BEND_it : Don't Stress Out Just "BEND_it" Out

by anandshah3193

1.6K81

Intro: BEND_it : Don't Stress Out Just "BEND_it" Out

INTRODUCTION

BEND_it is a small scale quick testing machine. It's pretty good at bending and breaking things. It could also be useful at times. It could help one retrieve information like:

  1. Horizontal thrust force due to arching action.
  2. Change in Bending stress due to change in geometry.
  3. Material Stiffness

The Project was done by Anand Shah and Ryan Daley as a part of the Seminar Course: Computational Design and Digital Fabrication at the ITECH program, University of Stuttgart, Germany.


STEP 1: Principal

PRINCIPAL

Bend_It machine laterally actuates a material with a stepper motor, then measures the material’s response using Load cell and Accelerometer. The load cell measures the lateral force that the material is resisting with. The Accelerometer are means of measuring the geometric deformation in the material. The collected data is sent as a data stream to an Excel spreadsheet where it can all be compared on a scatter plot. This allows the designer to see how much force it took for the material to reach a plastic deformation. The lateral load is reduced once the material has reached a threshold of actuation, and we can see that the material does not return, in an elastic manner, to its original shape. This testing method is a quick and easy means of analyzing custom materials that are perhaps too small to be tested using full scale crushing machines.

STEP 2: Linear Motion With Stepper Motor

Supplies Needed: Paper-Board Sheet, Waste Cardboard, Plastic Gears, Racks, Super Glue, White Glue, Reqular Stationary items, Arduino Uno R3, Jumper Wires, Breadboard, 5V Power Adapter, Stepper Motor (28BYJ-48) ULN2003 Transistor.

STEP 3: Stepper Motor + Load Cell (To Measure Horizontal Thrust)

Supplies Needed in addition to Step 1: Polysterol Sheet, Insulating Tape, Electronic Cable Cutter, Soldering Rod, 1 kg Load cell with HX711 weighing sensor

STEP 4: Stepper Motor + Load Cell + Accelerometer (To Measure Arch Tilt)

Supplies Needed in addition to Step 2: ADXL345 - 3 - Axis Accelerometer and Jumper Wires

STEP 5: Fritzing Diagram

STEP 6: Assembled Machine

The Machine is finally assembled and packed inside the paper-board base box.

STEP 7: Working Video


STEP 8: Arduino Code

Please use this link to get access to the code:

Bend_it.ino