In the realm of professional CAD usage, 6DOF motion mice have long been a sought-after tool, albeit with a steep price tag often associated with a single manufacturer’s offerings. However, engineer Colton Baldridge has introduced a budget-friendly alternative, the OS3M Mouse, ingeniously crafted with 3D printed flexures and PCB coils.
Crafting a 6DOF input device, akin to the established (and costly) 3Dconnexion Space Mouse, posed formidable challenges in achieving both mechanical flexibility and precise electronic motion tracking. Through a series of iterations and thorough finite element analysis, Colton achieved a seamless single-piece mechanical solution.
The heart of the OS3M Mouse lies in its innovative use of inductive sensing for accurate motion measurement. Leveraging Inductance to Digital Converters (LDCs), the device assesses inductive changes across three pairs of PCB coils, each paired with an opposing metal disk on the knob. This configuration enables Colton to apply a kinematic model from a Stewart platform to calculate the knob’s relative position. The calculations are executed on an STM32, which also functions as a USB HID to transmit precise position data to a connected computer. To showcase its capabilities, Colton developed a straightforward C++ application for translating the position data into Solidworks API calls.
The OS3M Mouse has introduced a budget-friendly paradigm to 6DOF motion control, intertwining 3D printed flexures and PCB coils. It empowers CAD professionals with precision, rivaling established counterparts at a fraction of the cost.
Source: hackaday.com
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