The purpose of this project was to make a device to raise the neck higher or lower with a motor and an Arduino. There was a lot of thinking and planing that went into this piece. 

The first task that had to be done was to find out what objects were going to be stable enough to raise and lower a heavy piece smoothly. It was decided that a drawer slide would be the best option because it is metal and has bearings in it

. Originally a pulley system seemed like it might be an easy way to raise and lower the neck. But after processing the outcomes, one of the cons would be that the pulley would easily become tangled and stop functioning.

The next best option was to use a screw and a bolt mechanism. This was smart because as the rod would spin, and  the bolt would move higher or lower. This would cause the neck to move up or down. There had to be some way to attach this piece to the robot so a device was built with two wooden pieces that were going to hold everything together. These pieces were designed on rhino and precisely laser cut. These pieces were then screwed to the drawer slider.

Once this was assembled the motor had to be attached to the wooden plates. The original idea was to use zip ties but they ended up stretching more than expected.  Metal doesn't stretch so metal ties were used to hold the motor in place.

The last thing that needed to be done was to find a way to attach the bolt to the drawer slide. A plastic piece was designed in rhino that could not only hold the bolt, but also easily attach to the drawer slide. The 3D printer made this piece very precisely and because of that it was very easy to attach.

Through the course of the studio, this project came from a small thought on paper to actually being a working device. It now is in the robot and is controlled by an Arduino. Although the neck raises and lowers slowly, it functions and is rather difficult to break.