This livestream update documents the creator's design progress on the "Ball Butler" robot, a tangential concept for an AI-powered juggling analysis room, and significant improvements to his Onshape CAD workflow. The creator details a major design pivot for the Ball Butler's rotating base, moving from a complex belt drive to a simpler and more robust bevel gear system driven by a brushed DC motor. He shares his design journey, including a frustrating attempt to implement a trochoidal drive, and demonstrates a functional 3D-printed prototype of the new gear system, discussing its performance and remaining challenges like motor mounting and pinion attachment.
A significant portion of the stream is dedicated to exploring a more mechanical, spring-powered throwing mechanism as an alternative to the current direct-drive motor. The creator presents a concept for a test rig featuring an innovative damped end stop that uses RC car shock absorbers and a multi-material 3D-printed bumper to soften impacts. The stream begins with a vision for a "juggling room" equipped with motion capture cameras to enable an AI coach for performance analysis. It concludes with a deep dive into Onshape CAD libraries, showcasing a new feature script that allows for dynamic part naming based on configurations, a major workflow enhancement.
Developing the Ball Butler: A Deep Dive into Bevel Gears, Mechanical Throwers, and CAD Workflow
00:01:43 The "Juggling Room" Concept: The creator outlines his long-term goal of creating a dedicated juggling space with high ceilings and motion capture cameras to record practice sessions.
00:04:17 AI-Powered Juggling Analysis: The ultimate goal of the motion capture is to train an AI that can automatically count catches, track stats, and eventually act as a coach, solving the problem of counting being a mental distraction during practice.
00:15:49 Switching to a Brushed DC Motor: Responding to viewer feedback, he replaces the overpowered brushless motor in the Ball Butler's base with a more suitable and efficient geared brushed DC motor.
00:28:58 From Belts to Bevel Gears: After abandoning a complex belt drive, the creator details his journey to a new gear system. He first attempted a complex "trochoidal drive" but ultimately settled on a much simpler and more effective 3D-printed bevel gear design.
00:41:07 Functional Bevel Gear Prototype: A demonstration shows the 3D-printed bevel gear system successfully rotating the base. It is loud but has minimal backlash. Key challenges remain, such as securely mounting the motor and the pinion gear.
01:02:02 Mechanical Stop for Cable Management: To prevent the cables from tangling after a full rotation, the large bevel gear includes a cutout section, creating a "dead zone" that acts as a simple mechanical stop.
01:17:48 Exploring a Mechanical Spring Thrower: The creator brainstorms a new throwing mechanism using springs. A viewer's suggestion inspires a design where a motor pre-tensions a spring, which is then released by a latch (e.g., a solenoid) to launch the ball.
01:30:48 Innovative Damped End Stop: To test the spring thrower, a new test rig is designed. It features a sophisticated end stop using RC car shock absorbers mounted to a second linear rail carriage, creating a cushioned buffer to absorb impacts.
01:35:25 Multi-Material Printing for Tuned Stiffness: He demonstrates printing a bumper for the new end stop using both flexible TPU and rigid PLA in a single part, allowing him to precisely tune the component's stiffness and impact absorption properties.
01:51:21 Advanced Onshape Library Naming: A major CAD workflow improvement is showcased, using a custom feature script (from viewer Alice) to automatically and dynamically name parts in his library based on their configured size and properties.
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