Dev Log #1 – Today I continued working on the mechanical design of the autonomous trash-collecting drone, focusing on the robotic arm and gripper assembly. The main objective was to determine the overall dimensions of the arm, select appropriate hardware, and make design decisions before continuing the CAD model. During today’s work, I finalized the decision to use three DS3218 high-torque servos throughout the robotic arm, including the gripper. Although a smaller servo was considered for the claw, I decided to use the same servo for all three joints to simplify the design, reduce the number of different components, and make future maintenance easier. I also continued determining the dimensions of the upper arm, forearm, and gripper based on the expected payload and overall size of the drone. The arm will be constructed from CF PETG using a lightweight truss-style structure to maximize rigidity while minimizing weight. I researched the DS3218 servo output shaft and confirmed that it uses a 25T spline, which will be used for the servo-driven joints. I also standardized the hardware by selecting M3 machine screws for servo mounting and the majority of the structural connections throughout the arm. A large portion of today’s work focused on the gripper mechanism. After evaluating several concepts, I decided to use a three-gear synchronized design consisting of one servo-driven center gear and two mirrored gears connected to each finger so that both fingers open and close together. I also selected a 1:1 gear ratio and began determining appropriate gear sizes and the overall dimensions of the gripper housing to fit the DS3218 servo. In addition to the mechanical design, I estimated the overall weight of the drone using the currently selected components to ensure the chosen propulsion system should be capable of lifting both the aircraft and its expected payload. This estimate will continue to be refined as the CAD model progresses and additional components are finalized. The next stage of development will focus on continuing the CAD model of the gripper, finalizing the gear layout, finger dimensions, and mounting points, and completing the remaining mechanical details of the robotic arm before beginning assembly of the full system.