I really liked called the Bullet-Time. It is mainly a mechanical system to slow down arm-hand movements.


I used Solidworks to design a mechanism to control finger movement. I wanted to transform rotation into linear movement because I think it is easier to sense and actuate. The idea is to develop these ideas in next I-O assignments.


We used a ABS Printer to print the 3D models. This is an appropriate machine for my design because the ABS plastic is structural. I tried 0.01 inches for hinges separation. The only part that did not work was the linear slider, but I broke it to test out the hinges, which worked out fine.