Further Testing

After the mixed successes with biscuit dough, we decided that a major issue was that the rings were not rotating enough to negate the downward pull of gravity on the dough.  A few solutions were proposed, including using magnets to offset the rings if they reach a point of minimal energy.  This idea was discarded as the magnets would quickly lose their effectiveness in the oven environment.  In addition, the price and timeline for delivery would set the group outside of our limits.

Example of 'Gimbal Lock'

Another solution that the group discussed was weighting the rings such that there was an imbalance in the moment of inertia, which would hopefully offset the rings enough to prevent the 'gimbal lock' issue.  With just one weight, the device tended to have the weighted end near the bottom of the oven, with very little rotation of the inner ring.  This made the dough droop excessively.  Adding another weight 120 degrees away from the first provided the perfect offset that allowed the rings to rotate more fluidly.