Software to generate levers
July 8, 2021 2:05 AM Subscribe
I have to repeatedly lift a part of a machine, it would be much easier if I could press a lever to raise the part instead. Is there software where I can show it how I want to press, and what I want to move, and it will generate the levers/mechanics to transfer the force?
I know there is software where I can simulate it, but I don't know what to simulate or I would have just built it to begin with.
I know there is software where I can simulate it, but I don't know what to simulate or I would have just built it to begin with.
It's not clear to me (and probably others) what exactly you mean by "generate". The lever's an object in the real world, and software can't really construct such a thing. Software with the right drivers and connected hardware could actuate motors controlling a pre-existing lever, and software could be used to design a lever, but not to actually instantiate it in the real world. It would be helpful to know what you expect the software to be doing here.
A lever's a pretty simple machine. If there's a specific place you want to repeatedly and easily apply upwards force, just wedge the thin end of a crowbar or similarly shaped object under it, and boom, there's your lever.
posted by jackbishop at 4:48 AM on July 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
A lever's a pretty simple machine. If there's a specific place you want to repeatedly and easily apply upwards force, just wedge the thin end of a crowbar or similarly shaped object under it, and boom, there's your lever.
posted by jackbishop at 4:48 AM on July 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I think OP wants to lift something heavy enough far enough and often enough that a simple crowbar isn't going to help.
I read this as they have enough mechanical sense to know there's probably some mix of linkages and motions that would allow them to do what they want, with a human-powered lever system, but they want a decent plan in place before they start welding stuff on to some big expensive machine.
Is that about right OP? I agree there's probably not an off the shelf software to do this. And while I appreciate not wanting to get into a full simulation, that's what such software would probably have to do. Combined with some machine learning or genetic algorithms or whatever bs is hot right now, it could then spit out something that would probably work, but probably not as well as if the right human stared at the requirements for a bit and maybe built a scale model to test it.
Anyway, I agree you might get better help by supplying a bit more detail. How heavy is the thing really? Does it move straight up and down? Is it attached to anything else and how? How much room is there around, and how close do you have to be?
On a lark, maybe post this on MeFi Jobs, maybe someone could put together some basic drawings for you that you could then test.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:29 AM on July 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
I read this as they have enough mechanical sense to know there's probably some mix of linkages and motions that would allow them to do what they want, with a human-powered lever system, but they want a decent plan in place before they start welding stuff on to some big expensive machine.
Is that about right OP? I agree there's probably not an off the shelf software to do this. And while I appreciate not wanting to get into a full simulation, that's what such software would probably have to do. Combined with some machine learning or genetic algorithms or whatever bs is hot right now, it could then spit out something that would probably work, but probably not as well as if the right human stared at the requirements for a bit and maybe built a scale model to test it.
Anyway, I agree you might get better help by supplying a bit more detail. How heavy is the thing really? Does it move straight up and down? Is it attached to anything else and how? How much room is there around, and how close do you have to be?
On a lark, maybe post this on MeFi Jobs, maybe someone could put together some basic drawings for you that you could then test.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:29 AM on July 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
If I'm reading you correctly, I think what you're looking might be called something like "mechanical engineering design software." You have a physical object you want to move, you want to build a tool to help you do that (which sounds to me like mechanical engineering), you want some software to help you design this tool before trying to build it.
Here's a list of programs I found from random Googling, no idea how useful it is.
(It does strike me that your 2 big hurdles here would be 1) learning curve of the software and 2) in order to properly design an addition to an existing machine (if that's what you're trying to do - it's a little unclear) you'd need a lot of information about the existing machine, like exact dimensions and material strengths & stress ratings of all the existing parts & stuff like that. In terms of time & effort (and legality and safety, if this new lever addition is going to be used on a job and by people other than you), I feel like it might be better to hire someone who's experienced and already familiar with this kind of software. I feel like a local small machine shop might be the best place to go for this.)
posted by soundguy99 at 7:39 AM on July 8, 2021
Here's a list of programs I found from random Googling, no idea how useful it is.
(It does strike me that your 2 big hurdles here would be 1) learning curve of the software and 2) in order to properly design an addition to an existing machine (if that's what you're trying to do - it's a little unclear) you'd need a lot of information about the existing machine, like exact dimensions and material strengths & stress ratings of all the existing parts & stuff like that. In terms of time & effort (and legality and safety, if this new lever addition is going to be used on a job and by people other than you), I feel like it might be better to hire someone who's experienced and already familiar with this kind of software. I feel like a local small machine shop might be the best place to go for this.)
posted by soundguy99 at 7:39 AM on July 8, 2021
Response by poster: SaltySalticid is correct, I have just enough knowledge to know what I want, but not find it. Autodesk Inventor seems to have incorporated the ForceEffect software I am looking to find an equivalent to perhaps, but it's 2 grand a year (there's a free trial but you know how it is, as soon as I activate the trial something will come in the way). For what it's worth it's a very small scale set of linkages (thanks for that search term that helped me find the above). Autodesk is kinda great for this *sort* of stuff, I've used their generative design function in Fusion 360 to model in the same way, giving paramaters, forces acting upon, etc.
posted by J.R. Hartley at 7:41 AM on July 8, 2021
posted by J.R. Hartley at 7:41 AM on July 8, 2021
More details would be really helpful, as there is near infinite variety in use cases of “I need to lift the thing” and whole sections of industrial supply catalogs dedicated to things to lift things.
posted by rockindata at 7:42 AM on July 8, 2021
posted by rockindata at 7:42 AM on July 8, 2021
I'm pretty sure you could power a winch with an arduino, with some info here:
Arduino and winch
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:46 AM on July 8, 2021
Arduino and winch
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:46 AM on July 8, 2021
Seconding that I'd be looking at industrial design catalogs before trying to make something - there are a lot of interesting levers out there.
posted by aspersioncast at 9:54 AM on July 8, 2021
posted by aspersioncast at 9:54 AM on July 8, 2021
This is something I could sketch and calculate on a napkin. I went to school for engineering and I've worked as an engineer for a long time. This isn't something that needs software, it's something that needs a person who can understand your system and needs.
posted by disconnect at 10:35 AM on July 8, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by disconnect at 10:35 AM on July 8, 2021 [7 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
There's also a lot of variations. How high? How heavy? How stable? Do you need it to "lock" once in position, then come back down? How "automatic" do you want this? Air? Pneumatic? Pure mechanical? Electrical relay? Speed an issue? On what surface? And so on.
posted by kschang at 4:48 AM on July 8, 2021