Team Members
Ben Hamilton, Grant Hosinski, Robin Willis, Haley Higginbotham, Zain Karsen, Daniel Moriarty
Affiliation
MIT
My Role
Functional Requirements Defininition, Design and Manufacturing of the flexures
Desktop Lathe Machine
The Turning Heads Desktop Lathe is a state of the art turning machine for your home workshop. Weighing in at less than 50lbs, it's portable, easy to lift, and store. This lathe is capable of turning a range of metals, from aluminum to brass to low carbon steel. The addition of a tailstock enables turning of parts up to 6.5“ long and the ability to drill holes axially. Safety features include a pulley shield and chip guards for the x and z lead screws.
Team Members
Ben Hamilton, Grant Hosinski, Robin Willis, Haley Higginbotham, Zain Karsen, Daniel Moriarty
Affiliation
MIT
My Role
Functional Requirements Defininition, Design and Manufacturing of the flexures
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Process
Process
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The Design
The Lathe
Cross Feed Flexure
Dancing Man
Testing
Cross feed flexure test
Lathe cutting aluminum
Death Tests
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Lathe should work even after it has been dropped
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Lathe should work even after the spindle is struck with a hammer
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X slide should move with some one standing on it
Results
The lathe machine passed the death tests and continued to function with the same precision as per the lathe specifications. The chuck is the weakest member of the system, which means that under high loads it releases the part before any other component fails. This presents a safety concern as a part could then fly out and hit a user, so a safety shield is recommended to be used with the lathe. Future development could include modification to the chuck or switching to a collet system.
New Design
Existing Design
New Design
Results
Cost reduction of 95% and weight reduction of 50% was achieved. The prototypes of the design were built and tested extensively. The process plan has been defined and documented. The supply chain for the materials has been set up. The assembly line has been set up in MIT Building 35. 25 FrEDs have been successfully manufactured and are ready to be deployed to the end users.
Old Design | New Design | |
|---|---|---|
Minimum Extruded Fiber Diameter | ~0.2 mm | 0.15 mm |
Weight | ~10 lbs | 5 lbs |
Unit Costs | $5428 | $269 |