Introduction: Understanding a Simple Machine and Designing It on Sketchup

In this amazing instructable you are going to learn how you can design yourself a simple machine such as a pulley in Sketchup. so lest move on


what is a simple machine by a definetion....?

A simple machine is a device that helps us perform work more easily. The three fundamental simple machines are the lever, pulley, and inclined plane, and three adaptations of these are the wheel and axle, wedge, and screw.

Examples :- Pushing, pulling, and lifting are common forms of work.

How does a simple machine works ?

so, now that we have gone through the meaning of a simple machine, we must now understand how does one of the simple machine works. I am going to take the most simplest of all, the pulley. It is a machine that we see almost everywhere we go and is employed everywhere to make our job easier. Today we are going to understand how to design a simple machine like a pulley on Sketchup and learn few interesting facts about it.

Examples of where a pulley is used :-

1) our elevators our based on that principle (now a days they have shifted towards using a motor rather than pulleys...)

2) our gym equipment ( Remember when you needed to gain some muscles which machine you turned to first)

3) flagpoles uses pulley to hoist our flag.


Supplies

Materials you require to conduct this experiment :-

You don't really need any supplies or material for it. however, here are some details about my computer's hardware and software used :-

I am using Sketchup Make 2017

link :- https://help.sketchup.com/en/downloading-older-ver...

My computer specifications :-

(prebuilt computer)

core i3-6100

4gb ram

2GB GT710 and OEM Motherboard

Step 1: Let's Start by Making a Base.....

Lets begin our design by making a suitable base for our pulley.

(The dimension's are in millimeters and template used is 3D printing millimeters)

( However, it is not necessary to make a base for the pulley but for the sake of putting it firmly and be able to distribute the weight over a large area so it would not fall forward)

Dimension's :- Length = and breadth =

Now the first step is to use the push/pull tool to give it some height = 10mm

  1. Draw a line joining the midpoint of the opposite length's of the base and try making a upright rectangle on top of the base, now give it some width using the push/pull tool. dimensions can be taken as the individual desire to.
  2. Now give it a good look using the the pan and zoom tool as we will be working on it more closely.....

Step 2: Drawing the Pulley on a 2D Surface

Now try making a grid like pattern on the side facing side of the model by joining the midpoints of both length's and breadth.

when we have completed the grid, we have to do the following :-

  1. join the lines like it has been shown in the above picture ( however, any creativity can be done regarding the same but make sure that they are inclined at an angle).
  2. Clear the grid lines that we drew earlier so we can have a clear picture of how the design will appear, after it is completed.
  3. After, we have completed clearing the grid our design will appear to look like this and now we just have to use the push/pull tool to remove the outer area from the model.
  4. Here is a picture of how it will look.......

Step 3: Few Modifications of Your Own....

Now as we have completed the basic structure of the model, we can add our own creativity and do changes if we want to without altering the inclined plane on top.

(It is not necessary to do any changes in the design but just for the sake of creativity, i will be showing you some changes like adding some curves to it.)

changes made by me :-

  1. Adding curves to the upright part of the pulley design and then, making the edges more curved.
  2. Adding a little more height to the inclined plane.
  3. making it more presentable for you guys.....

Step 4: Finally Adding the Pulley to It.....

Now its a great time to add the pulley to the model and you can do the following to add some simple moving pulleys to the model :-

  1. Add three wheels to the design as I have done it in the design
  2. Please note that the radius and width taken by me is according to one's preference and overall material/filament utilization by the printer.
  3. The first pulley will be drawn with a handle and the other two will be drawn, by just taking iether the same radius or bigger than that...
  4. Congratulations my friend, it is finally done and now you learned to design a simple pulley.

Feel free to download my design for reference and ideas, how to make one.......

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AZRlM0zfRfimXL3oX7e03vc9XcZ6VGCG/view?usp=sharing

Simple Machines Challenge

Participated in the
Simple Machines Challenge