Robotic Manufacturing Cell

The Integration of 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.

=Problem Definition= 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. New end effectors will be necessarily designed in order to assemble the products. The final process, put simply, will be to mechanically sort through various male and female pieces using a ramp. Once the two are separated into their respective destinations, the arm will grab the male pieces, scan them, and place each into their respective destination in the construction zone, then grab the female pieces and place them on top of the male ones. The other robot will then push the pieces together using the constructed end effector. Afterwards, a conveyor will distribute the pieces. This way, the two robots will be working together in one manufacturing process.

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 Do All Robotics 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.

Client Needs
Our client is Ankit Gupta, the professor for the industrial automation class. Working on this project could inspire future assignments for the class, as well as requests for perhaps even more progression for students to learn about these robotic arms. This will enable enhancements to improve the class. As the request for this specific project, we are tasked to integrate the two arms into one manufacturing process. Other requirements involve using the scanner to “see” which part is which: male or female. In order to perform this process, unique end effectors and fixtures will need to be designed, which will be available for future class use as well.

Deliverables

 * Incorporate two robots in one manufacturing process
 * Design and construct male and female parts
 * Design and construct end effectors to assemble the parts
 * Design and construct an incoming queue ramp
 * Design and construct a fixture for the assembled part
 * Use the scanner to sort through various pieces
 * Design and construct a conveyor
 * Integrate all 4 equipment to work together

Project Learning

 * Step 1: Load queue, establish connection with Arduino (Operator loads assembly parts into the ramp, checks Arduino Serial Monitor for connection)
 * Step 2: Exit Cell (Operator departs manufacturing cell)
 * Step 3: Start Program (Operator executes code)
 * Step 4: Scan Males (The males are grabbed out of the ramp and scanned for color type with bar code scanner)
 * Step 5: Move males to intermediate storage (Robot 1 (R1) will move males to intermediate storage as the base of assembly)
 * Step 6: Scan Females (The females are grabbed out of the ramp and scanned for color type with bar code scanner)
 * Step 7: Move females to intermediate storage (Robot 1 (R1) will move females to intermediate storage as the top of assembly)
 * Step 8: Assembly (Robot 2 (R2) will push female part with designed "Finger" end effector, clamping the pieces to create assembly)
 * Step 9: Moving Assemblies to Conveyor (Robot 1 will move each assembly to a specified location on the conveyor)
 * Step 10: Turning on Conveyor (Robot 2 will move over the scanner to send a signal to the Arduino)
 * Step 11: Distribution (Conveyor will turn on and move all of the assemblies to storage)
 * Step 12: Product Storage (Final assemblies will be placed in a box once it is put together)

=Design Solution=

Part Design
The manufacturing cell will operate with two unique types of parts: male and female. During the process, male parts will serve as a bottom base of the whole assembly and the female part will be placed onto the top of the male part, creating the final assembled product. There will be 3 assemblies with free different colors: Gold, Silver, and Black.

The Male part has: The Female part has:
 * Design Software: 3D SolidWorks
 * 2" height
 * 2" outer diameter
 * 1-0.001" inner diameter of rod (slip fit)
 * 1" rod height
 * Design Software: 3D SolidWorks
 * 1" height
 * 2" outer diameter
 * 1" inner diameter (slip fit)
 * hollowed through


 * Manufactured: Sindoh 3D Printer
 * Material: 100% PLA (plastic)

Male part has a channel for the o-ring which serves the function of clamping the two parts together.

Conveyor Design
=Design Validation=

Conveyor Alignment
=Team Members=

=Additional Documentation=


 * [[Media:2018 CyberCrew 01 Team Contract.pdf|Team Contract]]
 * [[Media:2018 CyberCrew 06 Product Requirements.pdf|Product Requirements]]
 * [[Media:2018 CyberCrew 11 Product Value Proposition.pdf|Product Value Proposition]]
 * [[Media:2018 CyberCrew 10 Design Validation Plan & Results.pdf|Design Validation Plan & Results]]
 * [[Media:2018 CyberCrew User Manual.pdf|User Manual]]
 * [[Media:2018 CyberCrew Final Presentation.pdf|Final Presentation]]
 * [[Media:2018 CyberCrew 05 Minutes.pdf|Meeting Minutes]]
 * [[Media:2018 CyberCrew 09 Budget.pdf|Budget]]
 * [[Media:2018 CyberCrew 07 Project Schedule.pdf|Project Schedule]]