Robotic Manufacturing Cell

The goal of the project is to Integrate two robotic entities into a miniature assembly line, in order to make a product involving operations of barcode scanning, part manipulation, fixture design, and supervisory control.

=Background= 2013-2014 In Spring 2013 The Boeing Company donated DENSO robotic arms to The University of Idaho College of Engineering. That fall Mechanical and Electrical Engineering students, as a part of Team Roboshow, were tasked to learn basic programming of the robotic arms and create a work-cell for the arms. Their work-cell incorporated multiple safety features as well as a clear poly-carbonate enclosure for public demonstration. The team was able to successfully program the robot to use a dry-erase marker to create logos and patterns on a white board.

2014-2015 The following year another design team, known as Team Vandalbot, was formed to design a manufacturing process which could assemble various rivet and nut-plate assemblies in order to automate a repetitive task currently done by factory workers. The team was able to demonstrate this process and provide documentation for future teams.

Summer-Fall 2016 During the Summer and Fall of 2016 Team Vandalbot completely redesigned the robotic manufacturing cell. They made the cell larger which allowed for operators to have easier access to the robots for things like maintenance or changing end effectors. They also made the work cell fully modular allowing future teams to rearrange the cell for their specific needs. New pedestals for the robots were also designed because the originals were very unsteady. The team also performed stress analysis on the new pedestals to ensure they wouldn't break or fall over during operation. The team also programmed the robots to do tasks such as stack cups and write with a marker on a board. Finally the team also created a simple beginners manual that included all the basics needed to run the robot.

Summer-Fall 2017 The next year, the design team for the Robotic Arm Manufacturing Cell, Team CSRM, integrated a simple vision system involving a scanner, so that the arms could sort through two varied parts. These parts, a rectangle and a hexagon, were created by the team members, as well as the fixtures these parts were based in. Their process involved one of the robotic arms picking up pieces from a randomized mixture, then scanning the object to sort between the two. To pick the objects up, the robot used a pneumatic gripping mechanism.

=Project Statement= In past projects, teams have not been able to integrate the two robots into one process. Our goal this year is to ensure this happens. A new end effector will be necessarily designed in order to assemble the products. The final process, put simply, will be to sort through various male and female pieces using the scanner. Once the two are separated into their respective destinations, the arm will grab the male piece and place it into the construction zone, then grab the female piece and place it on top of the male one. The other robot will then push the pieces together using the constructed end effector. This way, the two robots will be working together in one manufacturing process.

=Project Design Goal=
 * Incorporate two robots in one manufacturing process
 * Design and construct male and female parts
 * Design and construct an end effector to assemble the parts
 * Design and construct an incoming queue ramp
 * Design and construct fixtures the assembled part
 * Use the scanner to sort through various pieces

=Design Specifications= Robotic arm should not hold more than 5-7 kg The operating air pressure must be between .1 and .39 MPa, while the max is .49 MPa Due to limitations on the arm with University of Idaho serial number 196-549, the negative X-Axis must not exceed a length of 762 mm End Effectors must be inserted using a round base of 2.25” with 4 screws in a square shape having a 1.266” diagonal In order to be picked up, the parts must have a max width of 2”, with a rectangular ridge of .25”

=Project Learning=

Process Description
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=Validation=

=Team Members=

=Additional Documentation=

Project Schedule



Meeting Minutes



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Client Interview