"No Fall" Toy Mechanism

youmagine

Reminiscent of the battery-powered toys that wouldn't fall off a table as a child, I designed this mechanism to illustrate how those old toys stayed put without using microcontrollers or electronic sensors. While designing my version with Autodesk Fusion 360 for balance and a scientific calculator for geometry, I was impressed by the mechanical engineers who created similar mechanisms decades ago using drafting machines and slide rules. In a video demonstration, I let the mechanism loose on an 8 1/2 by 11 inch piece of untreated MDF. As seen in the video, when it approaches the edge, conical front wheels allow the front yoke to pivot, lowering the chassis front to contact the MDF surface. The rotation gear then touches down, steering the mechanism away from the edge and onto a new path. If you have questions about this project, don't hesitate to ask - I tend to forget important files and make mistakes. Note: I receive no compensation for designing or using any materials in this project. I designed this mechanism with Autodesk Fusion 360, sliced it with Cura 4.4.0, and printed it in PLA on an Ultimaker 3 Extended and an Ultimaker S5.