Objective:
Your team is to design, build, and demonstrate a device to dispense soft drink cans.
The device will be mounted to a demonstration stand that has a magazine that holds up to 20 cans.  The device will be actuated by a provided solenoid.  The objective of the device is to dispense all the cans from a full magazine without fault.  Faults include:

• multiple cans dispensed at once
• an attempt to dispense is made, but no cans are dispensed
• manual intervention by the team

The solenoid provided to each team is powered by standard 120V AC.  The solenoid , and in turn the device, is activated by a switch located on the demonstration stand.  The solenoid is provided with a standard connection that can be connected to the switch located at the demonstration stand.  The solenoid provides a linear travel of approximately 0.625 inches and produces a force of approximately 5 pounds.  Both of these values are the catalog values and should be treated accordingly.

Constraints:

• the device must be safe to operate
• any mechanisms must be properly guarded
• the device can only be actuated by the provided solenoid
• the solenoid should be normally off, so that it is energized only during the dispensing of the can
• you must be able to attach the device to the demonstration fixture in less than 4 minutes
• you must be able to disassemble the device from demonstration fixture in less than 2 minutes
• the device cannot interfere with the loading the cans,  that is to say no special effort is required to load the cans
• standard 12 oz soft drink cans will be provided
• the guarding that you use should be clear so that the operation of the mechanism can be observed
• your device must not damage the demonstration stand

Demonstration Procedure:

• a team is called to demonstrate their device
• the team assembles the device to the demonstration stand
• the team loads the magazine with 20 provided cans (the device cannot interfere with loading the cans)
• the team connects their solenoid to the switched power source
• the professor selects a team member to demonstrate the mechanism
• the team member attempts 20 dispenses, with a single activation of the switch for each attempt (the total time of the demonstration is limited to 2 minutes any attempts remaining after 2 minutes will be considered as failed attempts)
• each attempt is judged as fault-free or failed (faults are defined earlier)
• before, during, and after the dispensing process the professor judges the safety of the device
• the team disassembles the device and removes it from the demonstration stand

Deliverables:

Device:
The team should bring a device to class on 2/1/2001 ready to demonstrate.  After the demonstration, please return the solenoid for future projects.  Additionally, feel free to leave other components of your device in the machine shop so that we can recycle the parts for future students to use.

Written Report:
The report is intended to be a vehicle of communication between you and a person with some engineering background that doesn't have any prior knowledge of this assignment.  Accordingly, your report should at a minimum include:

• title information,
• title
• date course title
• course number
• section designation
• group number
• names of team members with box numbers
• introduction
• description of the design objective
• design constraints
• description of your solution
• a written description of your solution with illustrations
• dimensioned drawings of the device
• summary

The report is due at the start of class on February 1st.
 
 
 
 

Grading:

Report (40 points):
Grading is based upon how well the report meets the described requirements.

Demonstration performance (40 points):
Each successful (fault-free) attempt to dispense a can is worth 2 points.  Twenty attempts are being made for a total possibility of 40 points.

Safety (20 points):
The professors will judge the overall safety of the device.  More details for the criterion of the judging will be provided.
 
 

Revisions and Clarifications:

If you have questions about the design project, please submit them in writing to Dr. Stamper or Dr. North.  The question will be posted here along with the response.  Additionally, any revisions to the project will be listed at this location.
 

1st Clarification:

Question:
Can we use pre-wound springs?

Response:
Yes
 
 

Question:
Can we build a stand to support our mechanism rather than attaching it to the magazine assembly.

Response:
Yes
 
 

Question:
How will you test for safety?

Response:
We have not obtained a UL finger probe test device.  So, the instructors will judge the quality of the guarding used to keep fingers out of the dangerous locations of the mechanism.  Wire mesh is available in the machine shop for your guards.
 

Question:
Must the magazine extend past the edge of the table?

Response:
No.
 

Question:
Can we turn the magazine on its side?

Response:
No.