Due to the iterative design process, the CAD models for the finger had become overly complex and difficult to work with.

Prototype 5 has been designed to fix this issue. Optimising the current design by removing unnecessary features, making adjusting the size of each part easier to do, and standardising the dimensions to more sensible numbers.

Now, the hinges are far simpler to work with, allowing for a far simpler cut into the finger body for fitting.

Not much has changed in the fundamental design so far within this prototype however with the addition of the potentiometer, this may change, as external mounting is far from desirable. The finger may be changed to keep the sensor internal to the joint, however that depends on the testing for springs within the joint, which will be covered in another blog post.

The largest change is the body between the lower hinge joint and the conoidal joint. The old size of canoidal joint was too large to fit onto a hand, and so was shrunk in size.However, this new size is not held well witohin the joint and so may be changed again.