This project was an incredible opportunity for me to demonstrate the range of engineering skills I have acquired at Duke. It is therefore particularly significant to me. I really enjoyed being able to provide technical expertise, and engineering capabilities, to bring this product to life on behalf of a team. I gained significant experience in using engineering to overcome design obstacles, and communicating complex ideas to a non-technical audience.
MITOSO Demo
Project Overview
Locking Component Design
The locking component is a core aspect of the product, enabling the knives to remain safely in the block.
Pictured to the left is a component of the device. The protruding aspect (the latch) prevents the knife from moving upwards when in locked position. The spring enables the user to insert the knife into the block without the use of a key. The spring is compressed upon the knife's entry and then retracts to lock the knife in place. In this sense, the mechanism mimics that of a latch on a door. The component is in locked position when the system is powered off as well. You might be wondering if I had issues generating enough resistance to torque .... keep reading.
Exploded View
Pictured above is an exploded view of the parts (excluding the locking components and circuitry). The locking components are placed around a D-shaped (or flat-headed) shaft. I also added some roller bearings to prevent wear on the shaft.
In locked position, the motor does not provide sufficient resistance to prevent someone from removing the knife. To remedy this, I added a mini 5V solenoid to oppose unwanted rotation of the shaft. The solenoid remains in locked position when powered off.
I added this "break" (or "stopper") to the shaft for redundancy. The end of the solenoid is inserted into the hole to prevent the rotation of the shaft when in locked position.
Bearing
I ended up making the latch steeper than the one shown in this photo, but I thought it might be helpful to see the on the shaft. It rotates counterclockwise (with out interacting with the housing... this photo is somewhat misleading).