CASE

First we decided to make the case, using a vacuum forming process. This because it's relative easy and cheap at school. Nevertheless these advantages it's not the best solution for our case because the accuracy isn't that good; this resulted in a gap inbetween the two halves.

After the photo session of our product we had the feedback to use another process to form our case to become a good finish of the case. A suggested method was using the lasercutter.

Finally we decide to go for a lasercutted ABS case (with the experience we have to bend materials using the lasercutter, we'll try to make a nice case in this way). These are the illustrator drafts for the lasercutter:

To do list

- case (laser)

- instructable

- ramp

- attach system

- movie

Exploded view

Presstext

Jana is een enthousiaste jonge vrouw die afhankelijk is van haar trouwe viervoeter. Omdat haar hond haar overal begeleidt, zou Jana haar graag belonen voor het geleverde werk. Ze zou dit graag doen door tennisballetjes te smijten, beter gekend als het klassieke "à porte".

Dit wordt echter bemoeilijkt door het feit dat Jana een beperkte spierfunctie heeft, waardoor het voor haar onmogelijk is om een bal voorwaarts -en vooral- ver weg te gooien. Deze gebreken staan dus een speelse interactie tussen Jana en haar viervoeter in de weg.

Het idee dat wij hebben uitgewerkt is geïnspireerd op een professionele base-/tennisbalwerper. Bij dit systeem worden er twee wielen aan het draaien gebracht met behulp van één elektromotor en een tandwieloverbrenging. De tennisbal wordt vervolgens doorheen deze wielen geperst en versneld; de tennisbal vliegt enkele meters door de lucht.

Aangezien Jana in een rolstoel zit, moet ons ontwerp hieraan aangepast zijn: een makkelijke aan- en afname is wenselijk. Een extra eis is ook om -met wat marge- doorheen deurgaten te kunnen manoeuvreren.

De uiteindelijke tennisbalwerper voldoet aan al deze eisen en kan de bal een 15-tal meter ver schieten. Zowel Jana als haar hond zijn unaniem enthousiast!

Jana is an enthusiastic young women who depends on her dog. Because her dog accompanies and helps her all the time, Jana would like to reward her for the work she does. She’d like to do this by throwing tennis balls, also known as the classic “fetch”.

But this isn’t an easy task for Jana because she has a limited muscle function, because of this she isn’t able to throw a ball far or even forward. Because of these limitations it’s harder to have a playful interaction with dog.

The idea that we developed is inspired on a professional baseball/tennis ball thrower. In this system there are two wheels which are made to spin by one electromotor and two gears. The tennis ball is then pushed through these wheels and accelerated; the ball is then airborne for several meters.

Since Jana is in a wheelchair, she has to be able to attatch and detach the launcher in an easy way. An extra demand is that she should be able to pass through doors easily.

The final tennis ball launcher meets all these requirements and is able to launch a ball 15 meters far. Both Jana and her dog are unanimously enthusiastic!

Group picture

Visit 4 to Jana

The previous attachment system did work but the result was too wide. Jana couldn't ride trough the door. So we tought about another solution. We came to a system where the machine is suspended from the armrest.
We do this by attatchin a alluminium loop on top of the machine and because a part of the machine is under the armrest we gain a few centimeters.

In the final prototype we'd like to attatch a screw at the top so Jana can fixate the machine.

To detach the machine Jana first has to loosen the screw and then by lowering her wheelchair on the same system that was used in the previous test.

We also tested if she was able to drive through a door.

We also tested the latest version of the machine itself. Jana aswell as her dog were happy with the result.

DIMENSIONS CASE

Today we decided our final dimensions after Jana's visit.
The case will be divided in two halves: one for the wheels and gears, one for the motor, battery and other electrical components...

Dimensions:

We will form a mold in PU foam and vacuum form it in PS (white, 2 mm thick to have a sturdy case)