Applied Mechanics Commons^™

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Autonomous Material Refill For Swarm 3d Printing, William C. Jones

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

3D printing currently offers robust and cheap rapid prototyping solutions. While standard 3D printing remains at the periphery of mass production, the technology serves as a starting point for the development of swarm manufacturing. Since swarm manufacturing is predicated upon autonomy, swarm technology companies such as AMBOTS are seeking to minimize human involvement in the swarm’s functions. At present, the 3D printing swarm consists of the printers, a transporter which can take them between job sites, and the floor tiles which provide power and support the build surfaces. To add to this ecosystem, this project is focused on the design …

Silicone Tadpole: Research Into Soft Bodies, Danielle Fernandez

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this thesis, research is conducted in the area of soft robotics by building a soft tadpole that can deform with a specific air pressure. The goal is to mimic the motion of an organic tadpole in respect to its S-shaped tail movement. The angle of deformation, derived from material mechanic theories, ranges from 45 to 80 degrees for this type of movement. The design includes a head compartment which acts as a tank to transfer nitrogen pressure and a tail section that receives the said pressure and bends as a result. The tail section was designed with two rows …

Getting The Best From Your Sewing Machine, O. Evans Scott

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

"NEXT to the plough, this is perhaps humanity's most blessed instrument." (Louis Antoine Godey.)

In some homes the sewing machine is the most sadly neglected and ill-used servant. It is often left set up, exposed to dust, dampness and scratching, used as a table and otherwise abused.

It is not right to have a machine stitching imperfectly and noisily and used for long periods without maintenance when a little attention can keep it performing quietly and efficiently.