Dividing Head

thingiverse

This model of a dividing head is built out of a combination of primitive shapes and gears, crafted using Inventor and Fusion 360 by Autodesk. It can be easily printed off and used as a classroom aid, or as a basis for a classroom project. Such projects could include the design and build of their own dividing head, any other applicable machine, gear box, or one component of an assembly with all components from each team being constructed into a working model at the end. The reason for choosing a dividing head is its niche nature in the workshop. Many people are not aware of it or know how to use it. In my current course, knowing about a dividing head is part of the syllabus; however, to properly show the class, the class has to go down to the workshop and the dividing head be set up. With the tutor then trying to explain it as best he can (it's a large metal object with no way of seeing the inner workings). Using my aid, the class can stay in the classroom and get hands-on experience. If I were to develop this further as a teaching aid, I'd add different colors for the gear sets (worm and wheel colored blue and the bevel gears red, for example) and possibly look into constructing a clear case for it so that it's more durable and better presented. Project: Design and build a working dividing head Objectives: • Research how a dividing head works. • Use CAD software to build their designs. • Prototype said designs and tweak if necessary. • Have a working dividing head model and the associated knowledge. Audiences: • Any one of college age (16+) that is taking a course in mechanical engineering or similar field. Preparation: • Students will need access to computers with CAD software. • No design experience is needed, but familiarity with CAD software would be advantageous. • The tutor should be experienced in the CAD software so to avoid design problems/limitations. • Students should work in small groups so that they can collaborate on the design and this also helps build teamwork. Step 1: Research Students should use available resources (internet, library etc.) in order to gather knowledge and information on the mechanics and construction of a dividing head. If this project is for another subject, you may want to change the assembly you'd like constructed. Step 2: Design phase This is where students will begin constructing their initial designs using the available CAD software. The tutor can aid them with any issues; however, try to allow them to make their own mistakes (within reason). This will teach them the value of prototyping. Step 3: Prototype The students will turn their initial designs into actually solid models. Here they can construct the dividing head and any issues can be noted down and feedback given for the redesign/tweaking stage. As we are using 3D printing, the turn-around from design to manufacture and back again is relatively small; this wouldn't have been possible without this technology. Step 4: Tweak model design regarding notes from prototype phase This is the phase where students 'iron out' any issues with their initial designs. They can use this to get a component which doesn't currently work to work, or just to refine their design. Step 5: Finished model and review This is the finished product. Students should have a full working model of a dividing head that has gone through research, design, prototype, and tweaking. Each group of students should be encouraged to look at and use each other's groups model, leaving feedback with each model. The students could then vote on which they thought best conveyed how a dividing head works. Results At the end of this project, each team of students should have the following: • Research regarding a dividing head and notes taken during this phase. • An initial design. • Notes from the prototyping phase (what worked, what didn't, how they solved any issues). • A working 3D printed model. The shafts and associated nut and bevel spacer were printed at full scale. The case, gears, hole plate, pin, selector, and spacer were printed at 0.5 scale. This was due to my inexperience with the CAD software initially. Towards the end of the project, I was much more familiar with the software; however, with time constraints, I was unable to re-dimension them in time. So although a working prototype has been created from the provided STL files, they serve more of an example project than a finished version.