pic: Senior Project 1
 

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I originally thought that this was the sandwich making robot I have been dreaming of. It looks really cool!:cool:

Did you have any problems with breaking the containers or chocolate bars?

Re: pic: Senior Project 1
 

nope, attached to the back side is the candy bar system. It is similar to the bottom dispenser. IT has two pistons. the capping was not an issue either, i had 1/4" tubing 110 psi going so it was alright. I also made it about 1/8" short of killing the bottom as i capped so sometimes in the last second it would seal completely. it was nerve wrecking. in the end we went for a perfect run when we got graded!

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So how many packages could it say... produce in 1 minute?!

This is pretty cool.:D

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hahahaha... yeah about that. 1 full run of completion took about 3/4 minutes. we didn't have the flawless timing like the other team did. but our project was a lot more complex, so the professor graded appropriately.


what is the coolest thing is the way i have the hot cocoa dispensed. It used a motor attached to a brass coil to act like a vending machine. :)

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So ya think i could get one of those packages? lol I like me some chocolate. and i makes it even better to now i cam from a robot.

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Robot chocolate has been proven to be the sweetest of all the chocolates :D

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Alex, is it possible to get us a video of it in action? I think that'd be really cool to see- nice job.

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yes, it'll be uploaded to some video site once a project partner gets it done.

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I love this. Our plant is always in need of engineers that are coming out of school with practical experience in automation and packaging.

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here is a video just uploaded to youtube which shows the entire process. I was the one who designed the top dispenser, hot cocoa dispenser, and the arm which caps the containers.

enjoy!

tell me what ya guys think.

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Alex,

A couple of questions that didn't get answered yet.

1. What were the constraints given by the Prof.?

2. If there weren't any significant constraints, why the large size? Industry has a premium on floor space. The less taken, the better.

3. Why were all of the actions being done one at a time? Significant speed could have been found if the next container was being loaded, as the previous one was being lifted up. Also, all of the items being dispensed could have been done simultaneously. Industry values timing due to the delays and/or inventory that it causes upstream.

indieFan

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Good questions!

1. What were the constraints given by the Prof.?
We had to make a pick and place project, which consisted of a conveyor, robotic arm, PLC's and sensors. The process has to run 9 times fully.

2. If there weren't any significant constraints, why the large size? Industry has a premium on floor space. The less taken, the better.
Yeah, we realized that. also we figured in industry, it also comes from all angles and doesn't need to be like how we had it. We had it so it would make the 9 required runs and that's it.


3. Why were all of the actions being done one at a time? Significant speed could have been found if the next container was being loaded, as the previous one was being lifted up. Also, all of the items being dispensed could have been done simultaneously. Industry values timing due to the delays and/or inventory that it causes upstream.
Yeah, the other team had a project that was a lot less complex and their timing was beautiful. Ours was very complex but in the end looked a lot better because we got it running and the level of hardness. The timing on ours is horrible yes, i totally agree. The whole project came together for us in the last 2 days. So we couldn't edit the program and make changes to have it run smoothly. Also one of the problems we ran into we had around 20? solenoids, so after 3 runs the compressor for the classroom would kickoff and take out some of the pressure we needed. So we couldn't run too many pneumatics at the same time due to air pressure. The only motorized stuff on the project was my hot cocoa dispenser and the conveyor. This was all done in 6 weeks along with detailed drawings of every single part, even down to screws and angle brackets. we completed a book which included the project details, process, detailed drawings of parts, assemblies, wiring diagrams, pneumatic schematics, price list, timing chart and a top view layout. Hopefully i can somehow get the entire 100 page book into a pdf file and upload it to cd sometime? I do know i will be bringing my project book and the video into any interview i have for jobs in this type of field. i know it will help make me stand out of the crowd.

I hope that answered your questions, if not please ask me and i will try again.

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Here is a quick video of my Senior Year project. (I just found the video online)

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Could I order two of the red candy canes?
Great looking project, I am impressed. Congratulations to you and your team.