Automated Musical Instrument
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Project Overview
Built a portable, lightweight autonomous piano to demonstrate mechanical engineering principles in K-12 educational environments.
Project Duration
3 months
Skills
Solidworks, prototyping, manufacturing, project management, customer needs analysis, FMEA, stress simulation
Design Requirements
As informed by conversations with various stakeholders:
<15m setup time
Easily plays 3 songs
Portable (< 3 x 2 x 2 ft3)
Lightweight (<50lbs)
Low Cost (<$250)
Safety Rating (average score > 2 of 3)
Aesthetic Rating (average score > 3 of 5)
Accessibility (time to use <1.5x baseline time in NDHO)
Demonstrability and Engagement (4/4 age groups)
Visible mechanical components
Simple enough to explain to educators
The Non-Dominant Hand Oil (NDHO) test is commonly used to mimic dexterity issues, allowing designers to identify usability flaws.
Concept Generation
Chosen Design
Rotating Servo Pinwheels
Rotating Servo Pinwheels
Servo rotates forward and backwards, depressing each key
Final iteration included levers at different lengths, to minimize servo horizontal motion and increase striking force
Design Improvements
Conducted FMEA and built low-resolution prototype to determine potential failure points before alpha prototyping.
Learnings included:
Avoid sealing protective case entirely, to aid in ventilation and minimize overheating risk
Use sturdy and heat-resistant case material
Develop wire management system
Minimize multiple simultaneous servo actuations to stay within current capacity
Low-Res Prototype
Low-Res Prototype
Partial FMEA
Partial FMEA
Experimental Parameter Tuning
Experimental Parameter Tuning
Conducted experiments to determine the loudest key press, based on lever length, striking location, and angle of strike.
X1: Lever Length (mm): Lower (40 or 50) and Upper (75 or 85)
X2: Striking Location: Center or back of key
X3: Angle of Strike: 30 or 45 degrees
The experiments found no significant difference for the lower level servos, with a higher angle performing better for the upper level servos.
Lower Level Servo Results
Upper Level Servo Results
Simulation
Simulation
Simulation used balsa wood with a load of 4N applied to the servo surfaces, as shown. Results indicate non-critical stress and displacement concentrated on lower section and center of the base, respectively.
von Mises Stress Simulation
Displacement Simulation
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