== $0 Team 520

Project Abstract

    Tallahassee Community College Advanced Manufacturing Training Center students attend courses to learn to solve manufacturing plant issues. A common unit in these plants is an assembly line. Students in the advanced manufacturing courses benefit from hands on exposure to prepare them for future jobs. Senior design students at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering must deliver a small-scale conveyor-based assembly line that sorts objects. They also provide 10 unique lab projects for Tallahassee Community College students to work on. The course teacher guides the students in the right path based on the lesson plans. 

    The assembly line consists of two conveyor belts. Sensors, sorting arms, and a programmable logic controller are the other parts. Objects the assembly line sorts are plastic or aluminum cubes. The cubes are different sizes. Cube size and material decide how the unit sorts the objects. The brain of the unit is a programmable logic controller. The controller reads in the sensor data and decides how to sort the cubes. The sensors control when the guide arm moves. A course book that lists lesson plans for the 5 hardware and 5 software errors goes along with the assembly line unit. This includes real world assembly line problems such as blown fuses or bad sensors. The issues could ruin the productivity of a plant if no one addresses the issue quickly. Students become more comfortable with the problems they face in class as they progress through the course. The idea is that troubleshooting skills help students get jobs which is the goal of the training program. If students see the errors firsthand instead of just reading about them it is more memorable. Overall, the assembly line trainer serves to provide a learning aid to teach students to troubleshoot common programmable logic controller issues.

About Team 520

Damira Solms

Mechanical Engineering Department

Sorting Mechanism Engineer

Damira is a senior in mechanical engineering with an interest in fluid dynamics and sustainable energy production. She will graduate in May 2020 with a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and plans to pursue graduate studies through future employment. She may be reached at ds15d@my.fsu.edu.

Justin Law

Mechanical Engineering Department

Design/Mechanical Engineer

Justin is a senior in mechanical engineering with an interest in mechanical design and dynamics. He will graduate in Spring 2020 with a Bachelor’s in mechanical engineering and will begin a career as a mechanical reliability engineer. He may be reached at jml17d@my.fsu.edu.

Nicholas Salerno

Mechanical Engineering Department

Process Engineer

Nick is a mechanical engineering student, graduating in the spring. His interests include additive manufacturing and mechanical systems. He plans to begin a career dealing with product development and mechanical design. He may be reached at nms15f@my.fsu.edu.

Robert Smith

Electrical & Computer Engineering Departments

Programming/Electrical Engineer

A Senior in Electrical and Computer Engineering programs at Florida State University with interests in Digital Signal Processing and Control/Automation Systems. Graduating in Spring of 2020 with a Bachelor’s of Science in both Electrical and Computer Engineering. He may be reached at rds16e@my.fsu.edu

Ryan Dodson

Electrical Engineering Department

Hardware Electrical Engineer

Ryan is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering at Florida A & M University and will graduate in May. Ryan gained experience with PLC automation and manufacturing conveyor systems through a series of internships with St. Marks Powder, a General Dynamics Company. This experience has been very valuable over the course of this project. Upon graduation, he plans to find job locally and become a licensed Professional Engineer. Ryan is an active member and the Children’s Pastor of his home church and enjoys spending time in the outdoors through hunting, fishing, and land management. He may be reached at Ryan1.Dodson@famu.edu.

Project Sponsor:

Tallahassee Community College

This project was initiated by the Advanced Manufacturing Training Center at the Tallahassee Community College for class of 2019. Class of 2020 has expanded upon the previous work to improve this legacy project.

Project Host Institution:

FAMU-FSU College of EngineerinG

The assembly line trainer project, formerly known as the Simulated Assembly Line and Process Workstation by class of '19, is a project led and undertaken by the department of Mechanical Engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. The project is a joint effort between students of the electrical and mechanical engineering departments

Project Timeline

Instructor

Dr. Shayne McConomy

Advisor

Dr. Carl Moore

Project Progress

The PLC controlled conveyor system was designed and constructed by the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering students as a learning aid for a PLC manufacturing course. Above is a Solidworks CAD model of the finished unit with the purpose of each component described.

The assembly line trainer utilizes two forms of actuation. The GIF above shows how the pneumatic actuator would function to sort a box off of the conveyor unit.

The assembly line trainer utilizes two forms of actuation. The GIF above shows how the rotational actuator would function to sort a box off of the conveyor unit. Then sensor embedded in the rotational arm is an inductive sensor. This sensor allows the PLC to distinguish between metal and non-metal objects.