Engineering Portfolio
PNEUMATIC END EFFECTOR
R&D End of Arm Tool
Through the MECOP Internship Program at Oregon State University, I received the opportunity to work for Genentech at their manufacturing site in Hillsboro, Oregon. One of the main projects I worked on was developing, building, and testing a pneumatic end of arm tool (EOAT) for a six-axis robot in support of pharmaceutical production. The objective of this project was to design a system that allowed the existing six-axis Fanuc robot arm to interface with products off the production line to allow for automated palletization. This project involved multiple redesigns and working with a local vendor, SMC who specialized in pneumatics.
Design Evolution
I designed multiple iterations of the end effector. With the objective of designing a lightweight system to minimize strain on the robotic arm. Although due to design constraints of additive manufacturing a couple of changes needed to be made. As you can see below the second iteration design added additional materials on the arms to allow for improved rigidity and better results during the 3D printing process.
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Between the second and third iteration of this project, I was able to confirm the parameters of my problem allowing me to work with SMC to determine the necessary suction cups and hardware needed for our application. The pneumatic system implemented the use of buffer springs as well as cups with bellows. Helping to ensure that a secure connection can be achieved with the product shipper.
Ejector Array Final Design
The end effector receives three negative pressure lines from the ejector array that is located further up on the robotic arm. The ejector array consists of a main 3D printed part that secures the three vacuum generators (ejectors), and a 1 to 3 manifold. Positive pressure is supplied through a single line to the manifold which is then split into three independent positive pressure lines, each of these lines enter their respective ejector resulting in the three negative pressure lines that enter the end effector. The ejector array also has cutouts to allow for easy mounting to the din rail located on the robotic arm.
EOAT Final Design
The three negative pressure lines from the ejector array feed through the top of the system and attach to quick connectors that are threaded into three 1 to 4 manifolds resulting in a total of 12 vacuum lines, one for each suction cup. Having three independent lines allows the system to maintain a secure hold on the product shipper in the unfortunate event of a line losing suction.
Before the end of my six-month internship at Genentech, I was able to prototype and test my design. Leveraging the benefits of the large-format 3D printer we had on-site. I was quickly able to manufacture and test components giving me the ability to fine-tune the system before handing the project off.
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Contributions:
Ground-up design of pneumatic end of arm tool (EOAT).
Manufactured and assembled a functioning system that integrated onto six-axis robotic arm.
Ran early tests with simulated products to highlight the feasibility of the system on real production lines.
FINAL PRODUCT
