For our first group project in Electromechanical Design, we designed and built a motorized cart capable of balancing a vertical bar while accelerating. The project had two phases: a SolidWorks Motion Analysis simulation to determine system constraints, followed by physical fabrication and closed-loop motor control implementation.

We started with a multi-body dynamic model in SolidWorks to find the maximum acceleration before the bar would tip, which we calculated to be approximately 32 in/s². We also used the simulation to optimize wheel diameter, settling on 4 inches. From there we laser cut the base plate, 3D printed the wheels and axle mounts at EPIC, and wrapped the wheels in a rubber belt. Once assembled, we wrote and debugged the motor control code over several days of testing.

Our first version showed significant bar wobble, which we traced to imperfections in the rubber belt causing uneven wheel rotation. We redesigned the wheels, rebuilt the cart without the belt, and re-optimized the code for the new configuration — resulting in a clean, stable run.