Automated Gripper

Scoped and designed mechanism to transfer parts relating to a drug platform in efforts of future commercialization
Led engineering team-wide brainstorms and design reviews to generate feedback for iterative design process
Utilized SOLIDWORKS, FDM/SLA printing, shop tools, and wiring tools for prototyping
Developed 130+ part assembly consisting of mechanical, electrical, and pneumatic subsystems
Presented at company-wide poster session for mechanism to be used for R&D of commercialization efforts

skills: SOLIDWORKS, SLA/FDM 3-D printing, Arduino IDE, electrical wiring, pneumatics

*many details were censored/reworded to abide by NDA specifically in the sections "Scoping the Project" and "Brainstorming"

Scoping the Project

I first identified all requirements and constraints to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the project's boundaries and limitations for designing and communicating with the team for future brainstorms and design reviews.

Goal

Design a mechanism to transfer parts relating to a drug platform in efforts of future commercialization

Requirements

• pick up parts with at a temperature requirement

• pull up parts repeatably in order to decrease variability between operators

• ability to scale system for a commercial line or scale down to a smaller R&D system

• move parts with a throughput based off current system

Constraints

• parts are delicate and cannot be damages in the process

• must be compatible with current systems for testing

Reach Goals

• cooling system

• autonomous

• organization after pick up

Brainstorming

I then led and organized a brainstorming session with the engineering team. I shared the project's scope, background, and my initial thoughts, and together, we came up with a stack of ideas.

The Brainstorm

I passed around paper and pens to everyone and allocated a 15-minute period to generate as many ideas as we could. We then went around the group, shared our concepts, and generated additional ideas inspired by each other's contributions.

Unfortunately, I cannot share any of the ideas from the brainstorm as they include sensitive information.

Weighted Design Matrix

I filtered through all the ideas to identify 7 leading concepts to rank on a weighted design matrix. Based on my own criteria for the project, the leading concept was to create a custom vacuum mechanism that is compatible for moving specific parts

Weighted Evaluation Criteria (5 = very important, 1 = unimportant)
‒Simplicity of Implementation: Are there minimal moving parts in this mechanism?
‒Repeatability: Will this mechanism produce consistent results?
‒Scalability: Can this concept be easily scaled up or down?
‒Compatibility : Is this concept compatible with the system?
‒Stellate Safety: Will the mechanism distort parts in the moving process?

Rated each idea based on each of the above criteria (5 = very good, 1 = very bad)

Prototyping

I designed and tested the leading concept of a custom vacuum head

Testing

Iterated on different vacuum head designs
in SOLIDWORKS and printed with FormLabs Clear Resin. Tested prototypes by hand to see how well they lifted parts

Final Prototype Design

*Cannot show photos of different views

alignment holes

channels for airflow

section view

Build

I then built an R&D mechanism to test the prototype using pneumatics, electrical wiring, and mechanical parts. Most mechanical parts were custom designed using SOLIDWORKS and tested with FDM and SLA printing

Pneumatic Diagram

Components:

Pressure regulators (2)
5/3 pneumatic valves (2)
3/2 pneumatic valve
Venturi tube
Double acting cylinders
Custom vacuum heads

Wiring Diagram

Components:

AC/DC power converter
Terminal Blocks
Relay
Arduino Board

fully wired Automated Gripper with open control box

testing start button

Arduino Code

CAD

Machine

Testing

After building the prototype, I tested it and compared it to the force calculations I collected.

Measuring the Force Required to move parts

•Created a force gauge fixture to measure the force required to pull parts up after undergoing a thermal process

Comparing Force Requirement
to Vacuum Prototype

•Split the vacuum into two airways to replicate the machine and attached custom vacuum head
•Placed calibration weights in a box that required 3N of force to lift (average force required is 1.66 N)
•The vacuum could lift the box
•Vacuum is strong enough to lift parts

Automated Gripper

Scoped and designed mechanism to transfer parts relating to a drug platform in efforts of future commercialization

​Led engineering team-wide brainstorms and design reviews to generate feedback for iterative design process

Utilized SOLIDWORKS, FDM/SLA printing, shop tools, and wiring tools for prototyping

​Developed 130+ part assembly consisting of mechanical, electrical, and pneumatic subsystems

Presented at company-wide poster session for mechanism to be used for R&D of commercialization efforts

skills: SOLIDWORKS, SLA/FDM 3-D printing, Arduino IDE, electrical wiring, pneumatics

*many details were censored/reworded to abide by NDA specifically in the sections "Scoping the Project" and "Brainstorming"

Scoping the Project

I first identified all requirements and constraints to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the project's boundaries and limitations for designing and communicating with the team for future brainstorms and design reviews.

Goal

Design a mechanism to transfer parts relating to a drug platform in efforts of future commercialization

​

Requirements

• pick up parts with at a temperature requirement

• pull up parts repeatably in order to decrease variability between operators

• ability to scale system for a commercial line or scale down to a smaller R&D system

• move parts with a throughput based off current system

​

Constraints

• parts are delicate and cannot be damages in the process

• must be compatible with current systems for testing

Reach Goals

• cooling system

• autonomous

• organization after pick up

Brainstorming

I then led and organized a brainstorming session with the engineering team. I shared the project's scope, background, and my initial thoughts, and together, we came up with a stack of ideas.

The Brainstorm

Weighted Design Matrix

I filtered through all the ideas to identify 7 leading concepts to rank on a weighted design matrix. Based on my own criteria for the project, the leading concept was to create a custom vacuum mechanism that is compatible for moving specific parts

Prototyping

I designed and tested the leading concept of a custom vacuum head

Testing

Iterated on different vacuum head designs in SOLIDWORKS and printed with FormLabs Clear Resin. Tested prototypes by hand to see how well they lifted parts

Final Prototype Design

*Cannot show photos of different views

alignment holes

channels for airflow

Build

I then built an R&D mechanism to test the prototype using pneumatics, electrical wiring, and mechanical parts. Most mechanical parts were custom designed using SOLIDWORKS and tested with FDM and SLA printing

Pneumatic Diagram

Wiring Diagram

fully wired Automated Gripper with open control box

testing start button

Arduino Code

CAD

Machine

Testing

After building the prototype, I tested it and compared it to the force calculations I collected.

Measuring the Force Required to move parts

•Created a force gauge fixture to measure the force required to pull parts up after undergoing a thermal process

Comparing Force Requirement to Vacuum Prototype

•Split the vacuum into two airways to replicate the machine and attached custom vacuum head •Placed calibration weights in a box that required 3N of force to lift (average force required is 1.66 N) •The vacuum could lift the box •Vacuum is strong enough to lift parts

Evaluation

assessing the effectiveness of the Autonomous Gripper in achieving the predefined project objectives.

Goal

Design a mechanism to transfer parts relating to a drug platform in efforts of future commercialization

​

Requirements

• pick up parts with at a temperature requirement

• pull up parts repeatably in order to decrease variability between operators

• ability to scale system for a commercial line or scale down to a smaller R&D system

• move parts with a throughput based off another system

​

Constraints

• parts are delicate and cannot be damages in the process

• must be compatible with current systems for testing

Reach Goals

• cooling system

• autonomous

• organization after pick up

present my work at an all-company poster session

Led engineering team-wide brainstorms and design reviews to generate feedback for iterative design process

Developed 130+ part assembly consisting of mechanical, electrical, and pneumatic subsystems

Iterated on different vacuum head designs
in SOLIDWORKS and printed with FormLabs Clear Resin. Tested prototypes by hand to see how well they lifted parts

Comparing Force Requirement
to Vacuum Prototype

•Split the vacuum into two airways to replicate the machine and attached custom vacuum head
•Placed calibration weights in a box that required 3N of force to lift (average force required is 1.66 N)
•The vacuum could lift the box
•Vacuum is strong enough to lift parts