Mechatronics Final Projects

I first taught a mechatronics course at Tri-State in the Fall of 2004.  The students in this course were given weekly projects for the first 10 weeks of the course teaching them the basics of microprocessors and how to interface with sensors and actuators.  The final 5 weeks were left for the students to work on a project of their choosing.  The students were required to complete a project proposal and have it approved before beginning construction.  The projects they chose are listed below.

Automated Mill

Group Members:
Benson Mitchell, Jason Blume, and Li-Rhen Wong

Description:
Precision Tool has a Bridgeport mill that is being used to drill holes through square tubes. This task is done manually by two operators and therefore, time consuming. The project's goal is to modify the mill by computer controlling the quill axis. This allows one operator to complete the task.

Can Crusher

Group Members:
Troy Neuenschwander and Gordon Cooper

Description:
This device was intended to be used in a company break room to crush a large volume of cans. It used a hydraulically actuated cylinder to crush to crush cans and eject them into a 55 gallon drum.

Drink Mixer

Group Members:
Thomas Griffin, Allison Cockrum, and Elizabeth Beard

Description:
The goal is to create a drink dispenser able to mix at least 4 different drinks using 3 base liquids. The group will use the BasicX processor to control the motor for each valve, opening specific valves for certain times to measure appropriate amounts of base liquid for each drink.