Project overview
MakeMIT is a hardware hackathon that allows its competitors to design large-scale projects in MIT’s state of the art facility for a mere 24 hours. I participated in MakeMIT 2023 with a team of 5. MakeMIT challenges its competitors to follow a theme with their creations and this year’s theme was “recovery.” To follow this theme, I came up with the idea of a text to braille label maker. People who are visually impaired depend on braille to read and not being able to distinguish the difference from simple things like different spices or products can be a real problem for them. That is why my team and I designed a braille label maker, for people who are visually impaired to use to add labels to these things.
Design Overview
The idea behind creating the printer was based on a 3D printer design. The printer is controllable in 2 directions, x and y, with the z plane being at a set height with a needle attached to it. The needle punches small holes into an index card to create a braille pattern. The x plane is controlled by two stepper motors that rotate two threaded rods. The stepper motors are attached to the assembly with custom 3D printed brackets. These brackets help minimize vibrations caused by the motor, which improves its accuracy. The threaded rods allow for precise movements on the x axis. The y axis is controlled by a gear belt. Four gears are used to guide a belt and keep it taught. A stepper motor is used to rotate one of the gears and control movement on the y axis. Another custom 3D printed bracket is used to attach the motor to the axis. The z plane is at a set height slightly above the index card. Attached to the z plane is a needle that is controlled by a solenoid. This solenoid creates a punching force when used in combination with the needle to punch small indents into the index card. The frame of the system is made with 80/20 aluminum and has a a wooden base. The system is all controlled by an Arduino microcontroller and was coded in C++ and Arduino.
Braille printer in action
Photo Log
