Problem
Sentien Robotics needed an early concept design for a payload hopper system for the drone hive trailer. Our team was tasked with prototyping a payload delivery system that continuously attaches 300 tennis balls to a fleet of drones in a drone hive trailer.
The project required collaboration among five engineers who had different areas of expertise. My challenge was to design three of the five subsystems for the functional prototype: the indexing subsystem, the ball-guider subsystem, and the container subsystem.
Indexing subsystem:
I started the design for the payload-indexing system using SolidWorks and Onshape. I created a proof of concept design with laser-cut parts, and then transitioned to 3D printed parts.
Initial sketch design:
Proof of concept & first 3D printed design:
Final Design:
Ball-guider subsystem:
The Ball-guider subsystem was made using a 3" acrylic tube and custom 3D printed funnel brackets. The parts were restricted to a tight clearable area, taking that into account during my designs. I also had to determine the best tube angle and length for the ball release point. This was all done in a full assembly of the system and the hive trailer that it was attached to.
Final Design:
Clearance image:
Container subsystem:
For the container system, I imported MacMasterCarr corner brackets onto a container design. I then laser-cut the panels of the assembly and assembled them.
IRL container assembly with active funneling system (bucket):
Full assembly:
