Initial Phase

With the change from a solenoid actuator to a servomotor, we tried using the standard long attachment to the servomotor to push the button. However, we realised that the standard long attachment was unable to reliably push the button because the amount of time the attachment was in contact with the button was extremely short, hence we designed a sort of “fin” to lengthen the duration.

An attachment to lengthen the duration the button is contact with the servomotor

We also designed a housing for the servomotor to reside in.

First version of the servomotor holder

We also changed our screw plates to one long rectangle so that we had a greater surface area of the non-slip pads to prevent slipping.

New version of the screw plates for a greater surface area and better grip

Prototyping

After the first round of testing, we made some adjustments by increasing the thickness of the fin to allow more room for error when pressing the button, and we changed our housing to include the slit at the side to accommodate the wires.

Second version of the servomotor holder, added a slit at the side to accommodate the wires

With all the above changes, the below image shows the front view of our assembled fan attachment.

Front view of the assembled version of our fan attachment (V5)