Dough Flattener and Cutter for High School Students in Afghanistan
To fabricate this prototype, we put large input crank on the outside of the box attached to a crankshaft in the center. The mechanism involves 2 pistons: the flattener and the cutter. When the crank is moved, the flattener in the middle pushes down and is followed by the cutter soon after (the crank drives both pistons). The flattening piston is in the middle and the cutting piston with blades fits around the outside of the flattening piston. There is a space under both pistons so that dough can be pushed through. The crank wheel on the side has multiple holes so that the user can change the crank position and change the input force.
The front and back plates are laser cut from acrylic. The wooden parts (aside from the cardboard slider on the bottom) are laser cut from wood. The crankshaft parts are 3D printed.