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ReoTemp - Automated Pressure Gauge Filling Station
ReoTemp - Automated Pressure Gauge Filling Station
Background
Background
Mechanical pressure gauge needs to be filled with certain oil for lubrication, anti-fogging, and damping purposes. However, the process of filling oil manually can be tedious. Our sponsor is currently using a filling station that requires worker to insert tube into the pressures gauges and open valves to inject oil manually. When the workers see the gauge is almost filled, they will turn off the valve and seal it with a rubber cap. Such process is low efficient and can cause problems as spill-overs and inconsistency of filling levels, which can lead to dissatisfaction among customers.
Objective
Our objective is to design an automated workstation that utilizes convoy system to carry different sizes of pressure gauges and start and stop at desired position for oil injection, which should achieve certain consistency and accuracy.The final design should also include a holder that can be applied to all sizes of pressure gauge.
Description of Final Design
Final Design CAD Isometric View (left) and Side View (right)
The belt conveyor is placed on the ground, and a pair of photoelectric sensors (transmitter and receiver) are installed on the conveyor using T-slots. The PLC control panel and Injection Module are mounted over the conveyor on a supporting frame built with T-slots and L-brackets, with PLC control panel in the front for easy operation and injection module in the back. During operation, pressure gauge holders will be placed on the conveyor, and the injection module will draw oil from the reservoir and transport oil to the dispensing needle over the conveyor for injection.
System Operation:
0. Manually load pressure gauges onto the holder
1. Manually input number and size of pressure gauges through the LCD screen
2. Conveyor starts moving upon activation of start button
3. Photoelectric sensor is triggered when blocked by the holder
4. PLC perceives status change in photoelectric sensor to stop the conveyor
5. PLC send pulse signal to the pump for a time period according to user input gauge size
6. Peristaltic injects desired amount of oil into the pressure gauge
7. Conveyor moves until the next holder is detected
Final Design Front View (left) and Back View (right)
The final design consists of four major parts, the conveyor system with sensor, the automated oil injection module, the holder, and the integrated PLC control system.
System Operation Flow Chart
Performance Results
Automated Filling Process
The final design was tested to be accurate and reliable. The holder was able to lock pressure gauges of all sizes and weight with high stability. The conveyor with photoelectric sensor could accurately transport five pressure gauge holders at the same time to the designated location with error smaller than 5 millimeters using the guiding rail. Despite the huge difference between the volume of different pressure gauges, the injection module was capable of filling all of them with error less than 1% with a stable flow rate that would not be too fast to over-fill the gauges.
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