My project features a structure which is designed to sort US coins. The three main subsystems that allow my project to work properly are the Hopper, the coin collection system, and the sorting system. My project could successfully sort the coins one by one but the coins would get hung up on the glue used to assemble my ramp when in larger amounts, causing either a complete blockage or just a few coins not making it, with my best test having 80% accuracy in 6 seconds. If I was to do this project again, I would have used a steeper tilt on my sorting ramp and only applied glue to it's underside to avoid blockage.

The sorting subsystem of my project involved using AutoCAD to design a ramp which would properly sort each coin to distribute it into the collection system. The ramp was designed with slots for each coin starting from smallest (dime) and ending in largest (quarter) and using the dimensions of each coin to measure an exact size for each slot so that the coin could properly fit into it's designated hole without finding it's way into the wrong slot. Once designed, I used a laser cutting machine to precisely cut out my ramp to fit just the way I needed it. One thing I failed to consider when designing this subsystem was how each coin would get out of the ramp into the collection system, because once designed, they would not fall straight in, so I had to add redirecting pieces of cardboard onto the ramp to chute each coin into its proper area.

My hopper is used to deposit the coins into the main structure of the sorter, using a slanted ramp and walls to direct the coins. The coins are placed onto any area of the ramp and when the hopper is switched on, the structure will vibrate, causing the coins to slide easier down the ramp and into the slot at the end of the ramp, leading to the sorting system. Originally, my hopper was meant to be a funnel and less of a ramp, but this did not end up working because all 16 coins continued to get stuck in that design and they would not sort properly, so I switched to the ramp which allowed the coins to spread out and slide into the slot without any trouble.

My collection subsystem used 4 drawers (one for each coin) to collect the coins when dropped the sorter. After exiting the ramp, the coins would each be directed to one of the drawers on each side of the project. I used maker case to design these drawers using the finger joint option for easy construction of each drawer and precise sizing, after designing the drawers, I laser cut four of them out and used the pieces to construct them.