Team
MIT Biomechatronics Lab, headed by Hugh Herr. My supervisor was then PhD Student Matt Carney.
Role
My supervisor, Matt Carney, was working on an advanced lower-leg prosthetic limb, and my responsibility as an intern was to help design a new ankle joint concept.
Challenge
Unlike older versions of the prosthesis with geared ankle joints, I was tasked with designing a flexure-based design that minimizes weight and cost while allowing for easier routing of wires through the ankle.
Approach
I began with 5 different form concepts, sketched above. Using Solidworks modeling and simulation and 3D printed prototypes, I chose the best of these five different flexure designs. Solidworks simulation was also used to select from 7 different materials. We ended up with the CORE flexure (inspired by this academic paper) and a Nylon material, shown above.
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Learnings
My CAD skills, especially in Solidworks, improved during this project, giving me a lot of practice in simulations. It gave me an appreciation for the amount of time these simulations can take and taught me how to be selective about which truly need to be run.