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I have a set up for an automated cat food dispenser where a servo turns a worm gear- which in turn drops the food. However, sometimes food gets stuck between the worm gear and the sides and the only way to turn the gear is by having enough force to crush the hard food nibblet.

I have been looking for a while but am not familiar with a proper torque needed for this. For mechanical ease, I am looking to mount the servo directly linear with the worm gear, and not in a geared setup. Thanks!

joe
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  • Not an answer, but the automatic cat feeder that I used years ago had a number of chambers for food portions and a rotating cover with one opening, so it exposed a single chamber to the hungry cat. No need to sequeeze the food. (But less back-to-the-future feeling..) – Wouter van Ooijen Apr 04 '13 at 20:32
  • I think might you might mean auger and not worm gear. – Scott Seidman Apr 04 '13 at 20:40
  • That means your worm gear has too much clearance in it. Get a larger gear, or smaller tube. The other option is using a flexible one, maybe rubber, so that it can just fold around the food nibblet. Or just add on a skirt/brush to modify the existing one. – Passerby Apr 04 '13 at 20:46

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This isn't a direct answer, but have you considered trying to sense the failure event, and reverse the servo with an H-bridge to clear the jam? Getting an auger with the correctly sized flights would also help. http://www.augersunlimited.com/Inventory1.1.htm

Scott Seidman
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The Dynamixel MX-64T has pretty strong drive, and can be used in "wheel" mode to continuously turn an axle of some sort (such as the auger you describe.)

Jon Watte
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