Overview

Our team was tasked with designing and prototyping a planar cable robot capable of catching mid-flight automated drones landing at 20 mph. I designed the winch system, which needed to be robust, running at up to 3000 rpm, and spool uniformly and consistently while smoothly interfacing with the pulley system.

Solution

I designed, machined, and assembled a frame and motor pods that allowed for easy spooling and unspooling of cable. I designed a winch that spooled wire into grooves in a single layer around the drum. To prevent tangling, a pulley translates and guides the wire along with the spooling or unspooling rotation.

Concept Generation

CAD

Prototypes

High-Speed Cable Robot to Catch Drones