Belt Wall

Define

• • Previously, all of our belts were stored haphazardly in a mixed bin of doom and despair. This was after the major shop reorganization in the summer of 2025, and the older belt wall was taken down due to shelf removal. However, this organization system was never changed and the bin became an overflowing mess that was impossible to track through.

• • Our initial attempt at organizing this was to separate the belts into bins based on their width and pitch - HTD 5mm at 9mm wide, HTD 5mm at 15mm wide, and HTD 3mm.

  • This organization was better, but was still not satisfactory as it was difficult to gauge stock and find belts of specific teeth size quickly.

Concept/CAD

To create the belt wall, we took heavy inspiration from teams such as 118 or 6328 and their belt walls. Pictures below:

We ultimately created our own CAD and spin-off of the 118 belt wall, using the same dimensions and calculations for peg length. This ensured that we had something reliable without needing to experiment too much. I created a very simple 2x3 pegboard that would allow us to test fit:

Each peg was generated parametrically. This means that I could input a number of teeth and onshape would automatically generate a part with the correct dimensions as output. This was a great challenge for me, as I had to learn how to define and constrain parts when lengths and positions could move around based on a variable input.

Ultimately, I created this prototype:

From this great success, I proceeded to manufacture the entire wall.

Implementation

It was decided that we would differ from other teams belt walls by actually 3d printing the text and gluing it on to the wall later using a laser cut jig. As such, the CAM process for the backing plate would be rather consistent. However, this would end up being a multi-hour cut regardless.

Mentor James advised our design, suggestin us to change the dogbone-style holes to improve manufacturability. We would drill 4 holes in the corners of each peg slot, enabling us to have corners and account for the radius of our endmill.

After creating a satisfactory design, we machined the entire board in the course of 1 day: Period 2, ACT, Lunch, and Period 6.

I also did some preliminary post-processing of parts, such as sanding. There are still some burrs from the CNC process, but this will be removed as needed.

This is not the end of the project! We still have to adhere the lettering onto the backing and spray paint the wall. This is being held up by some purchases, and there needs to be a Home Depot run to get all the paint that we want.