Design of the Stop Plate and Stop Bolt for the Uniport

摘要

This report has two main purposes. The first is to document the problems with theprevious system for limiting rotation of the Uniport. The second purpose is to document the design of the new system to limit rotation of the Uniport. (The Uniport consists of a unicycle type mobility platform, which allows a person to 'pedal' his or her way through the virtual environment.) The previous system for limiting rotation consisted of a steel cable attached to a support structure at one end and bolted to the turntable at the other end. This system suffered from two main problems. The moment arm for the bolt holding the cable was so long that it created large stresses in the bolt, which caused it to fail by fatigue. The other main problem was that the cable twisted and kinked, which caused some of the strands of the cable to break. The new system for limiting rotation has been designed to resist fatigue failure and failure from impact loading. The stop plate and stop bolt provide an effective and reliable means to limit rotation of the Uniport.