Expo Centrifuge

Our innovative Expo Centrifuge system is designed to maximize the utility of your writing instruments. This device efficiently recovers the last remnants of ink or liquid from pens, ensuring that every drop is utilized and waste is minimized.

As for the materials, we used:

608ZZ ball bearing [6]

M8 L50 mm hex bolt [4]

M8 nut [7]

M8 washer [8]

M5 L60 mm [2]

M5 winged nut [2]

Rubber sheet 1mm thick

the process begins with an idea and initial sketches. From there, we created more detailed drawings, focusing on specific components, their functions, movements, and placements. Gradually, we started envisioning how to bring the project to life.

Moreover, we conducted research on components and specific pieces, understanding how they function and interact with each other. Verifying that the real components perform as expected, consistent with our research findings.

Once everything functioned as intended, we began creating a preliminary 3D model. This model included all essential components with fixed measurements, such as the 608ZZ ball bearing.

When creating technical drawings, precision is essential, with as much detail as possible, including the smallest and most specific elements. Measurements must be clearly indicated to serve as a foundation for 3D modeling. They are also great for referencing during the final modeling stage and can be used as a way to understand the scale of the project and thus the feasibility.

After completing the preliminary 3D model, we proceeded to test the tolerances with back and forth printing and adjusting. This step was crucial since our project heavily depended on the support of the M8 hex bolts. Ensuring stability was imperative, as rotating a component at high rpm could result in vibrations that might eventually lead to the component breaking.

In order to give as much stability as possible the slots for the hex bolts needed to be very precise, which is why we isolated the slots into smaller parts that we could print individually as many times as needed to perfect the tolerances. We repeated the process for each of the fasteners that we used until we were sure we could print the components as wholes.

Using carbon fiber PLA we printed the pieces that would have high strain such as the clamp and the gears. The material however wasn’t appropriate for more elastic use cases like the clip-on “puck” meant to hold the markers, it was also not necessary for pieces that weren’t going to be under constant stress which is why we used regular PLA for everything other than the aforementioned components.