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Assembly and Single dot test

A project log for Electromechanical Refreshable Braille Module

Lowering the cost of Refreshable Braille Cells by using Electromagnetic Cam Actuators & 3D Printing

vijayVijay 09/27/2023 at 07:090 Comments

Assembling such tiny components was proving to be quite tiresome on the eyes, so I decided I'd gear up. I got one of these, and am very happy with the purchase, It's almost like I have superpowers! 

I plan to just assemble a single pin with a solenoid winding connected directly to a power supply just to test if the fundamental concept even works ( quite late in the development process to do this IMO, should have been the first thing to do!) before I start integrating it with the electronics. 

Using both metallic and nonmetallic tools makes it easier for you to assemble things together. I used a tweezer that was easily attracted to the magnet in the cams, along with a toothpick to move it about. IMO using plastic tweezers would be better to use. 

The head-mounted magnifier is surely a game changer and keeps both hands free. this is THE WAY to assemble the mechanisms if you prefer not to get headaches during the assembly process.

What the braille cell looks like when assembled. Very neat and professional. Hopefully it works as good as it looks!

It works!! it just started to actuate reliably at 5-6V @ 500uA powered directly from a voltage source. It just needs a short pulse to move the dot one way or the other and just stays there until given the opposite pulse. THe coil would heat up and melt the glue-gun glue keeping it in place, so care should be taken to not keep the coil powered on for too long. 

Once this is hooked to the electronics. I will have more variables to play around with to actuate the dots. 

There is only one other thing that is keeping this mechanism from being complete: that is if the flipping of adjacent cells affects each other, because of the movements of the magnets having influence on the surrounding Cams. If that works, we are in the clear to create a full braille cell!

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