2026-09-19T09:08:43Zhttps://dspace.mit.edu/server/oai/requestoai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/1518822023-08-24T03:02:02Zcom_1721.1_7582com_1721.1_7581col_1721.1_131023
Mueller, Stefanie
AlAlawi, Marwa
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
2023-08-23T16:16:12Z
2023-08-23T16:16:12Z
2023-06
2023-07-19T18:45:01.220Z
https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/151882
In this thesis, we introduce MechSense: rotary encoders 3D-printed in one pass alongside rotational mechanisms. MechSense encoders report on their angular position, direction of rotation, and speed. MechSense encoders utilize capacitive sensing by integrating a floating capacitor into the rotating element and three capacitive sensor patches in the stationary part of the mechanism. Unlike existing rotary encoders, MechSense does not require manual assembly and can be effortlessly integrated during design and fabrication. MechSense is accompanied by an editor that allows users to integrate the encoder within a rotating mechanism.
We contribute a sensor topology and a computational model that can compensate for print deviations. We also evaluate our sensing model for angular position detection (mean error: 1.4°) across multiple prints and rotations, different spacing between sensor patches, and different sizes of sensors. Finally, we demonstrate MechSense through three application examples on 3Dprinted tools, tangible UIs, and gearboxes.
S.M.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Copyright retained by author(s)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
A Design and Fabrication Pipeline for Integrating Rotary Encoders into 3D Printed Mechanisms
Thesis
application/pdf
Master
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Publication
unknown
unknown
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<Abstract>In this thesis, we introduce MechSense: rotary encoders 3D-printed in one pass alongside rotational mechanisms. MechSense encoders report on their angular position, direction of rotation, and speed. MechSense encoders utilize capacitive sensing by integrating a floating capacitor into the rotating element and three capacitive sensor patches in the stationary part of the mechanism. Unlike existing rotary encoders, MechSense does not require manual assembly and can be effortlessly integrated during design and fabrication. MechSense is accompanied by an editor that allows users to integrate the encoder within a rotating mechanism.
We contribute a sensor topology and a computational model that can compensate for print deviations. We also evaluate our sensing model for angular position detection (mean error: 1.4°) across multiple prints and rotations, different spacing between sensor patches, and different sizes of sensors. Finally, we demonstrate MechSense through three application examples on 3Dprinted tools, tangible UIs, and gearboxes.</Abstract>
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