Design and Development of 3D Printed Geneva Wheel Mechanism

Geneva Wheel Mechanism (GWM) is generally simple in terms of manufacturing and known for its high mechanical efficiency that generates constant and intermittent motion. However, when we consider the dynamic nature of this mechanism, peculiarities such as impact load at the beginning and inherent vibration during motion emerge, which makes GWM impractical for high-speed applications and ultimately determines the mechanical life of a system. There is a gap in studies that are focused on expanding the range of applications for Geneva wheels; and preventing premature wear of Geneva components. This paper aims to propose a novel optimized design of the Geneva wheel which improves the kinematic performance and conducts preliminary laboratory experiments. To reach this, Geneva wheel motion characteristics are thoroughly discussed, the theory of curved slots is derived, and mathematical modeling of benchmark and modified designs are conducted. The novel design proposed in this study is based on a pin path: apart from the conventional mechanism, which moves the drive pin along a set straight radius, the optimized mechanism has curved slots according to the pin path, allowing for the reduction of the angular acceleration and impact load. The main outcome of this research study is an entirely 3D printable, lightweight, and cost-effective innovative design of the Geneva mechanism with an enhanced dynamic performance that can be made in a range of sizes. The results demonstrate that the proposed optimized design of the Geneva Wheel can solve the vibration problem with considerably reduced angular acceleration (up to 3 times) of the conventional Geneva mechanism.