I am trying to construct a paper/card feeder mechanism that can feed cardstock into a card puncher (pictured here) then pull the lever. I would like to do this with a netduino controller. I am a professional programmer but this is my first attempt at a building anything robotic. I am not quite sure at exactly what components I will need to order to accomplish my objective. I would greatly appreciate any help or guidance that can be provided.
Here are a few videos of this type of card punch in operation: video1 video2
I was thinking of mounting card punch on an angled platform so that the face plate (the place the card pops out) faces directly down so the cards fall directly into a container for now. Stacking the cards would be nice but right now would be secondary.
I am not sure about how to calculate torque but I may have the info. I know that the lever will be pushed down when 10 pounds of weight is put on it. The length of the lever is 1 foot. Is that enough info to calculate the torque from?
If I go with the Arduino microcontroller will I need a shield to go with to to control the motor and actuator? If so is there any particular one you recommend for this project?
Can you create a video of how it’s done manually?
Do you want the cars to come in from the side of the machine or the front?
Can you measure how much torque is required on the lever arm (torque = force x distance to axis)
Do you plan to stack the cards?
You need a motor controller for the actuator and motors - if it’s in shield format, it might save you on connections, but the shield format is a convenience and is not absolutely necessary. We offer motor controller shields, though you need to select one based on the motor’s specs (t.b.d.).
So it looks like you’ll have two parts to automate: the punch itself and the card feeder. If it takes 10 foot-pounds of torque, that’s 1920 oz-in of torque and the only servo we have which comes close is the i0060 (1600oz-in, so it falls a bit short). Another option is to use a linear actuator, which means you would need to remove the handle and create a custom attachment at the back to provide the force (or alternatively a less elegant design to use the linear actuator to push against the handle).
The feed mechanism should be done with a gear motor with encoder, connected to a rubber friction wheel (ideally pulling the line of cards rather than pushing). You’d need a microcontroller to control everything, a DC motor controller for the feeder part and a motor controller for the linear actuator.