Robotics and Mechanisms Portfolio

Delivering everything from simple and robust mechanisms with a focus on aesthetics to highly complex automation systems, our integrated team of designers and engineers work seamlessly together to meet the requirements of a project.

Robotics and Mechanisms Capabilities

We have deep robotics and mechanisms expertise across multiple industries and device types, helping clients with the following:

Mechanical Movement Components: Gears, belts, chains, cams, linkages, and actuators essential for creating motion in machinery.
Control and Transmission Elements: Brakes, clutches, gearboxes, geartrains, and pulleys for managing movement and power transmission.
Support and Stability Features: Comprising frames, bearings, springs, and lubrication systems to ensure smooth operation and longevity of machines.
Connection and Interaction Parts: Utilizing splines, pins, keys, and sprockets to connect and interact different mechanical elements efficiently.
Motion and Force Management: Incorporating timing mechanisms, lead screws, linear bearings, and slides for precise control of motion and force.
Kinematics and Movement Analysis: Focusing on kinematics, kinematic diagrams, and degrees of freedom to understand and design motion in machinery.
Gear and Motor Systems: Rack and pinion, worm gear, bevel gear, and planetary gears, along with induction, brushless, and stepper motors for diverse mechanical applications.
Power Transmission and Control Technologies: Planetary gear trains, CVT, epicyclic gear trains, and different motor connections for efficient power transmission and control.

View Our Robotics and Mechanism Project Work:

The World’s Fastest Cut-Sheet, Color, Injket Printer An ultra-high-speed 70,400 jet printer that fires up to 700 million drops of ink per second. A new method for wetting paper and a 360 degrees paper guide turn around was devised, designed and tested. Paper path mechanisms for high speed feeding, printing, drying and cutting were developed for Delphax.

GeoSight borehole scanner probe with lit camera head above rock, beside a cutaway of its internals — Feature Case Study: GeoSight

The world's most advanced underground borehole scanner.

“Design 1st’s got up to speed on the key mechanical challenges in a few hours of discussion and identified plausible low-risk solutions quickly, to guide the choice of engineering direction to focus on.”

John Lupton, Director of Engineering, GeoSight Inc.

View the case study

GeoSight: Rugged LiDAR Scanner for Mining The final product included a Dual-Actuator with a custom pass-through torque-increasing Gearbox. Incorporated wear resist materials with replaceable parts and Gorilla® Glass for the camera viewing ports
Battlebot Lucky – a 250lbs Combat Robot Design 1st helps support the design, engineering, prototyping and build of Lucky, a combat robot who competes in the yearly international BattleBots Competitions.
SkyX xStation: Remote Controlled Drone Garage This rugged, weatherproof Command Center is a ‘Drone Recharging Garage’ managed by a remote operations center. These garages are a climate-controlled series of landing stations in the wilderness. SkyX introduces the xStation designed to recharge and protect SkyX’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) on its long distance sorties.
Accessible motorized wheelchair ramp for small jet
Water Rotor – Hydroelectrical generator to harvest electricity from slow-moving water. Water rotor had a working laboratory prototype, but to get to market they came to Design 1st to redesign their system to meet cost, transportation, and volume manufacturing needs