Date of Award

2022

Degree Type

Capstone Project

Abstract

Miniature Casting Corporation of Cranston, Rhode Island, proposed the robotics process automation project. Currently, secondary operations are performed by hand after the parts are cast on the factory floor. Workers must grab parts one by one and manually sand the tops and bottoms, and then promptly ream the inside tolerances using a drill bit. These workers can be utilized efficiently elsewhere in the factory if this process were to be automated. It is the wish of MiniCast to fully automate these tasks and involve a robotic arm in some way.

This is a project that primarily deals with process design, with the goal of successfully designing and implementing an automated system that meets the needs set by MiniCast. The process includes the execution of secondary operations on die-casted parts made of zinc. The parts that the project focuses on is a family of similarly shaped semi-truck key ignition housings, with the only difference between families being sizing. The secondary operations that must be automated include the sanding and reaming of any deformities that are a result of the casting process. In order to automate these tasks a series of processes had to be brainstormed, including the in-feed of the system, the automated sanding and reaming, as well as an exit process. The process of reaming is to be completed by a robotic arm with a reamer attachment. In total the team proposed 120 concepts for this project, however, through the process of elimination this was narrowed down to a more reasonable amount. Engineering analysis, as well as competitive analysis were performed in order to limit the amount of concepts the team had, the results of which are included later in this report.

During the design process the creation of a tray to hold parts during the secondary operations was created. This was the primary focus of the group, as everything else can be built around the tray design. Once the tray design was finalized the design of a conveyor system was also accomplished, as well as the recommendation of a robotic arm to MiniCast.

Comments

Team Name: Team 9, Team Nein!

Sponsor: Miniature Casting Corporation

Sponsor Representative: Jack Shields

Document Reference: URI-MCE-CAP-FDR-2021-09

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