Assembly Line Challenge

Your next project for Falcon Specialty Engineering is for the owner of the company that makes the Fladoodle. The Fladoodle is currently made by hand, but the owner believes she could save in labor costs by making her plant automated. She has asked us to design and build an automated assembly line that will make the Fladoodle. Your engineering team will be in charge of designing and building a model that will perform one of the actions required in order the produce the Fladoodle. There will many teams working on all of the actions needed to produce as finished product. The end result of our design and construction should produce a copy of the Fladoodle. Therefore, each team must not only be aware of their design, but it must work with the designs of other teams. Our design must first load the unfinished product on to the assembly line, complete all of the necessary steps to complete the construction of the Fladoodle, and unload the finished product for shipping. It is imperative that all of our designs work together! This could be a huge contact for our company, and mean that we will have jobs in the future. The fate of the company rests in your hands!

Your team will be assigned one of the tasks required to produce the Fladoodle. Remember that we are working separately but together on this project. Be aware of what is being done before and after your step! Our goal is to load the Fladoodle on the assembly line, complete each task required to produce it, and remove it from the assembly to be shipped out to the customers. Here are the steps required to produce the Fladoodle:

Task #1: Your team must load the Fladoodle on to the conveyor belt. Remember the robot arm build we constructed earlier this year? Something like that. There is an opportunity to incorporate pneumatics in your build. Use an ultrasonic sensor/color sensor to sense the Fladoodle in the pickup area. The EV3 screen must show the status of the loading process.

Task #2: Your team is responsible for cutting the top face of the Fladoodle with a simulated saw blade. You will need two saw blades working together with one motor to cut the top (two 40 tooth gears will work). Be sure to slow down the conveyor belt as the Fladoodle approaches the saw. Use an ultrasonic sensor/color sensor to know the position of the Fladoodle. The EV3 screen must show the status of the loading process.

Task #3: Your team is responsible for cutting the right and left faces of the Fladoodle with two simulated saw blades. Both saw blades can be connected to a different motor (ask Mr. Merrill for an extra medium motor). Be sure to slow down the conveyor belt as the Fladoodle approaches the saw (two 40 tooth gears should work). Use an ultrasonic sensor/color sensor to know the position of the Fladoodle. The EV3 screen must show the status of the cutting process.

Task #4: Your team is responsible for cutting the front or back face of the Fladoodle (you choose which one) with a simulated saw blade. You will need two motors for this machine (one to spin the saw and the other to raise and lower the saw blade). You could also use pneumatics to raise and lower the arm. Be sure to slow down the conveyor belt as the Fladoodle approaches the saw. Use an ultrasonic sensor/color sensor to know the position of the Fladoodle. The EV3 screen must show the status of the loading process.

Task #5: Your team will be responsible for cutting two horizontal notches down the left and right sides of the Fladoodle. Use two saw blades that are connected to one motor. Be sure to slow down the conveyor belt as the Fladoodle approaches the saw. Use an ultrasonic sensor/color sensor to know the position of the Fladoodle. The EV3 screen must show the status of the cutting process.

Task #6: Your team will be responsible for cutting a vertical notch in the top of the Fladoodle. Be sure to slow down the conveyor belt as the Fladoodle approaches the saw. Use an ultrasonic sensor/color sensor to know the position of the Fladoodle. The EV3 screen must show the status of the cutting process.

Task #7: Your team will be responsible for cutting the large horizontal left to right notch on the top of the Fladoodle. Use the ultrasonic sensor/color sensor to get the Fladoodle in the proper position to know the position of the Fladoodle. Your machine must be able to move the saw blade out and back (pneumatics might be good for this). The EV3 screen must show the status of the cutting process.

Here are some ideas to convert rotational motion to linear motion: YouTube Video 

Another Linear Motion Video: YouTube Video 

Task #8: Your team will be responsible for drilling the hole in the back of the Fladoodle (there are 3 holes but drill the middle one). Use the ultrasonic sensor/color sensor to get the Fladoodle in the proper position to drill a precise hole. The drill bit must be able to rotate on and off the path of the Fladoodle on the conveyor belt. Use the movement of the conveyor belt back and forth to drill the hole. You could incorporate pneumatics into your build to move the drill bit on and off the path. The EV3 screen must show the status of the drilling process.

Task #9: Your team is responsible for drilling one hole in the right side of the Fladoodle (there are 3 holes but drill the middle one). The drill bit must be able to move in and out. Use the ultrasonic sensor/color sensor to align the drill bits precisely. The EV3 screen must show the status of the drilling process.

Remember this model?  Lifter Model View #1 and Lifter Model View #2    

Task #10: Your team is responsible for drilling one hole in the left side of the Fladoodle (there are 3 holes but drill the middle one). The drill bit must be able to move in and out. Use the ultrasonic sensor/color sensor to align the drill bits precisely. The EV3 screen must show the status of the drilling process.

Remember this model? Lifter Model View #1 and Lifter Model View #2 

YouTube: Linear Actuators and Gear Racks and More Gear Racks 

Task #11: Your team is responsible for painting and drying the Fladoodle. There will be two separate areas for painting and drying. You should have plenty of simulated paint nozzles to paint the entire Fladoodle in the paint room. There will be three different color schemes for our Fladoodles (Red, Green, and Orange). The EV3 screen should show which color is being applied and the button color on the EV3 should match. Lastly, move the Fladoodle into the dry room and have a few simulated fans to help with the drying process. You will need an ultrasonic sensor/color sensor to know the position of the Fladoodle on the conveyor belt. The EV3 screen must show the status of the painting and drying process.

Task #12: Your team will be responsible for unloading the finished Fladoodle off of the conveyor belt and into a shipping container. Use an ultrasonic sensor/ color sensor to know where the Fladoodle is on the conveyor belt. Remember the robot arm build we constructed earlier this year? Something like that. There is an opportunity to use pneumatics, if you choose. The EV3 screen must show the status of the loading process.

2022 Task Assignments:

#1 Aiden & Bryant

#2 Gabriel & Alyssa

#3 Kevin & Osmar

#4 Ethan & Christian

#5 Meklit & Sergio

#6 Rebecca & Marco

#7 Alex & Nathan

#8 Michael & Daniel

#9 Chris & Juan

#10 Jillian & Lorraine

#11 Katie & Sergio

#12 Marlom & Juan