Making a can opener

[razarizvi]

Hi All,

I am working on a project and would greatly appreciate if someone can provide feedback or suggestions. I am making a can opening device that should take in a standard 6oz can, remove its lid, and eject it back. The user would place the can on a tilted ramp so the can slides into the device, and after the top is removed and disposed, the can should slide out from another ramp minus the lid. I would prefer that the can be cut from the side instead of the top.

Is this something that is possible using gears and motors available on online robot stores? My current non-functioning prototype includes a wooden ramp with a hole. The can slides and falls into the hole. The rim of the can protrudes out 3 mm so the can does not fall all the way through and fits perfectly in the ramp hole, its rim supporting the can's weight. Next I use two metal gears on one side to rotate the can and, from the other side, use a 3 cm dia. circular steel blade to push and cut into the can's wall (near the top edge). Problem is that the pressure applied by the blade causes the can to stop rotating. The gears do not have enough frictional force to keep the can rotating and simply glide over the can's surface.

Based on your experience, can you please suggest a set of high torque low rpm  motors/gears I can use to accomplish this task? Can you recommend any other configuration that can make this work?

Will greatly appreciate help.

Thanks,
Raza

[Hal9000]

Unless your project is actually the build of a can-opener I would strongly suggest just buying an electric one that has been already manufactured and then building some sort of train mechanism for sending the can into it.

It strikes me as a very dangerous project...........especially as cans and the implements to open cans are very sharp!

But, no, I wouldn't know how to do this if you are actually making a can opener. But good luck!

[Admin]

sorry for the late reply, I am still going through messages that were posted when I was out . . .

Based on your experience, can you please suggest a set of high torque low rpm  motors/gears I can use to accomplish this task?

these tutorials will teach you how to calculate torque:
http://www.societyofrobots.com/mechanics_statics.shtml
http://www.societyofrobots.com/mechanics_dynamics.shtml

Can you recommend any other configuration that can make this work?

how about a sharp nail that stabs a hole into the bottom side of the can, and a styrofoam cup positioned just right to collect the drink? (thinking outside the box )

[razarizvi]

Thanks for the suggestion. However I'm looking into making a can opener for something like a tuna can (with solid contents). Even though opening a can is a crucial component of my device, it is not the main purpose of it. So I'm looking into using the one-touch can opener that is being advertised on infomercials. Problem with that is it is too unreliable and keeps getting stuck on the can every now and then.

http://www.asseenontv.com/prod-pages/1touch_canopener.html