Melding art and engineering, one 3D print at a time
Using the Rapid Prototyping Studio, the Texas A&M University Robotics Teams and Leadership Experience (TURTLE) Lab designed and built an electromechanical project that uses mechanical design in linkages to mimic biological locomotion.
TURTLE used the Rapid Prototyping Studio to manufacture 3D-print custom linkages for their Strandbeest project, which uses mechanical design in linkages to mimic biological locomotion.
The Rapid Prototyping Studio (RPS) in the J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering provides students and faculty with the creation services of rapid prototyping equipment. Thanks to the RPS, the Texas A&M University Robotics Teams and Leadership Experience (TURTLE) Lab was able to build and complete their electromechanical strandbeest project.
TURTLE’s mission is to provide Texas A&M Engineering students with hands-on experience in the field of robotics. Each semester, teams are challenged with a project or assignment that will culminate in a significant showcase of creativity, talent, teamwork and innovation. The organization includes over 250 student researchers and 20 active projects. At least 86 mechanical engineering students serve in membership and leadership roles.
This project was inspired by Dutch artist and kinetic sculptor Theo Jansen’s “Strandbeests,” which is Dutch for beach beast. Jansen merges art and engineering in a way that dynamically illustrates movement by creating wind-walking, self-moving mechanisms made from PVC tubes. TURTLE’s Strandbeest (BEEST) uses mechanical design in linkages to mimic biological locomotion.
The Raspberry-Pi-powered Strandbeest robot used Jansen linkages with an automated exterior shell. The team’s goals for this project included redesigning the gears to allow free rotation, correcting any self-torquing, and advancing the automated exterior shell through the manufacturing and design phases.
The design uses several connected segments arranged in a specific pattern as well as 3D-printed components to further enhance durability, reduce brittleness and improve cost-effectiveness and manufacturability.
“The RPS played a pivotal role in the early development of our hardware, particularly in an environment like TURTLE, where we value our time and the quality of our robots,” said Zachary Bucknor-Smartt, a current mechanical engineering Ph.D. student who worked on the team as an undergraduate.
The facility offers a wide variety of equipment and processes, including several varieties of 3D printing products, laser cutters, desktop CNC machines, waterjet and plasma cutting tools, vacuum forming capabilities and CAD/CAM workstations.
The project’s main base plate was cut from 3/8-inch plywood. The team used the RPS to 3D-print custom linkages. Gears were cut out of 1/2-inch plywood to allow for increased contact and wear resistance. A 3D-printed motor cover was added for protection.
BEEST continues to serve as a demonstrative robot for TURTLE — exemplifying not only their mechanical innovation but also the RPS’s ability to meet mechanical engineering students’ manufacturing needs.
