Overview:

During a 2.5-day hardware sprint, my team, the "Scent-A-Tubbies," designed and fabricated "Smelly," a fully automated perfume-mixing vending machine. The goal was to transform a user’s digital scent profile into a physical product through a seamless, automated interface.

My Roles:

• Gantry System Design and Fabrication

• Linear Actuator Design and Fabrication

Technical Implementation:

• Developed a custom gantry system controlled via a Raspberry Pi interface, allowing users to select from six distinct fragrance bases.

• Design two linear actuator mechanisms: a stepper-lead screw mechanism, a rack & pinion mechanism

• Fabricated the parts using Formlabs Form 4 printer and Bambulab P1s printer

Key Learning:

• Fast Prototyping & Iteration: I learned to prioritize "good enough" over "perfect" to maintain momentum. The speed of the hackathon forced me to move rapidly from CAD to physical assembly, teaching me how to identify which mechanical tolerances are critical and which can be adjusted on the fly.

• System Failure & Diagnosis: During testing, our primary stepper-lead screw linear actuator system overheated and failed under the continuous duty cycle required for the dispensing gantry. This provided a real-world lesson in thermal management and the importance of selecting actuators with appropriate torque and heat dissipation ratings for sustained motion.