This week is a very big challenge, we will build a real machine, we will apply everything we have learned so far. I am excited!!!, I have many ideas in my head that I will analyze one by one and we will see the final result that I am sure will not be boring at all.
π14th April
In this assignment we must activate and automate the machine that we are going to build, in turn we must document the entire process.
We draw up a schedule for the development of the project according to the skills of each member and indicating the time available for each activity.
Phases:
The tasks were distributed, but at each step there was collaboration among the team, giving feeback and advancing their activities in parallel.
When you get a different point of view, you can improve your work and see the mistakes or improvements can be made.
First, prior research was done and the following questions were answered:
What?
What is for?
How does it work?
Second, we were thinking about something to make and enjoy it, so to define our project we choose something that can be done manually but could be automated, reduce time and improving efficiency.
Why
We proposed this project for:
-Beginners: To prepare this dessert well and to get the dough rigth, it takes a lot of practice, so anyone could prepare it with this machine.
-Spedd and efficiency: It improves production, especially for businesses that are dedicated to this area.
-Adaptability: It can be adapted to any place and it is easy to transport.
-Cuztomization: To be able to create different shapes, fun designs and arouse curiosity in the consumer.
In addition to researching what it is and how it is prepared, we also looked for references of other food machines in order to analyze their mechanism, analyze their interaction and operability, as well as to take into account our skills in order to develop this project.
The following is the scheme of work that was carried out to propose and develop the project.
Design
According to the Design Thinking process, each member made a design proposal, indicating how it would work and its advantages as you can see in the following diagram:
We discussed the ideas and the main design points are:
We defined parts of the design and started to move forward in parallel. Working as a team, despite the pandemic, we were able to get together to do the project and it became a great experience, fun times and also filled with a lot of learning. Finally, after all the research we came up with the exact components and workflow of the machine.
After defining the workflow and components, we continued with the process, improving the design, electronics and documentation.
And here we are, apparently very calm working, but we had many doubts and made tests to see if the pieces fit or if what we designed could really work π.
There are things that sometimes do not turn out the way you imagine them and you have to take into account gravity, knowledge about mechanisms and common sense.
Sometimes there are problems that can be easily solved but sometimes we can't see it, clearing the mind is important. First, we choose the right materials that will suit our entire design as you can see in the next image:
One of the materials we use is PETG, for our project it is necessary that the filament is non-toxic since I will be in contact with food. For the structure we chose 3mm MDF for better stability.
Testing PETG
We also test the PETG filament, the minimum recommended configurations to print in the shortest possible time:
Having the design, we started printing small pieces to see the fit and testing nuts, in the process a lot of mistakes happened....πππππ
Each filament has parameters in which it will print best and differences in finishes or thicknesses, which may influence it to mate with another part, such as the following test:
We had several changes before we got to the final parts. From rethinking the main shape of the funnel, the extruder and the structure.
Join me in this roller roulette of emotions, tears and laughter were not lacking! πππππ
We want to design not only the circle like the traditional picaron, we tried to design different shapes like a star and cat, but one of them looks very familiar.
Wazowski, what are you doing there? That's not your family! Accidentally the cat became Mike Wazowski, believe me, it wasn't planned π
.
When everything seemed to be fine, we forgot that the piece could fall without something to stop it...
But a small part would solve our design and internal rails become very important. In this way, no part falls into the vacuum by gravity.
At this point we didn't know whether to stop and cry for all the hours of 3d printing, so we just smiled and kept going.
After so many mistakes, we finally know what changes are needed to be able to continue manufacturing.
Let's set this thing on fire!
The design took a long time because we went back and changed measurements when something didn't fit. You always have to avoid mistakes in the final pieces, so you can print or cut certain sections and verify that everything fits perfectly, avoiding spending too much material and time. The modeling was done in Rhinoceros
This was the first file to print and we use the next setting to print PETG on an Artillery printer, Ultimaker cura was the slicer software that we use to convert it to g.code.
The second file to print was the "Extruder", we call it by this name. The configuration used was the same as in the previous piece.
We were printing and cutting at the same time and we had to open the windows due to the toxic fumes emitted by the laser cutter, but this affected the print quality because the ambient temperature changed (the window was next to the laser printer).
Due to the change in temperature, the first layers are irregular and the last layers are smoother.
We made a second parallel print with a DREAMER 3D printer, added supports and the result was different, much more uniform and could be done in less time.
We have used the FLASHPRINT software and the printing time was 5 hours 27 min.
For the cutting of pieces we made two versions, in one we used only 3mm MDF and in the other 2mm acrylic, that way we could have two models of structures and see the difference in balance, strength and aesthetics.
We begin to write the code that will allow our machine to function, we use an Arduino Uno that we will program using the Arduino IDE, we hope to have good results.
#include <Stepper.h> const int stepsPerRevolution = 200; // Motor parameter // Initialize the stepper library on pins 8 through 11 Stepper myStepper(stepsPerRevolution, 8, 9, 10, 11); void setup() { // Set the speed at 20 rpm to make it slower myStepper.setSpeed(40); } void loop() { // Reduced number of revolutions to half int n = 2.7; // Now the motor will only turn 2.5 revolutions int t1 = 5; // Delay time (in seconds) for the first direction int t2 = 60; // Delay time (in seconds) for the second direction // Step n revolutions in one direction myStepper.step(n * stepsPerRevolution); delay(t1 * 1000); // Wait for t1 seconds // Step n revolutions in the other direction myStepper.step(-n * stepsPerRevolution); delay(t2 * 1000); // Wait for t2 seconds }
This project is the starting point for future proposals that can be developed as:
-Probably the material for the structure of the machine can be more resistant to heat, since the picarones are cooked by cooking very hot oil.
-It could be considered that the machine has some handles to attach to the bowl where the picarones are fried.
-Another improvement could be that the power with which the motor pushes the dough is higher, so that the "picaron" is formed quickly.
-The opportunity to use an automation method for such a gastronomic experience could generate a new way of learning and enjoying a tradition such as preparing picarones.
-After this process of designing our machine, we realized that it is very important to take into account the optimization of the amount of material,
the assembly logic, and the types of materials.
- Many processes were followed to manufacture the machine; from testing the sockets so that the parts fit very well to designing different parts to extrude different shapes of picarones. Iterations are necessary to fine tune the features of the machine.
-It is important to establish the ideal height at which the (white piece, I don't know if it has a special name in the documentation) should be located depending on the viscosity of the mass to be used.