The actuation of the maze surface is being
performed by stepper motors. The stepper motors are themselves connected to
levers that will physically manipulate the maze surface. These levers are
connected to each other and to the stepper motors in a cable driven fashion.
This allows the motors to be placed anywhere in the machine, which accommodates
feasible packaging constraints. Another benefit of the cable driven system,
especially in the prototyping phase, is the adjustability the system provides.
The levers can be adjusted along the motors range of actuation against zero, or
either maximum. The levers can also be positional adjusted against each other.
To
allow the stepper motors to manipulate the cable system, custom pulleys had to
be machined. The pulleys retain the cable, and provide sufficient friction and
moment action between the motor shaft and the cable. The pulleys were machined
from available material to adequate specifications. As little thought was given
to the material and non-driving dimensions of the pulleys, it is possible that
future testing may reveal a need to adjust these attributes.
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