Overview

The idea for this project was developed during a brainstorming session between Kene (our advisor for this project) and Will for an Independent Study. The learning goals of the independent study were to get experience with robotics and automation in a more industrial setting and to build experience with skills related to industrial automation (specifically control panel design, PLC programming, robot programming, and systems integration). We ultimately decided that building a CNC machine tending workcell would be the best way to achieve these goals. Machine tending is a very common use of robotics in industry, and we had access to both a CNC machine and a robotic arm at Olin, which made it a natural fit.

Our system consists of 3 main submodules that are connected to the PLC, which acts as the "brain" of the workcell. One submodule controls the Tormach, one controls the pneumatic vise, and one controls the robot arm. A system diagram of the different components of the full workcell are shown below.